aPreorder links to the two new MFT lenses:
Panasonic-Leica 100-400mm lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto and Panasonic. In EU at WexUK.
Olympus 300mm f/4.0 PRO lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, GetOlympus. In EU at Amazon DE. WexUK.
We finally got two very high quality tele lenses. And now tell our readers what you are going to buy: The Panasonic, the Olympus or both? 🙂
[poll id=”294″]
137 Responses
I’m getting one of them but holding onto my cash until I see several reviews.
The interesting question is: Are both of them that much (in terms of price 3-5 times) better than the Panasonic 100-300mm F/4.0-5.6?
A classic question of worth and value.
In other words, the answer is not the same from one person to an other.
With these kind of lenses, you are in an area of heavily diminished returns. That means for every doubling of price, you get less and less value.
Generally speaking, if you have to ask this question, the answer to you is – no.
But if you wake up at 3AM on a weekend to drive to location, and spend 3 hours sitting in a hide waiting for birds to pop out of a swamp, and then you get slight blur in images, and you realise you could have made the shot if only you had a sharper lens and a faster aperture, well then $2500 doesn’t really seem so much.
Hell, you do that enough times, enough weekends waking up before sunrise, enough soft images and missed autofocus, and that $4500 Canon 1DX with a $11,500 600mm f/4 starts looking like a bargain.
I’m not happy with my 100-300, so I could see the Panasonic being worth it. I’m a bit of a pixel peeper though..
I would probably wait until it comes down a bit in price/get a good sale though.
I might be the only person in this thread who’s actually really happy with their 100-300. To me, it’s a much better value proposition.
Yes, for professional work. No, for the average amateur that occasionally uses long tele.
I’ve preordered the Olympus 300mm, and can’t wait, after I saw the SLRgear impressions, to get it.
The 100-400mm could get in handy as well, but the 300mm will save me a lot of money! For those occasions I needed a long bright tele lens I used to rent Nikon gear, which is a drag to carry around. Although I’d be able to rent the gear many times before I’ll reach the price of the 300 or even the 100-400, it will be money well spend and it will simplify my workflow which will even be more valuable.
Another tick on the m43 list.
WHUT? A poll on 43OlyRumors, Where Panasonic is actually leading???
*head explodes*
Admin wanted it to say: Which are you going to buy? Oly or Oly
guess he got hacked 😛
Why are pana fanboys so obsessed with polls and all the guesswork?? I can see “hater” on your forehead a mile away.
How many times did you vote?
Will buy none, far out of my budget.
The panasonic looks way more versatile but I think this olympus is one hell of a great lens.
Personally I would like to shoot with the 75mm m.zuiko but that fixed focal length doesn’t make me to buy it, not versatile enough. And that is maybe the wrong direction Olympus is taking…
Not only am I likely to get the P100-400, but I am now likely to upgrade to the GX8. I didnt get the GX8 when it was released but am starting to get it.
As long as there’s no weirdness on my Oly body, the Panasonic is both more versatile and more affordable. Reviews may change my mind. And I’m not sure where the money will be coming from…
No buy at this moment .
Both price tags need to adjust a bit but most important is
current sensors are still not good enough for F4 lenses , need decent bright day support ,
in order to deliver picture quality that comparable with those top guns .
End of thread right here. Yun has spoken.
Do you ever buy anything Yun?
Or is it all about waiting for the elusive, never quite good enough?
Be fair to the rest .
With such big sum of money ( maybe is small for you ) , once should able to have something even
better across the line , at least in imaging quality .
X Pro 2 is around the corner follow by the most anticipated device , the a7000 .
Why not sit back & enjoy the show first before decide what to buy ?
What do you see in the X Pro 2, Yun? I’m puzzled.
Another level of imaging quality .
Likely be another breakthrough in APSC world again .
That seems highly unlikely, if not impossible. Fuji does not make their own sensors, they merely repackage them with a different colour-filter array that does nothing to improve the inherent sensitivity or photosite saturation. It reduces moire, but makes demosaicing and processing more difficult. Any advantage comes with an equal compromise.
If you are expecting another level of imaging quality from the X Pro 2, I think you will be very disappointed. Just as you are disappointed by every new camera that comes out.
Most likely, the 24MP sensor used for the “X-Trans III” will be one from Sony (or formerly from Toshiba) that has been on the market for 2 years. Maybe the one from the A6000.
