UPDATE: You can now preorder the lens at Amazon US.
The same German magazine that revealed the full Olympus 300mm PRO lens specs (article here) also released some Pansonic 100-400mm MFT lens info:
- Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4.0-6,3 Power OIS
- weather sealed
- 20 lenses in 13 groups
- 72mm filter size
- 83x172mm (size) and 985g (weight)
- Price and shipment start to be determined
The magazine hands-on report also says the lens is “silent” and focuses very fast.
53 Responses
Wonder how long it really is, as it extends to what looks double. And then you still need to add on the lenshood…
http://www.chassimages.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=on5e1rttemrtdf3khs40gehsr7&action=dlattach;topic=238082.0;attach=889398;image
Not as compact as we thought initially.
Will be more compact in the camera bag, which is what counts. It is not important how big it is when mounted on a tripod for use.
Also consider the camera bag, tripod, tripod head you will use … All added up
And you will probably need also a camera…
haha of course. Anyway it is very easy to overlook those thing.
No? It is what I though it would be actually. It is a bit difficult to compare, but I’d say looking at the real dimensions and weight it is a very small lens comparetively.
Look again, it doesn’t extend to nearly twice the length, perhaps twice the length of the 100-300 collapsed. The longish front element section makes it look like it extends further, but that area is present collapsed or extended. Pay attention to the actual part of the barrel that extends and there you will see the difference, probably 50%, 60% at most.
Here it is at the correct scale, the extension looks less than 50% even, maybe more like 1/3rd, certainly nowhere near 100% extension: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/499159/100400pan.jpg
Note that the 100-400 lens has the pull out lens hood extended in these photos. Compare these pictures to the one in the original post and you see that the ring is slid forward. So, the 100-400 with lens hood extended is the same length as the 100-300 lens fully extended, but without its lens hood (about 190mm measured on my 100-300). The 100-400 fully extended looks to be about 253mm, scaling from the picture above. This is only 23mm longer than the 100-300 fully extended with its lens hood attached. It worries me a little that the 100-400 doesn’t have a longer lens hood to protect against flare. Maybe will need to buy a longer accessory hood if that is a problem.
It amazes me that the Olympus 40-150mm Pro zooms and focuses internally. Its a marvel. The extension of the Panny when zooming is intense. Not a plus in my world. I am sure that both lens-designs (internal vs. external) have their pluses and minuses (i.e. design/performance, cost, constraints).
The Panasonic 35-100 focuses internally as well, so it’s nothing new. Weather sealing and smaller.
yeah…but the Panasonic 100-400mm does not. 🙂
It would be a lump to carry around if it was internally zooming. There is such a thing as being practical with design!
Ross…my Oly 40-150mm f/2.8 is internal zooming..and for what it does I think it is very reasonably sized. I love the fact that it stays the size that it is when I zoom and does not extend to China (exaggeration of course!) Great lens.
Too bad this ad does not list the price. Will be very interested in the comparison of this lens to the Oly 300/4 with the 1.4x converter attached. Which will have the better image quality at the long end of the range? I’m not as worried about the f5.6 to f6.3 difference, because that is only a third of a stop. This lens could be the real winner in image quality. Will sit on my wallet until we see some test results.
It’s not an ad. It’s a leak published by the magazine.
985g? This definitely means that the Panasonic rep that let me fondle the prototype in Stockholm did “lie”, because that one sure didn’t weigh close to a kg.
And ? 985 isn’t that far from 1000 in my books …
What I meant was that it felt more like half a kg or less, and the rep said that he weight of the prototype would be very close to he finished product.
It was not a prototype. It was a mockup lens.
Yes, you’re right, but the Pana rep said that the weight was correct. Still, both weigh and size is in Oly 40-150/2.8 territory, which is still quite light for what it offers. And given that it isn’t for what I shoot most, I shouldn’t really complain anyway. 😛
Ah ok sorry, read too quickly..
Roughly twice the weight of the GH4 but under half the weight of the 2+kg 4/3 Bigma 50-500
I wouldn’t be so sure. Assessing a weight without a good reference is a difficult thing to do. He had no reason to lie etc or it could be he was told something incorrect here. Anyway: under 1 kilo for such a well built lens at that FL is really not much. It is close to the 40-150 Oly with the tripod collar….But however we compare; to my mind so far Panny has nailed it. I would not have had a problem with it being 1300-1400 gram and f3.5 to f4.8. But it would be more expensive and bigger…..And we all can be exaxting here.
From what we know now, to my mind, this lens fits in SO WELL with the 12-35 and 35-100 f2.8. All very well built and all giving a substantial size and weight reduction over their APS-c counterparts…The 7-14 Oly, 12-35, 35-100 and 100-400 Panny’s combined seem to one heck of a team. Weighing in at near 2,5 Kg with a GX8 or Gh4 that seems to be a fantastic and comparetively lightweight combo….
No, I don’t think that he really lied. Maybe guessed or was misinformed.
Very good looking lens. Hopefully it stacks up well against the Nikon cx70-300.
Not a good comparison as the Nikon 1 J5 has the capabilities of other CSCs of three years ago. Plus any lens review runs along the lines of, “it’s a Leica” – ‘nuf said.
