The best lens I have ever owned bar none

howardfuhrman wrote:

Trevor,

Very nice set of photos that shows the potential of the 100-400. Do you shoot BIF? If so how does the lens perform?

Thanks Howard.  Well I think it performs very well, plenty of BIFs here https://goo.gl/photos/BTSxVgizqVtVFSDg6

But there are people who will tell you that shooting BIFs with m4/s is not a realistic objective so I guess it's depends where you are coming from.  I'm not just shooting BIFS I am shooting some very fast BIFs and the big plus with the 100-400 over my 100-300 is not only does it lock the bird much more consistently but it finds it again when I lose my subject.

Here's a new 'relatively' easy one from yesterday. I have a sequence of 8 pictures of this bird all in focus.

Not as fast as my small waders but nevertheless a fairly satisfying achievement

First impressions are good, it seems well made, fits the EM-1 + grip well and appears to be very sharp at 400mm

OIS works well when switched on but on first acquaintance it seems rather easy to accidently switch it off (has anyone else found this or is it my old, shaky fingers giving me trouble again? )

I'm taking it out for a proper test today and am looking forward to it

Thanks Trevor

A really boring sharpness example, a screw head on the sign for my wife's studio, hand-held from about 15ft

Brian Wadie wrote:

First impressions are good, it seems well made, fits the EM-1 + grip well and appears to be very sharp at 400mm

OIS works well when switched on but on first acquaintance it seems rather easy to accidently switch it off (has anyone else found this or is it my old, shaky fingers giving me trouble again? )

I'm taking it out for a proper test today and am looking forward to it

Thanks Trevor

A really boring sharpness example, a screw head on the sign for my wife's studio, hand-held from about 15ft

I haven't had a problem with the switches switching during shooting but I have moved them accidentally while pulling the camera/lens from my bag.  There have been a few times where I simply couldn't achieve close focus at a distance that should not have been a problem and when I finally got frustrated enough to actually look for a reason I found the focus/distance limiter switch had moved off of 'Full".  Check that first if you have close focus problems.  I'm getting more used to giving the lens a quick glance to see that all is switched as it should be.

Ranlee wrote:

Brian Wadie wrote:

First impressions are good, it seems well made, fits the EM-1 + grip well and appears to be very sharp at 400mm

OIS works well when switched on but on first acquaintance it seems rather easy to accidently switch it off (has anyone else found this or is it my old, shaky fingers giving me trouble again? )

I'm taking it out for a proper test today and am looking forward to it

Thanks Trevor

A really boring sharpness example, a screw head on the sign for my wife's studio, hand-held from about 15ft

I haven't had a problem with the switches switching during shooting but I have moved them accidentally while pulling the camera/lens from my bag. There have been a few times where I simply couldn't achieve close focus at a distance that should not have been a problem and when I finally got frustrated enough to actually look for a reason I found the focus/distance limiter switch had moved off of 'Full". Check that first if you have close focus problems. I'm getting more used to giving the lens a quick glance to see that all is switched as it should be.

thanks Randy, I think it is finger problems, I've rotated the switch block to its 90 degree position which seems to have solved the problem (must be the way I hold it?)

So far I'm delighted although I'm finding shooting overhead I waver more than I do when shooting my long canon lenses. Time to revise my technique again

Brian Wadie wrote:

Ranlee wrote:

Brian Wadie wrote:

First impressions are good, it seems well made, fits the EM-1 + grip well and appears to be very sharp at 400mm

OIS works well when switched on but on first acquaintance it seems rather easy to accidently switch it off (has anyone else found this or is it my old, shaky fingers giving me trouble again? )

I'm taking it out for a proper test today and am looking forward to it

Thanks Trevor

A really boring sharpness example, a screw head on the sign for my wife's studio, hand-held from about 15ft

I haven't had a problem with the switches switching during shooting but I have moved them accidentally while pulling the camera/lens from my bag. There have been a few times where I simply couldn't achieve close focus at a distance that should not have been a problem and when I finally got frustrated enough to actually look for a reason I found the focus/distance limiter switch had moved off of 'Full". Check that first if you have close focus problems. I'm getting more used to giving the lens a quick glance to see that all is switched as it should be.

thanks Randy, I think it is finger problems, I've rotated the switch block to its 90 degree position which seems to have solved the problem (must be the way I hold it?)

So far I'm delighted although I'm finding shooting overhead I waver more than I do when shooting my long canon lenses. Time to revise my technique again

That's a good solution, might even help with my problem.  As to overhead shooting, well I'm not young any more either but I am quite strong and it is a chore for me too.  I think shooting with glasses on doesn't help me.  I can't really steady the camera much with the viewfinder that way but I'm mostly blind without them so what you gonna do!

I think its a real nice lens Brian, I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun with yours.  Good shooting!

this at around 25ft 100% crop

this was at extreme distance 100% crop

egret with fish

mfd at 400mm

Good shots brian yes the ois switch is always being displaced on mine very easy done .be almost worth sticking some tape over it also to prevent it .How well does it compare to those canon sigma lenses you adapted to your em5 mk2? be nice to see a comparison although I know you sold on your sigma or bigma .

paul cool wrote:

Good shots brian yes the ois switch is always being displaced on mine very easy done .be almost worth sticking some tape over it also to prevent it .How well does it compare to those canon sigma lenses you adapted to your em5 mk2? be nice to see a comparison although I know you sold on your sigma or bigma .