Remember that the current 16MP sensor in all Fuji cameras debuted in 2012…
You are definitely wrong on this one .
Fuji will not launch something without real breakthrough for it’s flagship camera .
The latest APSC sensor from Sony will blow everything out with it’s 15 ++ Elv DR & that is the
sensor likely to debut in X Pro 2 & a7000 .
Let’s wait for few days & see if my guess is right .
We’ll see. If Sony has a new groundbreaking APS-C sensor, Fuji isn’t getting it at the same time.
Fuji has never had best-in-class sensors at any time over the past 4 years. They attract their fans with nice primes and retro looks and controls.
Too expensive both, but if I am going to choose one, PL 100-400mm is the more convenient lens for foreign trip. Not really into prime.
for those prices they should be a lot faster.
it depends on 1) Pana optical quality 2) if Oly can do dual IS with Pana lens
if both YES – then Panasonic looks more interesting
I’m going to buy an amazing holiday, and take my existing lenses along with me.
Wise decision!
neither – not in my budget
Probably neither 🙁
I really fancied the Olympus, but not enough to pay the price they’re asking! I’m also a bit disturbed about the appearance of the bokeh in the samples on DPReview : look at the lights on the tree to the left of the tram in http://www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/6057514745/sample-gallery-olympus-m-zuiko-digital-ed-300mm-f4-is-pro/3589054203
The Pana/Leica pricing is more what I had in mind, but f/6.3 is slower than I’m comfortable with at the long end. And it sounds as if its IS won’t work as well with my EM5-II.
The tree in the background in this shot is pretty bad as well –
http://1.static.img-dpreview.com/files/p/TS200x100~sample_galleries/6057514745/0476237195.jpg
ouch yeah, that is a bit jarring
I’ll wind up with the Olympus, but not for a while. Every time I buy a lens from Olympus, they drop the price about 6 months later. So maybe around the end of next year, it will be down to $1999. Or I can find one used.
Amen to that. I can’t stand the early adopter tax they place on us– the EM52 the latest and most obnoxious example. The 40-150 after a year was several hundred less too. The 12-40 was a good deal from the start because they gave us a bundle discount when we purchased it with the EM-1.
Then don’t buy. Leave the early adopter price to us pro’s, I need it and it will pay for itself in my case. These are specialty lenses and generally not for people that occasionally make use of it.
I think there are many pro’s that will buy one or both. And yeah there are are more and more colleagues seriously invested in m43 🙂
Cutting edge is bleeding edge 😉
For me having that lens in the 2016 season is worth the premium I have to pay.
Looks like the Panasonic now, unless I switch system. I wish panasonic could come out with a 1.4x tele converter (that still retains AF). Honestly though, when looking at other systems, something like the Sigma 150-600 sport, looks really good. Add that to a 5DS with 50mpix and the reach is probably at least the same in practical terms.
Yes, the reach is probably the same in practical terms, but since you are cropping on a 5DS, I’m not sure I’d realistically expect better image quality.
And you’re talking about a $6000, 3.7kg rig at that point.
Compare the GX8 + 100-400 @ $3000, 1.5kg
If you want reach, go for the highest quality native body / lens combination you can find with the highest pixel density.
If Nikon or Canon cared, they would introduce some high-end DX-specific lenses in this range, designed for high density sensors…
I think a Canon/Sigma combo would be a bit less than that, but point well taken about a gx8/100-400 combo. It is a far better proposition than a oly solution with the 400f4 in my opinion.
I had the 5DS and sigma 150-600 sport, sold the 5DS for a 7D2 and kept 150-600 sport, i was always cropping in enough to same FOV or tighter that the 7D2 would give me. Now I get 10 fps and image quality when viewed at %100 is same.
That said I’m still interested in both of these lenses and going back to m4/3 at some point. Handholding 8.3 lbs gives me quite the workout…and would love to shoot at f/4 instead of f/8, but autofocus that can keep up with 7D2 (tracking BIF) is my main concern. not to mention the money it would cost to switch.
I’ve got the Tamron 150-600 on a Sony A7R II, and while it’s a lovely lens, I think a lot of people underestimate how much of a wretched pain in the ass the damn thing is to carry and use. For video, I prefer the GH4 and the 100-300, and for stills, it’s kinda 50/50 which one I’d like to use.
Remember, if you only need 100-300 f4-f5.6. This is the lens, ignore the f6.3 part. Daniel Cox said the the max aperture remains f5.6 until 300mm
I am going to get the Olympus and take multiple pictures of my cat and my keyboard. No I’m not.
