Got that email from BHphoto that lists the yet non announced 300mm PRO lens. Hope this means Olympus will launch the lens soon…
New Olympus stuff preorder links:
7-14mm f/2.8 PRO lens: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, GetOlympus, WexUK.
8mm f/1.8 PRO lens: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, GetOlympus, WexUK.
Titanium E-M5II: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, GetOlympus, WexUK.
Accessories:
7-14mm Olympus LC-79 Lens Cap at BHphoto.
Olympus PPO-EP02 Dome Port for 8mm at BHphoto.
Olympus PPZR-EP05 Focus Gear for 8mm at BHphoto.
Olympus POSR-EP10 UW Anti-Reflecting Ring for 8mm at BHphoto.
11 Responses
The 300 was also mentioned in at least one of the press releases for the wide angle lenses.
I would like to have it… I don’t need it but I want to have it. Just to make the family whole… Have the 12-40, the 40-150 and preordered the 7-14 yesterday…
Well, I will use it eventually, but…
It’s the end of the college sports season so it’s to late for that. But and I do say but if it gets released and shipped the 4th of July I’m in. If it’s fall I’m out and can wait till spring like other 4/3 shooters. Olympus has to have a faster turn around or I’m afraid they may loose more customers.
It will be interesting to see how this lens compares to the Canon 300mm F4 with the new Kipon adapter. The Olympus lens does not look to be that much smaller than the Canon and the cost may be similar.
Yes, that will be interesting indeed. As Canon’s lenses are not designed for the thicker Micro Four Thirds filter stack, the Canon 300mm f/4 might be softer wide-open, even if the optical design is exactly as good. On the other hand, there might be no significant difference, because f/4 isn’t all too fast and the effect is the less pronounced the slower a lens is…
But more than that, people who are interested in a 300mm f/4 lens might be interested in the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, too, and while I find the latest version II of that lens a bit too expensive, the very decent version I can still be bought, too.
And, while we’re at it, how about the 600mm zooms Tamron and Sigma make?
Then again, we don’t know yet how precise and trustworthy AF through the Kipon adapter is, even if it does seem fast. And I’d expect the Olympus lens’ AF to be faster still.
And another thing: One of the major reasons for me to buy the Olympus 300mm f/4 lens will be the existence of the MC-14 1.4x converter (otherwise I simply would stay with my ZD 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 plus EC-14, giving me a very decent 280mm f/4.9 lens). Will the MC-14 work with the Kipon adapter, too?
The longer the lens, the smaller the impact of the filter stack thickness. I would be very surprised if it still plays a noticeable role with a 300 mm f/4 lens. The main optical difference will likely be that the Olympus lens is more optimised for high central lp/mm resolution than the Canon.
“The main optical difference will likely be that the Olympus lens is more optimised for high central lp/mm resolution than the Canon.”
You’re most likely correct on this as the Canon 300 F/4L IS is quite good, but not razor sharp wide open like the other Canon telephotos. Actually, the 300 F/4 L non-IS will be the better option to adapt for m43 as it’s appreciable sharper and currently sells for about half the price. The lens that I suspect that will be the real homerun for the adapter though is the 400 f/5.6L. That lens is incredibly sharp wide open and is in the highest tier of AF speed in the Canon line. The only real complaint about that lens at the moment is that there’s no IS and putting it on an E-M1 with an adapter would take care of that concern.
While the optical resolution might indeed become an issue, although currently with 16 MP no more than when used on a 24 MP APS-C sensor, is it really true that the sensor stack thickness matters less the longer the lens is? Thinking about it, I once had the impression that the legacy telephoto lenses (up to 500 mm) I tried on Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds bodies, compared to a NEX I used to have for some time, seemed similarly affected, even when comparing between a 12 MP FT sensor and a 16 MP APS-C sensor. I did no lab-quality tests back then, though, and stupidly I sold the NEX before I had time for more comparisons after I bought the E-M1.
LensRentals discussed this, in the link below, they calculated how a perfect lens would be affected by the coverglass. If you scroll down to “Exit Pupil Database”, you’ll see that for long exit pupils (which correlate with focal length in general, see table just below), the effect of the cover glass on the resolution decreases with increasing exit pupil (and thus focal length).
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/06/sensor-stack-thickness-when-does-it-matter
The status of the lens at BH is now “Coming soon”
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1031587-REG/olympus_300mm_f4_0_pro_m.html
Olympus needs to get the 300/f4 out fast, otherwise the Kipon adapter will have a severe effect. Canon lens portfolio isn’t too bad if you’re a sports or wildlife shooter. Canon 300 f2.8 with 2.4kg is a better alternative to Olympus ZK equivalent – cheaper and lighter at least. If Oly is not able to get out its glass that has been teased for almost 2 years now, I will buy a Kipon/Canon combination on my next trip to HK this summer.