I got my new lens (Olympus Zuiko ED 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 SWD) last Thursday. On Saturday and Sunday I competed in an agility trial. I took my camera (Olympus E500) and the new lens with me to see what it could do. The trials were in a covered rodeo type arena - not the best lighting. Saturday it was sunny and Sunday it was cloudy. On Saturday I set the camera to shutter priority and ISO 400. I shot RAW and developed in Lightroom.
Saturday at 1/1000sec:

1/500 sec:




On Sunday I tried higher ISO numbers but with my camera at 800 there was way too much noise. Here is one photo at ISO 500, 1/400 sec:


When I got home Sunday afternoon I took some pictures outside of my dogs. It was cloudy, about 5 pm. ISO 400,1/500 sec.
Here is my Tervuren Jordan:





My Belgian Sheepdog Garnette (8.5 months)


And finally a photo of Gabe (also 8.5 months). This photo was taken with on-board flash at 1/160 sec.


I am very pleased with the performance of the lens so far.

Sharon,
looks like the lens is both very sharp and has nice bokeh on the out-of-focus background. The headshots are very nice.

That type of environment is very difficult to shoot in, especially for action shots. It's difficult enough to try to freeze the peak of action without having to also worry about whether or not you have enough light to focus. But, again, the lens seems to be fast enough to handle this tough situation.

Hope you have a great time with it and lots of wonderful images. Enjoy.

Jim

I got this lens Friday and I am equally impressed with it. I have the old version and it was one of my favorites. The new version is much faster and has a better bokeh to it.

Those are all really nice!

Hey Sharon,

Nice photos. I find the Begian sheepdogs to be just beautiful. I am glad you are happy with the lens - and that you find that it really is an upgrade to the existing 50-200.

James

Looks like a good lens. Have you tried shooting from a lower position? I keep trying it to get a better perspective on the dogs, but it usually ends up in a very cluttered background.