This is one area where Olympus and Panasonic will have a hard time convincing. I think anything above $1500 is too much to pay for M43 lenses especially for lenses that are not 2.8 glass. You can get a Nikon 200-500 5.6, Nikon 300 f4 PF or a Sigma 150-600 4-6.3 for about the same price.
Finding weather-sealed equipment for Nikon seems more difficult, though.
Since I also buy lenses for a Nikon D7200, I choose my lenses carefully. I see the value of Olympus’ weather-sealed lenses–since 2004 and three hurricanes.
Well I think you are plain wrong. These are the lenses we, pro teleshooters, have been longing for. We normally have to pay much higher prices than for what the Olympus sells for.
And don’t get me started about the total package to carry. That’s not only 1 camera and long lens like most amateurs do.
These lenses will be hard to get and many will pre-order, that’s my take on it.
A 300/2.8 would have been at least in the price range of the FT lens, which has a much bigger focus group. So, for one f-stop more it would have been a lot more expensive plus a lot more to carry with a front lens diameter of min 107mm.
Both lenses are fine, and will convince a lot of people.
Of course I will use my existing gear I bought. Why buy something, huh?
The pana if anything for sure, and mostly to have a reason to move my ass on the week ends a bit more 🙂
If 100-400 ever gets below $1000, I might pick it. I do not need the extreme tele, but there are few “wants” I have in mind.
I have noticed the good lenses never come down much. I’ve been watching Panny and Oly prices and apart from the occasional sale, prices are stable.
I got the Olympus 300/f4.0 on pre-order. The Panasonic at f6.3 is just a little bit slow for me. Most likely I will get the Panasonic in a year or more. Right now after pre-ordering the Olympus my camera gear budget is blown for a year plus.
I’ll rent the 300 when I need it.
For me, the Panasonic 100-400, but I need to be convinced it’s better in the hand with an Oly. OM-D or Pan. GM-series than a Nikon 1 J5 + 70-300.
I think I’ll just get a Nikon P900 and save $1100 to $1900,
On that note, I think i’ll just get 4 year old cell phone and crop.
Seeing that it is significantly below $2000 now, I’ll probably be going for the Panasonic one day. The other camera manufacturers’ current 400mm zooms all are, while 1/3 stop faster, between $2000 and $2500 (Canon, Nikon, Sony). The alternative would have been a Metabones smart adapter with one of the Canon 400mm options, possibly a cheap second-hand EF 400mm f/5.6L or EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L (I), but I guess the Panasonic lens will be better and it definitely will be much smaller and lighter even than the 400mm Canon prime.
Well, the Panasonic 35-100 was $1300 and now sells for $1000. So I expect the 100-400mm to settle at around $1500 in a year or two.
But the Olympus… even if the official price goes down, I doubt it’ll drop below $2000. Unless the sales are so bad the lens gets “re-packaged” like they did to their 75-300, which used to cost $900 but was repackaged and re-priced to sell for $500. And at $2000 and 1.5kg, this is a tough sell.
Also, with the 1.4 TC the Olympus is a 420mm f/5.6, which Pana is a 400mm f/6.3. I’d love to see this comparison.
Yup, probably $1500 by next black Friday. The bokeh looks very smooth in those samples released by Daniel Cox… looking forward to picking this one up.
Actually, you can get the Panny 35-100mm new for $800 (import version). I purchased my import version a few months ago and love it… especially for $800.
Olympus has already been benchmarked, tested, reviewed etc. And it is providing better sharpness and definition across the everything Canon, Nikon and Zeiss has made between 12.3° and 3.1° field of view wide open or even stopped down to f/8.
But the Olympus is prime, very difficult focal length even that makes it just unacceptable for that price range. Leica is much more versatile, offers higher change to get keepers because 100-400mm range and so on much more worth to money.
While Olympus can’t be even used on soccer field as everything from 2/3 field range to closer is just way too close.
Well, there may be more bird enthusiasts than soccer photographers. And even the latter often use primes because they know what picture they like to bring home.
Choice is good.
At this price, the lens better be sharp as hell
Sorry but the price, size, and weight of these two super zooms will only convince a lot of people to move to the FZ1000 with its 28-400 F2.8-4 zoom lens as a viable alternative and now costing only $600. Judging from the wonderful wildlife and butterfly pictures I have seen posted by users of the 1″ sensor FZ1000 I doubt you would see much difference unless enlarging a lot. and you won’t have to keep changing lenses to cover wide to tele range.
