Panasonic 35-100 f2.8 over Olympus 40-150 f2.8?

Wallybipster wrote:

This has been very informative to read, as an owner of the 40-150 Pro who has been recently considering a 35-100 as a complimentary lens. I say this because I don't generally carry the 40-150 on long hikes. My current solution is to just bring the cheap F4-5.6 40-150 so I have a tele in the bag, but I was thinking I may appreciate the Panny F2.8 tele zoom a little more.

I'm sure the 35-100 provides better sharpness and contrast across the overlapping ranges than the small 40-150, but I'm curious if users of the Panny lens feel they could crop out to 150 or so without a terrible penalty.

Wally

Agreed, I too have appreciated this thread, as I carry the 40-150R as my only long lens at present. While it can produce decent results when used with care, I am pretty sure that a crop of the 35-100 at 100/2.8 would likely match the the 40-150 at 150/5.6 for detail, and beat it at 100/4 vs 150/5.6, still giving at least a 1 stop advantage over the whole range, if not more.

Of course, at $100 vs $1000, the 35-100 should be a lot better...

I've considered the 70-300 or 100-300 but given how rarely I use the 40-150R, I think the 35-100 would be a better choice as I would use it for portraits where the 12-40 leaves off. It covers the 85-135mm FF range nicely, if not giving quite the same isolation potential.

Probably too late for my wish list this year...