Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 Zuiko Digital

 
Lens Reviews / Olympus Lenses i Not yet tested
18-180mm $499
average price
image of Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 Zuiko Digital

Your purchases support this site

Buy the Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 Zuiko Digital

(From Olympus lens literature) Receive sharp and colorful images from this lightweight all-digital lens, from less than 18 inches away or as far as its 10x telephoto will take you. Weighing less than 16 oz., this durable, extremely portable lens is perfect for wide group shots or "zooming in" on your child's soccer game, and delivers a distortion-free view and outstanding results thanks to ED glass lens elements and its built-in CPU that automatically corrects lens distortions, shading and exposure information for even higher image quality.

Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 Zuiko Digital

Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 Zuiko Digital User Reviews

8.4/10 average of 5 review(s) Build Quality 8.8/10 Image Quality 8.0/10
  • 9 out of 10 points and recommended by trentdp (26 reviews)
    Nice light general purpose vacation lens
    It would be nice at 14mm on the wide end

    My wife uses this lens on her Olympus E-520 and likes it very much. It covers a nice range and is great for general photography which we do most of the time.

    Only small drawback is 18 mm is a little narrower than we would prefer but definately not a deal breaker.

    It is a nice balance on the E-520 and we can whole heartedly recommend this lens to anyone who wishes to have an all-in-one lens for vacation or just personal use.

    reviewed August 6th, 2009 (purchased for $428)
  • 8 out of 10 points and recommended by MartinM (31 reviews)
    Versatile focal lenght, weight
    Hunts in low light, wide angle

    I had a chance to test the lens. No, i have not bought it. I have enough other lenses, so i won't get this one.

    I tested it on E-30 and E-620.

    I compare the lens with my Sony DT 18-250 / 3.5 -6.3
    This makes sense because it's well comparable

    The image quality is surprisingly good. Not perfect, when cropped.

    With the focal lenght of 180mm it has an excellent reach and the 6.3 at the long end are not an issue while outdoor and sunny wheather. ISO100-200. With covered skies i change directly to ISO400. Nothing special. I had to do this on the Sony too.

    The wide angle is not available. No problem for a walk around lens, but when you want some landscape panorama fotography, you'll need to change lens. I found the 9-18mm match perfect.

    CA, yes in some situations is found them. Dramatic? no.

    In general the lens is nicely built and well usable. But don't expect the IQ of a 12-60 / 50-200.

    I recommend this lens who is looking for a single (twin) lens solution and is not going to crop to much.

    Indoors, this lens is more or less not usable. My SAL-18-250 i had to cover indoors with a prime lens and this one you'll need to use a prime too.

    The build quality is excellent. Olympus build.

    reviewed May 10th, 2009
  • 8 out of 10 points and recommended by ealatsis (4 reviews)
    great range, lightweight, compact
    hunts in low light

    I have switched over to using Nikon equipment, but I used this lens with the EVOLT E-500. I took over 3,000 photos on a trip to Alaska; I didn't bother taking either lenses that come with the kit....I used this lens the entire time and had great results. This lens takes up very little space and the convenience is tremendous. I now shoot with faster lenses and realize how nice it is to shoot in low light without any struggle :)

    reviewed January 15th, 2007
  • 8 out of 10 points and recommended by Tikkis (1 reviews)
    Size, Focusing Range, Handling
    Poor Geometry and Definition with Shorter Focal Lenghts

    Nice and Compact Lens. Very useable as All-round Travel Zoom. Focuses Nicely Surprisingly Close. Decent Build Quality. Somewhat Disappointing performance in the Shorter End of the Focal Lenght Scale.

    Seems to Be Optically Perfectly Identical to Sigma 18-200 f/3,5-6,3 Zoom. So One Has To Come in to a Conclusion That the Lens id Actually Made By Sigma.

    reviewed May 12th, 2006
  • 9 out of 10 points and recommended by olyjack (1 reviews)
    great range and Olympus quality, compact size
    wish for 2.8, some citoff from shade at 18 even with just haze filter

    Bought about 3 weeks ago, Didn't mean to, just went in for E-330 body. Tried lens and have been carrying it since, everywhere. Light, great range, love it.
    Good light condition lens. Have to careful as it closes down quickly as zoom increases, but what else is new.
    Would also have liked 2.8 at top end, but probably wouldn't have oaid the price.
    For planned events, I'll still carry multiple bodies and lenses. This is a good grab and shoot.

    reviewed April 15th, 2006 (purchased for $450)