I don’t think any people are cross-shopping an FZ1000 with an $1800-2500 lens.
Perhaps they would compare it, as I did, with a used, $300 100-300mm consumer grade lens. I bought the 100-300mm because it cost less, had better reach, and let me use my existing cameras which have bigger sensors anyway.
Your humour is interesting.
The price ($2,700) has me looking at other options, including the FZ1000. Namely, the next generation Nikon 1 paired with their 900mm equivalent super zoom (together costing and weighing less than this) and also the superb FF options from Sigma and Tamron, which can dip way below $1k, leaving enough money to buy a very good FF body to go with it. I love M43 and am happy for stellar new lens options but this one might just not make sense.
Now show me the very good 35mm Olympus equivalent option from Canon and Nikon below the $1000 as you suggest. I’m curious.
I rent Nikon on a regular bases and the Olympus has no equivalent for the current price of €2500!!!!
The Nikon 1 will be a system to be reckoned with once one of the new sensor technologies make it to market: ie. organic sensor, Quanta Image Sensor, Graphene Sensor. Until then, as a system camera, I think the IQ/ISO performance is just under what I would consider sufficient.
Agree. It launched with an old sensor, I think. If they care about the system and give it something next generation, it could be amazing. AF and burst look incredible. I don’t want the current generation but am watching it evolve. Not for every use. But. As a super tele option.
erm, you’re aware I presume that you’re comparing 28-400 EFFECTIVE reach against 200-800 effective (100-400) and 600 / 840 effective (300mm lens with and without converter). It’s not in the same league at all. Don’t get me wrong, the FZ1000 is a great bridge camera and can certainly be used for wildlife but it’s not directly comparable at all as it has a lot less reach. You’d really need to look at it against one of the 200mm m4/3 zooms for a direct comparison.
Actually something like the FZ1000 has distinct advantages – the focal length of the lens is about 9mm so if you are shooting something like butterflies the DOF is significantly greater than if you used a lens with equivalent FOV on APS-C or FF.
absolutely and I’m not arguing that for one minute, but these new lenses aren’t REALLY for the butterfly shooters of this world are they 🙂 You can do that just fine on some of the shorter and cheaper lenses available. The long reach is best utilised on small and / or more distant or shy wildlife (other uses of course but this will be the main one). At this point the FZ1000 is not a comparable setup as the reach isn’t anywhere near as much. If you can get closer with it then yes it will turn out some great shots – as a similar example my son uses the FZ200 (600mm framing) and has some great Mountain Hare pics from it, amongst other things, so I’m really not knocking the camera itself, just the reach comparison being made above!
After using the G5+100-300 for a few years I’m looking forward to adding the 100-400mm to my new GX8. Looks like Pana have nailed this lens. Was hoping for under a kilo – tick, price – was hoping for under £1500 – tick. It’s gonna be great. BTW the accessories listed with the Oly 300mm at Wex include the 1.4 TC and Oly protective filter! Will check with Wex if this is right.
Wouldn’t really get either one, but if… then rather the bit more flexible Panasonic. If I were to go with Olympus, then rather the 40-150mm with MC-14 1.4x teleconverter.
I now have the Panasonic 100-300mm and an adapted Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D. And to be honest, those do just fine and I hardly have need for their range or more.
Neither is for me, but I could really use a 150-250mm or 150-300mm high quality lens.
If you got the cash and can find one, the Zuiko 90-250mm f/2.8 is stellar.
I think about it quite often. US$6999.99 isn’t the end of the world.
I grabbed a 90-250mm for the same $2500 bucks from Dann’s Camera Center out of PA . Damn near mint copy works great with my M-1. I wanted the 300mm but Uncle Oly dragged there feet so I canceled my B&H wish cart. If you have a chance to test ride a 90-250 do it.
Wow that’s a real bargain, nice find! I imagine it will be very good even with 2x TC.
I found it on eBay and it never sold. I contacted the camera dealer and we made the deal. They gave me a try and buy with a 60 day warranty. That’s pretty good service.
I use the lens for field sports only. I’ve used the 2x taking some moon shots.
I’ve got the 35-100mm f/2.0 and 14-35mm f/2.0 and I would like the rest of them but I have limited use for more than the 90-250mm f/2.8.
