Special thanks to OM System Malaysia, I got the loaner OM System 50-200mm F2.8 IS PRO lens to play with over the weekend. Coincidentally, there was a local tennis tournament happening, so I brought the OM System 50-200mm PRO mounted on my OM-1 to shoot some sports action at the Kuala Lumpur Open 2025. With versatile zoom range, long focal length that reaches 200mm, constant F2.8 aperture and powerful stabilization, I find this to be an awesome lens for sports photography! I have also made a video about this session; you can check it out here (click).
I only had the lens for several days to play with, in between getting enough sample shots and making my videos on YouTube, I did not have enough time to make a full review for the lens. I would need maybe about 2 weeks minimum for a full review with the lens. So, I am just sharing my experience using this lens for some sports photography.
HANDLING
The OM System 50-200 PRO is not a small lens, definitely not a light lens. It weighs about 1kg and using it on the OM-1 hand-held for hours and hours of shooting did pose a little challenge. At the end of 4 hours mark, I started feeling some fatigue on my wrists and fingers, a little discomfort having held the lens up for so long, nonstop, trying to capture the action continuously. However, it was nothing too serious, and honestly to be expected, since the lens does offer a far reach of 200mm, with versatility of zoom, and constant bright F2.8 aperture, there has to be some trade off. I'd say all things considered, the OM System 50-200mm PRO is not too impossible to manage, and perfectly usable hand-held.AUTOFOCUS
I used the C-AF setting with human face/eye detection setting activated at all times on the OM-1. I got about 60-70% hit rate, which I was actually quite satisfied with. I know many people would expect higher keeper rate at 80-90%, but the OM-1's AF does show a little inconsistency from time to time. The issue here is not the camera + lens failing to lock focus or track the motion of the players running around the court, it was the slight misfocus that was not noticeable until you pixel peep it later. On the camera EVF/LCD screen, the AF works just fine, tracking the movement effectively, and the review of the images without punching in looks just fine. But it was just that slight front or back focus, that tiny miss, a little bit of uncomfortable softness, the not hitting 100% critical focus, that was really annoying. Nevertheless, I am quite happy with the keepers I have gotten from the lens and camera combo, I still got many shots that I quite like from this session. And the AF, while not 100% reliable, is still perfectly functional, and I can make it work.
I used the C-AF setting with human face/eye detection setting activated at all times on the OM-1. I got about 60-70% hit rate, which I was actually quite satisfied with. I know many people would expect higher keeper rate at 80-90%, but the OM-1's AF does show a little inconsistency from time to time. The issue here is not the camera + lens failing to lock focus or track the motion of the players running around the court, it was the slight misfocus that was not noticeable until you pixel peep it later. On the camera EVF/LCD screen, the AF works just fine, tracking the movement effectively, and the review of the images without punching in looks just fine. But it was just that slight front or back focus, that tiny miss, a little bit of uncomfortable softness, the not hitting 100% critical focus, that was really annoying. Nevertheless, I am quite happy with the keepers I have gotten from the lens and camera combo, I still got many shots that I quite like from this session. And the AF, while not 100% reliable, is still perfectly functional, and I can make it work.
IMAGE QUALITY
The lens is incredibly sharp. It is sharp wide open at F2.8, I won't hesitate to use it wide open for all my shots, which I actually did. The lens manages to resolve plenty of fine details and excellent contrast. Bokeh quality is also remarkable. The out of focus area of the images look smooth, pleasing and non-distracting, definitely helps in adding the 3D pop and depth to the overall look of the image rendering. When it comes to technical flaw controls, I did not notice any issues, no chromatic aberration, no distortion or vignetting. I acknowledge that tennis is not the best place to put the optical quality of the lens to test, and definitely not the right situation to push the sharpness limit of the lens. I will test this lens again in a different environment to see how the lens image quality truly fares.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- A single charge of battery lasted me 4 hours of shooting with 5000 RAW images captured. I dare say that was truly impressive
- I used electronic shutter at all times to preserve mechanical shutter life of the OM-1
- I used burst sequential 20FPS shooting, because why not? I can't predict what will happen next, and everything on court was happening so fast
- General camera settings - Shutter Speed Priority, 1/2000sec, ISO Auto
- EVF was used at all times
MISSING TESTS
Of course, the tennis game was not the perfect scenario to test everything about the OM System 50-200mm F2.8 PRO. I did not use any teleconverters on the lens, because I already had sufficient reach. Adding further reach will be too tight, and framing will be too challenging following the fast movement of the players. Hey, cut me some slack, I am not a pro sports photographer! I also did not test the image stabilization effectiveness, because it was a sunny day, we had plenty of light, and I was using 1/2000 shutter speed! Whatever that I have missed out in this tennis session, I will test in another outing, which will be in another video/blog entry.
WONDERFUL SPORTS LENS
I personally think OM Digital Solutions has made a great lens for sports photography with their OM System 50-200mm F2.8 IS PRO. What is there not to like? The reach, the bright constant aperture, and the stabilization, this lens will perform well and deliver beautiful shots in many sports events. OM Digital Solutions is asking for USD3700 for this lens, is the pricing too steep? Currently, not many alternatives in the market can match the versatility and imaging quality of the lens, so I'd say, if you need the lens, you need the lens, the price is not impossible. If you can't justify the high price, there is always the already amazing 40-150mm F2.8 PRO, which can give you very good results too.
I personally think OM Digital Solutions has made a great lens for sports photography with their OM System 50-200mm F2.8 IS PRO. What is there not to like? The reach, the bright constant aperture, and the stabilization, this lens will perform well and deliver beautiful shots in many sports events. OM Digital Solutions is asking for USD3700 for this lens, is the pricing too steep? Currently, not many alternatives in the market can match the versatility and imaging quality of the lens, so I'd say, if you need the lens, you need the lens, the price is not impossible. If you can't justify the high price, there is always the already amazing 40-150mm F2.8 PRO, which can give you very good results too.