The canon + metabones combo was with the EM-1 as well (tried it on the EM-5mk2 before I sold it but with only the centre focus point available and CDAF it wasn't that good, whereas with the EM-1 + PDAF and all points available it is a cracking combination

I've no direct comparisons and have traded in my EF70-300 LIS to fund the panny 100 - 400 but my first thoughts are that if anything the EF 70-300 LIS focus faster (PDAF only) than the 100-400 (CDAF seems to be the main focus so a bit slower and I can't remember how to force the EM-1 into PDAF focus at the moment)

I think the panny has better sharpness but perhaps the IQ is a shade behind the EF-70-300 (and of course it is a bit lighter and has 100mm more reach)

As I said, rotating the switch block 90 degrees has cured my finger problems

Much  more testing needed before a clear evaluation is possible but I'm liking it a lot on first acquaintance

The sun came out for the first time since I got my 100-400mm the other day, so I walked up to a local fountain I've shot before to see if the residents were around.

Not the most engaging captures shown with this lens, but I was blown away by the instant and millimetre perfect AFS performance compared to the slow and often 'hunty' 100-300mm.

Its a tough life down here, a few examples before breakfast across the bay from Highcliffe to Mudeford Quay, (about 1 mile away) with Old Harry Rocks in the distance (about 10 miles away) and Swanage 15 miles away in the far distance. The yacht is around a mile off-shore. All straight out of camera, cropped and exposure tweaked but no pp sharpening (jpg files with no in-camera sharpening, set to zero )

that is Swanage on the far coast

Trevor Carpenter wrote:

After a month of ownership, I thought a review might be in order. It's a long time since I have done one of these so bear with me if Its not as professional as some.

History: I have owned the Zuiko 70-300 and the Panny 100-400 and while both were excellent value for money, the 100-400 is in a different class. I am a specialist photographer in that virtually everything I take is related to my interests, so virtually all my pictures are of planes, birds, insects and a few trains, all of which have a habit of moving. I take some holiday snaps mainly with the Panny 14-140 which I really like but to be quite honest a P&S like my other half's TZ would serve me perfectly adequately. The Zuiko 70-300 suffered a bit from hunting and the 100-300 didn't hunt as badly but it did let me down sometimes with not locking the focus. The other noticeable failing of the 100-300 was that if I lost a moving subject, I could say goodbye to the shot. (more of that later).

Ergonomics and handling: It is not lightweight and people who think m4/3s is about low weight should stop reading now. After a month I have adjusted to the extra weight. I am using an Optech sling strap which definitely helps a lot. Much has been said about the stiffness of the zoom ring but I think mine straddles that too stiff/too loose thing just about right. I do find that it is very easy to move the lock ring and even a little movement is enough to add noticeable stiffness. There are 3 switches on the lens, I have Power OIS on all the time, even for fast moving subjects. I won't comment on it's effectiveness because IS isn't a big thing for me but I do see that stability in the viewfinder s very good. AF/MF is on AF all of the time. If I want MF I use the switch on the camera. I have accidentally switched the MF on a few times, creating panic while I work out why the camera isn't focusing. The full/5m limiter switch sounds like it would be good for someone like me but in fact because the focusing is just so damn good I have it on full all of the time. I have a GX7 and a G7 but the G7 was already getting most of the attention and bringing this lens on board has just added to that. The G7 and 100-400 are a dream team.

Performance: Well focusing with the G7 is just brilliant. A huge improvement over my previous lenses. I'm just about coming into my main BIF season but I have high hopes for it. Yesterday I was shooting fast jets. I would focus quickly but by far the best thing about this lens is I would lose the subject, defocus and if the subject remained in the viewfinder, I was refocusing in an instant. If you haven't experienced the downside of shooting like that it's hard to describe just how bloody fantabulous this is. Both my previous long lenses produced good results when they nailed the shot so what's different about this one? Well basic IQ is an obvious step up but it's what you can do after that matters. I am cropping and post processing with much greater confidence than before. I don't pixel peep but it is very clear once you start to play with the pictures that you have a huge amount more flexibility to fiddle and still be left with something worthwhile at the end.

I have experienced some back focusing issues. Initially with close ups such as flowers which I have largely overcome by changing the way I use focus boxes. I am still experiencing some back focus issues with BIFs especially against typically green backgrounds. It's probably reasonable to say that my previous lenses never showed this problem but that might well have been because they never nailed a difficult focus in the first place. I shall see how this goes over the next few months but at the moment it is no more than a slight niggle.

The 300f4 may still have the edge in IQ but I have to say it must be marvellous to better some of the results I have been getting. A fixed lens is very impractical for my shooting habits so it's not really a competitor for me at any price. In the last few days I have been shooting alongside 99% Canikon shooters and based upon what has been posted on line, I can hold my head up high alongside them

Summary: This lens puts m4/3s into a completely different ball game. If you shoot the sort of things that I do, sell your grandmothers jewellery to get it. It is heavy but not compared to any competition. It is expensive but again, is it really alongside comparable competition. I love it!