My two E-5 are mounted to my 35-100 & 14-35 when I’m shooting a sporting events. You can’t beat that lens combo. I use the 35-100 the majority of the time.
If you don’t shoot field sports then your right but if you happen to run into a shop that has one ask to give it a try.
I used to use the E-5 with the 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 for outdoor sports like cross country and the 35-100mm for swimming and basketball.
Since I’m now at skate parks, I’m using micro Four-Thirds equipment and doing a lot of wide and ultra-wide shots, along with a lot of video.
Do you have the new fish eye or 7-14. That would be cool for a skate park. As long as you trust the kids won’t run you over. I use the 35-100 for skate park action. Too old to get run over or have a bike land on me.?
Good luck and post up some pics
I’ve been using the Olympus 8mm f/1.8 fisheye and it’s been good but obviously, you have to be extremely close. Working into the twilight is finally possible and usable. I also use the Olympus 12-40mm, Panasonic 12-35, 35-100mm, and Panasonic/Leica 15mm f/1.7. It’s easier to keep two micro Four-Thirds bodies ready.
I’ve let people skate around me, and flip over me while I lie on the ground. No problems there.
Take a look at my big video, if you have time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_OJoz4_cRA
I watched the whole video and I was very impressed. Your post work with the background music was excellent ????. The quality of work that you can get from the m43 system is unlimited as you showed. Your back ground in graphics is top notch. Olympus should have you on as one of their Pro’s for the video end.
Here in Syracuse NY skate parks are limited and seasonal. The parks you guys have out there are crazy.
Thanks for sharing your talent. I’ll pass this along.
Chris
You are very kind. I don’t think Olympus should use me for video since most was shot with the GH4, a bit or two with the GX8. The E-M1 isn’t horrible but it isn’t consistent enough at video.
California has plenty, but so does NY, NJ, Philly, and even Delaware.
Oops sorry. I should have known better. The GH4 is hands down better in the video dept. That said Panisonic should contact you.
By any chance have you used any of the ZUIKO SHG lens with the GH4. Like the 35-100, 14-35 or the little Tuna 150mm? If the GH4 played well I wouldn’t mind picking one up with a grip.
The one outdoor park we have Tony Hawk donated five grand which is awesome. It’s half the size of the ones in your video.
What post software do you use??
I tried the 14-35 and 35-100 with the GH3 for stills and the 14-35mm was usable easily. Focusing on that lens is better on manual. The 35-100mm was very quick. In fact, all of my Four-Thirds lenses are focused more quickly on the GH3/GH4 than on the Olympus E-1. I don’t have the GH3/GH4 grip so I would rather keep a tripod handy. The balance isn’t horrible–better than on the E-M1–but I don’t want to be lazy with the 35-100mm on the MMF-3 adapter. It doesn’t seem strong enough.
I haven’t used any of my Four-Thirds lenses for video, but I could try them.
It’s amazing how I’m seeing skate parks in almost any small city. A lot of frozen towns seem to have riders and skaters.
Oh, and I’m using Phase One Capture One Pro for stills and I have used iMovie for all of my videos so far.
Would love to see a Bokeh comparison between these two…I suspect that the Panny is better…but I have 3 Olympus bodies and the IS will just not be there with the Panny for me.
What is a po boy to do?
Rather surprising but judging from the small web images available on Daniel Cox’s site, the zoom does appear to beat the prime for bokeh. Too bad the images aren’t available for download.
http://danieljcox.photoshelter.com/gallery/Leica-DG-Vario-Elmar-100-400mm-Ad-Campaign-Shoot/G00009FlbQL0Ds1Y/C0000y_1BYeU.nnI
Yeah…it look waaaay more creamy.
“but I have 3 Olympus bodies and the IS will just not be there with the Panny for me”
I don’t really understand. The Panasonic-Leica was designed to work on it’s own, so you turn the IBIS off, and the Lens OIS on, and you have it working as it was designed to be, so where’s the problem?
From my experience of shooting birds with Panny 100-300 (for now, ignoring the fact its IQ is poor at longer end):
1) It’s very rare that the bird is so close that I need a focal length shorter than 300mm.
2) f/5.6 is too slow at 300mm. When not under direct sunlight, it makes me push up ISO, and the depth of field is also far from being shallow. f/4 is going to make a huge difference for me.
3) It’s easier to locate the bird at wider angle, and then zoom in.
I will wait for reviews, but am currently prone to Oly, despite higher price and the inconvenience mentioned in 3. For non-bird-photography, my existing lens is already great at the shorter end.
