Bruno Labarbère shared those new pics on Twitter. We still have no official release date of the lens but for sure it will be announced between CES and CP+!
Bruno Labarbère shared those new pics on Twitter. We still have no official release date of the lens but for sure it will be announced between CES and CP+!
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18 Responses
Not too bad. I think I could live with the size for those ocaisions the reach is needed.
Rough pixel measurement compared to the 100-300 indicate that it’s about 17cm long and 7.9 cm in diameter. Extended it’s about 28.5 cm.
It’s hard to read, but I think it says 1.3m minimum focus distance, which is good.
Ah, hence the switch to lock it off above 5m. No more autofocus seeking onto my finger.
My precious..
That’s a big ol lens
I didn’t expect the lens will extend when zooming in lol
So it’s a fixed sliding hood or what ?
(that would be nice)
nice! what is the minimum aperture?
These are the first pictures to show the physical zoom extension. Hopefully the extending barrel is free of wobbles and has a decent seal to deter pumped dust ingress.
Some like to criticize the extending design, but it allows a less optically-shortened path and is a perfectly reasonable design trade-off. However, it’s not discreet; you’ll be advertising the fact that you’re reeling in a distant subject.
Extending for that focal length & range would have to be a given though. The Olympus 40-150 internally zooming telephoto lens is nice but is always a little long as was the 12-50 Oly lens for its focal length, but you can’t have it both ways.
Putting it next to the awful 100-300 is bad omen.
Awful? It’s a fine lens for its price. Is it a great lens? No, but there is nothing better in that price range
I suppose it depends on what you’re doing with it and your tolerance for image quality. I had the 45-200mm and it was dismal, at best.
I wanted a compact lens and it looks like Panasonic is going to deliver. I also want one that is better optically than my 100-300, is fairly light and has a price that reflects its performance. A lens with as much glass as required for a 100-400 f6.3 zoom cannot be a featherweight but going with f6.3 instead of f5.6 shows it was a consideration.
The biggest unknown for me is optical quality. I am not going to pay 330% more just for 33% more reach. This lens is also going to have to be much better optically than my 100-300. If I buy this lens it will be for the 300-400 part of its zoom range. If the reviews include phrases like “razor sharp in the 100-250mm range” or “needs to be stopped down for best results at 400mm” I am not going to buy it. I also want better contrast than the 100-300.
Due to the high pixel density of m43 cameras this lens is going to need to have better resolution as measured in lp/mm than FF or APS-C lenses that cover the same focal length. If I buy a 24MP m43 camera a few years from know I would like a lens capable of making use of that pixel density. I am skeptical if the 20+ year old designs for existing 300mm f4 primes and old 100-400mm zooms that sell for $900-$1200 can provide that much resolution. I have a Canon FD L 300mm f2.8 and used to own a Canon FD L 300mm f4. These were both top of the line pro lenses 30 years ago. But when used on my GX7 they have to be stopped down for best results. More modern designs like the updated Canon 100-400 sell for $2200 so I expect to about $2000-$2500 if this lens has the optical performance I want. Being f6.3 instead of f5.6 should help a little with the price but just a little.
It looks like this will be yet another lens that requires an adapter to be mounted on an Arca-Swiss tripod head. It is a small detail but I really wish camera companies would start using that as the standard for tripod collars.
Yes!!! I see a gasket on the lens mount!!!! Finally a weather-sealed super-tele for M4/3s!!!!
Only two settings for the focus limited? That’s really limited and will take some time. Hopefully, the focus is faster than expected of such a small maximum aperture.
Can you tell me why it will focus slow with small aperture @ 4-5.6?
I thought GX8 has already done such a good job focusing on its sensor?
Big glass moves slowly, and there is a limit to the focusing motor within the lens, always.
Even though the GH4 is one of several models with the “world’s fastest auto focus”, it or the GX8 won’t be able to push the lens to go faster than it can.
The GX8 will work with the lens to focus, as fast as the electronic interface will allow (240 times per second, as I recall) and the lens must do its best to keep pace with the information exchange.
Using a focus limiter will help keep the focus within a certain distance, saving time, rather than requiring the lens to focus within the whole range of the lens.