Originally posted by bessa-66 Does anyone else here use micro four thirds as a backup or supplementary camera, and has anyone used the 40-150mm? What do you think?
I use m43 as both a backup and supplementary system. It is the system I turn to for infrared work, video, and hand-held landscape and travel photography. I've never used the 40-150 pro, although I've seen images taken from it and know it to be, like all the Oly pro glass, optically excellent but heavy (at least for m43).
Originally posted by bessa-66 Also, any advice on how to handle such a lens (I believe the nearest Pentax equivalent is the excellent 50-135mm which was out of my price range)?
Here in America the Oly 40-150 Pro is quite a bit more expensive than the DA* 50-135. However, these lenses don't exactly share the same FOV, and are therefore not really equivalent. An equivalent lens for APS-C would be the DFA* 70-200 or the Tamron 70-200. I own the Tamron, which works great with my K-5iis, so the Oly has never interested me.
As for handling the Oly 40-150. If you find the E-M1 to small for the lens, you can always buy a battery grip. I've avoided the Oly pro glass because of the weight and cost, but I do own a couple of fairly heavy, old but shockingly inexpensive Oly 4/3rds HG SLR lenses, which I use on my ailing E-M5 via an adapter. For balance, I've added a cheap metal grip, which makes a huge difference. I'm not sure there's any cheap metal grips available for the E-M1, but there's certainly the Oly made grip, a bit pricey but perhaps worth it for that combination.