DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

Nice lens but with flaws

Started Nov 29, 2013 | User reviews
Steven Grimm New Member • Posts: 4
Nice lens but with flaws

This lens produces pleasing sharp images up to around 250mm and I've used it to good effect for wildlife photography among other things.

But it's not perfect. The image is soft when the lens is fully extended, to the point where I often back down to 250mm or so, crop, and get sharper-looking results than I would have at 300mm. The manual focus ring on my unit is quite stiff, which is a big problem given the focus-by-wire user interface on m43 cameras: it can be quite difficult to make super-fine adjustments to the focus because you apply a little bit of torque and the ring doesn't budge, then a bit more and it leaps past the point you were aiming for. I see other reviews complaining about similar issues so mine isn't an isolated case, but it may not affect 100% of units.

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm F4-5.6 OIS
Telephoto zoom lens • Micro Four Thirds • H-FS100300
Announced: Sep 21, 2010
Steven Grimm's score
4.0
Average community score
3.7
Bob Greenberg Regular Member • Posts: 206
Re: Nice lens but with flaws

I agree with your comments on the softness above 250, but I guess I'm fortunate to get a focus ring that operates smoothly. It may be because it's about four years old, though!

Bob

 Bob Greenberg's gear list:Bob Greenberg's gear list
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Olympus E-M1 Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm 1:2.8-3.5 SWD Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm F4-5.6 OIS Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm F2.8 OIS +1 more
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum MMy threads