'll post a few shots but be warned , I am not interested in OOC results, these have all been processed and it's what I can do with a picture that matters much more to me than what the camera produces.

hand held 1/125 second

a very difficult bird to capture the texture

close up

and not so close up

Horse Fly, I'd have been pleased with that with a macro lens

nice light, good detail

What long lenses do best

Typhoon with full weapons load and you can see them all

F35, very fast and you can read Marines, very easily

Another oomphy shot

Trevor, the lens is obviously in very capable hands.  Thanks for your review and great selection of images demonstrating the lens's capability.

Cheers and all the best,

Mark

>>The 300f4 may still have the edge in IQ but I have to say it must be marvellous to better some of the results I have been getting.<<

According to people who have tested both - it is ..

"At 300mm and 400mm we begin to see results which are slightly less sharp: it's still very good, just not as tack sharp as you'll see at 100mm."

http://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/panasonic/100-400mm-f4-6.3-asph-power-ois-leica-dg-vario-elmar/review/

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From the same testers . . .

"Given our experience with Olympus' previous Zuiko Pro lenses, we expected great results from this 300mm lens…but we weren't expecting them to be this good."

http://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/olympus/300mm-f4.0-is-pro-ed-m.zuiko-digital/review/

The Panasonic is more versatile and seems to suit your needs very well. No doubt it trounces the old Zuiko 75-300 and you're putting it to great use!

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I already have the Zuiko 40-150mm f/2,8 + 1.4TC and that serves well too.

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We're spoilt for lens choice - MFT has about as many good lenses as the rest of the mirrorless brands put together

If you can use an extra 2+ stops of IS, the Zuiko 300mm looks like a gem and I lean towards it, as I have 40-210mm covered at f/2,8 and f/4.

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Have a look at images By Peter Paumgartner and Robin Wong with the 300 among others. It really is jaw-dropping.

Six years later. I am considering buying this lens to use with a Lumix GX8 and maybe a future OM-1. Any reason not too?

The competition is the similarly spec'ed Olympus lens which is heavier and larger. https://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/olympus/100-400mm-f5-6.3-is-m.zuiko-digital-ed/review/ suggests that the OIS and in-body can't be used together on an OM camera.

MtnBikerCalif wrote:

Six years later. I am considering buying this lens to use with a Lumix GX8 and maybe a future OM-1. Any reason not too?

The competition is the similarly spec'ed Olympus lens which is heavier and larger. https://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/olympus/100-400mm-f5-6.3-is-m.zuiko-digital-ed/review/ suggests that the OIS and in-body can't be used together on an OM camera.

I might be getting problems of mechanical shutter shock and AF inconsistencies for BIF with my GX8, but I imagine with a OM-1 it should be much better. I haven't been taking photos for a while, but I'm looking to give my PL100-400 another go if I decide to get OM-1.

Regarding the PL100-400 vs Oly100-400 .. I can't speak of IQ comparison because I haven't tested the Oly, but I will say that I like the fact that PL100-400 doesn't feel heavy, and I actually can fit it in a quite small shoulder bag of mine with 4 other lenses (I can leave it off vertically, or if I want it to stay on camera body, it can stay in the bag horizontally with the body attached). If that's important to you, you might want to check in person how big the olympus is and which bag you can fit it in.

Make sure you get a good return policy and I'd advise against buying used.

This lens has a very poor record of quality control..

I'm very happy with the Olympus 100-400 which was great out of the box. I suspect a lot of used Panny's hit the market when the Olympus version was releaded.

I can't recommend the OM-1.

The Olympus 100-400 and OM-1 will have a form of coordinated image stabilization that is not quite complete synchronization, and thus does not earn the Sync IS branding. However, it is supposed to be quite good, as described in the linked article:

With IS enabled on both the lens and the body, you'll see stabilization benefits from both components: yaw and pitch stabilization from the lens and roll stabilization from the IBIS (as far as we know and according to the specs, X- and Y-shift correction from the IBIS doesn't seem enabled or available with the 100-400mm). Should you want, you can also enable or disable IBIS or Lens IS separately, and to turn IS off entirely, you need to switch it off on the lens and in the camera.

On a GX8, you would have your choice of using the body’s IBIS unit, or the Olympus 100-400’s optical IS. With the Panasonic 100-400, I believe you would be able to make use of Panasonic’s version of Sync IS, which is called Dual IS.

'..it's what I can do with a picture that matters much more to me than what the camera produces...'

Well said, my ethos exactly... Excellent work! 🙏🙏🙏

PhotoMac503 wrote:

Make sure you get a good return policy and I'd advise against buying used.

This lens has a very poor record of quality control..

I'm very happy with the Olympus 100-400 which was great out of the box. I suspect a lot of used Panny's hit the market when the Olympus version was releaded.

I can't recommend the OM-1.

They say that. I bought one new, cheap on-line and it's a great lens. I've had it for years and it's my most used lens. Excellent image quality etc. Maybe I was lucky.