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Who Chose the 300 f4 over the 100-400 for Birding and Why?

Started Jul 29, 2016 | Discussions thread
Robiro Veteran Member • Posts: 6,813
If reach is what you are after

If reach is what you are after, then I can show you what you will get with Pana 100-400mm. Check these comparison pictures.

Panasonic 100-300 at 300mm:

Panasonic 100-400 at 400mm:

Panasonic 100-300 at 300mm:

Panasonic 100-400 at 400mm:

This said, Oly 300mm is much sharper than Pana 100-400 at 300mm. It is not unreasonable to claim that you can extract equal amount or even more detail out of a 300mm shot taken with Oly 300mm PRO than from a 400mm shot taken with Pana 100-400mm. I've seen images made with Oly 300mm PRO that were considerably sharper and carrying more detail than anything I could ever achieve with Pana 100-400.

Yours is a tough decision making.

In sharpness, Oly 300mm PRO is the king. But Leica has a much smoother and more pleasing bokeh. Plus, the unbeatable versatility of a zoom lens.

 Robiro's gear list:Robiro's gear list
Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8 Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro Sigma 30mm F1.4 for Micro Four Thirds Olympus 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 IS
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