Owley
newbie
Reged: 23/07/2008
Posts: 3
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I bought the Olympus E-500 which came with the two lenses which were 14-45mm and 40-150mm.
I am wanting to add another lens to my kit and I am looking for one with a higher/closer zoom as I do alot of wildlife photography.
I find all the zoom magnification numbers a little confusing so am not sure what lens I would need. I was looking at either the 70-300mm or the 18-180mm lenses.
Could anyone tell me which of the two would zoom in closest and also if possible could you explain in simple terms how the numbers determine the magnification?
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El Sid
Going potty
Reged: 14/04/2003
Posts: 9296
Loc: Sussex-by-the-Sea
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The 70-300 will give you greatest magnification compared to a 'standard' lens though it may not necessarily focus as close as the 18-180mm.
I think the confusion you feel is down to marketing phrases such as 10x zoom which truly refer to the ratio of the longest focal length to the shortest. By this method the 18-180 comes out as a 10x zoom while the 70-300 is 'only' a 4.2x..... but, and it's a big BUT, 300mm is still 1.7x longer than 180mm. The net result is that at 300mm the 70-300 will give you an image almost 17x bigger than an 18mm setting...
Once upon a time in the days of film this sort of magnification comparison was based on a 50mm standard lens. With the Oly system this 'standard' lens is roughly 25mm. Based on this the 18-180 would allow you a maximum magnification of 7x standard while the 300mm comes out at 12x.
Any way you look at it the 300mm makes things look much closer then the 180...
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Nigel
Completely BSRIPN 
ElSid Gallery
A camera in the hand is better than one in the cupboard........
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Owley
newbie
Reged: 23/07/2008
Posts: 3
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Many thanks, that has been really useful. 
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El Sid
Going potty
Reged: 14/04/2003
Posts: 9296
Loc: Sussex-by-the-Sea
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No probs...
If you do get the 300mm don't forget that it's the equivalent of a 600mm super telephoto on a 35mm camera. If you don't have in-body IS you are likely to need either a tripod or a high shutter speed (which may mean high ISO) to avoid major problems with camera shake...
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Nigel
Completely BSRIPN
ElSid Gallery
A camera in the hand is better than one in the cupboard........
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