I don’t see why you think this is a poor comparison. I for one am very interested in how these two lenses compare in many respects – size, price, weight, sharpness at max. aperture, contrast, focusing… The J5 + 70-300 already wins in some respects. I’d buy this combo right now if not for the upcoming announcement of the PL 100-400.
I agree, The J5 IQ is indeed like a current best m43s almost when it comes to dynamic range, but it is like a G1 when it comes to noise. So a bit of a mix. But a pretty good mix. The lens is simply very good and also much smaller for the FL. And a lot cheaper too. Its shaprness is really good. One thing hampers it: not sealed. That is a downside. Oh and wanother one migt be that the DOF is even bigger than with Panny especially at the lower end of the focal range.
But: the Nikon is simply an excellent lens waiting for a V4 which should be a J5 plus fantastic EVF.
More details and quite interestingly, the price goes from 2600 Euros to “k. A.” which I suspects means “kein Ahnung” (no idea)
The €2600 price is for the Olympus 300mm f4, not this lens. Let’s hope this one is less expensive.
I expect the Leica to be expensive but held under the £2000 barrier, that’s €2700. The Olympus is a prime and they’re cheaper to make. Given a choice between the two, the Olympus is physically too long and too heavy and its focus length is too short.
Most recent rumours, fwiw, were 1999 euro. Not Pounds. So that is 1400 pounds or so…Just rumours. If it is 2000 euro and it is excellent, Olympus gets what Panasonic prevented with their 150 mm f2.8…The latter being withdrawn it seems because of the 40-150 F2.8 Oly. Olympus has very tough competition on its hand likely with this Leica. Still: I have so little doubt its IQ will be better than the Panny and object isolation will be better too. Just the bokeh…I found the bokeh of the 40-150 2.8 not pleasing in contrast with the 35-100 f2.8 Oly which does have very nice bokeh….I think that bokeh on this lens is very very essential. If we drool over its sharpness but are distracted by bokeh, wauw…that would be a huge downside. On the flipside this might precisely be its strengths and the Panasonics weakness….Exciting times for m43 owners with a fat wallet…
> less expensive.
With the “Leica” in the name? See prices of: PL15, PL25 and PL45 lenses.
And PL42.5. So much more than even Fuji 56/1.2. They much be paying dearly for the label to stick on it. 😉
k.A. means “keine Angaben” (no informations)
I guess we were on the sam wavelength.
Lol!
Wahrscheinlich hatte ich kein Ahnung 😉
It’s beginning to look like a must-have lens
Weather sealing is a big plus! That was in question apparently for some time… This lens is looking very attractive. Having the zoom allows for much easier subject acquisition and framing using long focal lengths. We’re going to have to wait a few months till the tests roll in on quality control and unit variation, center v corner sharpness, image stabilization, handling, aberrations, and of course rendering.
At least weight and size are reasonable, unlike the overweight Oly 300/4.
Seems reasonable after the shock regarding the Oly. But still the same weight as TWO Lumix 100-300mm lenses. I’m hoping the listed weight includes the tripod adapter.
Yes it will be heavier than a consumer lens. You’ll just have to decide how important IQ, performance, and reach is. Personally when I have need for a lens like this mass and size are not such problems. Usually riding not hiking. When shooting the extra mass is actually helpful. Makes it a bit easier to keep the everything steady.
Yeh, crazy and crazier.
Don’t know about you, but for AF purposes I’d rather have a 300mm lens with a 77mm front end rather than a 400mm lens with a 72mm front end. Something to do with the amount of light. LOL The realty is that, like the quality of a printer, the quality of a lens tends to correlate with mass. For a high quality 300mm f/4 lens, the Oly is spot on as far as size and weight is concerned. No idea why you think it’s overweight.
I agree, the Oly would provide better image quality for supertele applications in most cases. But hell, Oly did not do a very good job with the weight or size. Some modern tech, like Canon’s DO or Nikon’s PF would not hurt them at all.
A 300mm f/4 lens has an aperture of 75mm. That’s physics and can’t be changed. Maybe you should shut up and read rather than talk and look like an idiot.
1. Fist of all, it is APPARENT aperture size, as seen from the front of the lens.
2. Just like any other 300/4 or 600/8.
3. And I never said otherwise, you look like an idiot arguing against something nobody mentioned.
Nikon 300/4 PF has the same exact apparent aperture, covers 4 times bigger area of the sensor with the same intensity of light (meaning transmits and focuses 4 times more total light), and weighs only 755g, not 1.35kg as this lens. That is why I am saying that Oly should either invest in better technology, or at least price their stuff properly.
Preis: k.A. means “keine Ahnung” ?
Lol! 🙂
Or “keine Angabe” more probably.
I think both these new lenses, the Panasonic and the Olympus (and 1.4x) will be great additions to the system. It is cool that they are so different as is gives MFT users quite a different choice for their photography needs, and budget. Although, both lenses are high-end budget items.
Still there is a LOT of choice there. I guess we will know more in a couple of days.
Low budget = panasonic 100-300 mm lens
….and softness galore…..I had one of the cheap Panny zooms way back when the system was really new. I think is was the 45-200mm f/4.5.6 G Vario MEGA O.I.S Lens… …and the contrast and sharpness just did not cut the mustard. I think that lens is worth what you pay for it though. They are reasonably priced.
The tests for the 100-300mm seem to show the same, especially at the long end…which what you buy the lens for, generally.