For framing @300 a red dot is a pretty useful accessory 😉
The Olympus weighs 1,5 kg. Been there, done that. Never again !
I’ll go for the Panasonic if it turs out to bee good.
I wish I had a choice of PannyLeica at 100-300mm F4-5.6 priced at $1400-1500 with the same reported quality as the new 100-400mm.
The lens is reported to be f5.6 at 300mm. Wait several months to a year for the price drops and you’ll have your wish + an extra 100mm that you can choose to never use since it’s 1/3 stop too slow.
Hm…I was waiting so long for these lenses but regarding the prices I really think I might keep my Olympus FT 50-200 2.8-3.5. Together with the 2.0 converter it makes an 100-400 4.8-5.5 right? Of course much heavier and bigger than the Panasonic but maybe a good alternative.
Nooo.
With the 2x TC you have a 100-400 f5.6-7.1.
So it’s more flexible if you need the fast 50-200 already, but the 100-400 will be better in every other respect. Image quality, aperture, AF speed, focus limiter, etc…
Thank you FM and Turbofrog for your help! So I won’t buy the 2x TC and probably sell my 50-200 to get a…100-400…or a 300 f4…definitely a difficult decision!
2x is good with the 50-200 SWD but you must use f9 or f10 to get good results.
The 2x TC is adding 2 stops (just like aperture, teleconverters are 1 –> 1.4 –> 2 for 2 stops), so it’s 2.8 –> 4 –> 5.6 and 3.5 –> 5.2 –> 7.1 on the longer end, so it will make it a slower actual starting aperture.
Not just bigger and heavier, but the 2x TC would probably also make it optically inferior, and even with the hybrid-AF EM1, it’s bound to be slower.
I used to have the 50-200 and its not really a good performer with the EC-20. Better get the EC-14.
Yes, the Panaleica is more versatile in terms of zoom range but for birding or wildlife, 300mm and above is all I need. The Olympus has also quite a useful macro ability and with the 1.4x teleconverter it’s even better.
I’m cheap. If I get something like this, it would be the Olympus 75-300. Outdoors, I use the Olympus 14-150 II. Good enough for me.
Having owned both the 40-150 f4-5.6 and 14-150 f4-5.6, the cheaper 40-150 is far superior in sharpness on the longer tele end. The 14-150 is getting quite soft above 90 mm.
$1800? $2500? For a lens alone?
APS-C DSLR – from $200. Tamrop SP 200-500/5-6.3, in Excellent+++ condition, $319. You are welcome.
Yeah, have fun with that. I look forward to all the puzzled comments as to why their new $600 wonder rig is giving them such piss-poor results by comparison…
Why would it be “piss poor” on the bigger sensor with higher resolution and AF system actually able to track (the only m43 camera still able to track is E-M1, and it is fking 2016!).
Yeah, those $200 APS-C DSLRs are renowned for their high resolution sensors, state of the art AF systems, fantastic viewfinders, high burst rates, deep buffers, great controls, and build quality.
What are you going to get? A D3000? A D5000? A 40D? State of the art stuff, for sure…
People would take your comments more seriously if you didn’t make such absurd comparisons. There are APS-C combinations that may give you better quality. But you’re going to be spending thousands, not hundreds.
D3300 or SL1 or something for $200 on sale. Not D3000 etc, these are not even sold new for years.
SL1 on ebay lowest price is around $275. Not to mention its really not that great of a camera, and no… you aren’t getting 7Dii AF speed/tracking with it.
It is not so great of a camera (to say the least, it is junk), but even it will have much better C-AF than $1100 E-M5II, which some dumbfuck in Olympus decided to release without OSPDAF from E-M1.
You’re being absurd again, peevee. A D3300 body on sale still costs $300. And manages a 5 fps burst for 1 second before its buffer is full, before you need to wait 10 seconds for it to write to the card.
It also has just 1 cross-type AF sensor. Can you show that the continuous autofocus is even any better than the Panasonic G7? Certainly I haven’t found reviews to indicate as such.
Continues AF on all cameras without PDAF or OSPDAF is useless, as it just hunts around the moving subject. Try C-AF with that $2500 300/4 on your G7, then try any Rebel etc cheap junk with that Tamron. Cross-type is not necessary for PDAF to work, even CDAF in many cases uses just horizontal contrast (change in values along a sensor line, not across several lines) for fast readout.
And I said “FROM”. Certainly Nikon D7100 for $600 (ebay new) is more appropriate comparison to $1000 E-M1 and GH4 (the latter will have pathetic C-AF though).
When everything is soaked and fried, then what? Buy more of the same?
Tamron SP series lenses are generally weather-sealed. It is like L for Canon or PRO for Olympus.
Weren’t you the one who told me Moisture-resistant meant to not get them wet?
I know people who quoted the US$1100 price on the 150-600mm but the moisture-resistant variant is US$800 higher.
Huh? You probably talking about Sigmas.
Oh, I probably was. There is a C version for just less than the Tamron and an S version for much more.
But I was not even talking about the latest and greatest $1000 Tamron 150-600, with APS-C it is enough to have $319 Tamron 200-500 to match and beat this 100-400. In m43 crop, 500mm is 1000mm FF-e, not 800 even. 800 is ON FULL Canon APS-C sensor, 24mpix (in the latest incarnation, 18mpix in the ancient, still better than 16) and all.
I have found in real life that things don’t always work as expected by the numbers.
I want to see how these lenses work, not that I’ll be using one for regular projects. I want a Bigma and a strong tripod but it would be of limited use for me.
I get more work done with micro Four-Thirds than with my Nikon D7200. It’s good equipment, but the pixel density isn’t any better than with the 16MP sensor in the GH4 or E-M1.
Pixel density only matters for macro, or for tele WITH THE SAME LENSES (but unfortunately you cannot buy native 200-500 for m43 for $319). And it is not bigma.
Yes.
After
E-M5 x 1
E-M1 x 2
12-40mm x 2
40-150mm x 2
1.4x teleconverter x 1
25mm f/1.8 x 2
45mm f/1.8 x 1
17mm f/1.8 x 1
60mm macro x 1
15mm f/8 BCL x 2
7-14mm f/2.8 x 1
Do you really think that $2500 is something? GET A JOB AND GET THE MONEY!
$2500 is just 5 photography gigs extra for the month!
And there is not a single lens from Canon or Nikon between 300-600mm that would deliver sharper results than 16Mpix E-M1 with 300mm. Not a single one for same capabilities (AF speed, sealing, sharpness, size, weight).
And start carrying two systems with you and you will SUFFER and lose money!
And start handling files with two systems and you will waste money (time)!
What a waste of money.
The biggest issue I see for m43 is that they are still the underdogs (market share) and there really aren’t alot of new (esp. tele) photographers coming on board every year. So how do you convince the current Canon / Nikon (probably APS-C) users that they need to switch, that there are real advantages? They needed to produce a really excellent lens at a competitive price, not so much for current m43 users, but for the folks they need in the future. They didn’t do it. Whatever you think of Sony, you have to give them credit for really going the extra mile – thats what the little guys have to do.
Have them lift a camera bag with two APS-C bodies and 4 fast lenses. Then let them do the same with an M43 kit of similar effective focal lengths. The weight difference is what got me to switch.
Me too, but when the Oly 300mm is heavier than a Canon 400 f5.6 – it makes the case alot less compelling, especially at half the price. If you’re looking for a smaller kit there is also the Sony A6000 or Fuji XT1 – m43 is not the only game in town.
Does anyone know if the IS on the Panasonic 100-400 will work in conjunction with the Olympus in-body IS?
Both Panasonic and Olympus are using a combination of in-body IS and in-lens IS, but the implementations differ and are not compatible.
On Olympus you have the choice which IS to use when mounting the Pana. I don’t know about the opposite case, but it does not work in conjunction either – which btw only works only with the M1 and the M5.2, not even with the M10.2 or the M5!
Thanks Klaus… wondering how well the stabilization on that Pana will work with the stabilization on my EM1 turned off. Hmm.
Well, the OIS just works, and you can choose to use IBIS or OIS. They just don’t work at the same time together as with the 300/4
I don’t need a 600mm (equivalent) or 800mm lens. The 100-400 would be more useful to me, but it’s still longer, bigger, heavier and more expensive than I need. Oly’s 40-150 is a much more useful range, if only it had IS.
it looks like MFT still lacks a 135mm f4 prime or 100-150 zoom f4 light weight, affordable but sharp even at f4.
The more I think about it, the more I think the lens I really want is a 200mm f/2.8, i.e. an MFT version of something like this http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/lenses/canon_200_2p8 (ideally priced more like that one, too!)