Does anyone in Melbourne have the Panasonic 100-300mm lens?

I live in Melbourne Australia and I would like to borrow / hire a Panasonic 100-300mm lens if there is anyone out there who is kind enough to loan it to me for a day or so.

I am attending an event this week and my Panasonic 45-150mm isn't going to give me the zoom I need.

I looked into hiring  the lens but no one in Melbourne rents this one out (that I can find) and I didn't want to go through the hassle of getting it shipped from Sydney. Michaels in the city have the equivalent Olympus lens but I really want the IS in the lens as I wont be able to use a tripod.

I am happy to leave you with a cash deposit to ensure your lens gets back to you safely and if you think I look dodgy when you meet me feel free to say no.

Happy to pay around $40 to borrow it for a day depending on where you live and how far I have to drive to pick it up.

I know there are other, better Pana zooms available but I figured the chances of anyone lending me a $2k lens would be nil.

Apologies if this is an inappropriate request as I am a first time poster.

Cheers,

Brett

Panasonic GM5 with 12-32mm, 20mm F1.7 and 45-150mm.

I don't have much gear but I look after it very well.

ozbretto wrote:

I live in Melbourne Australia and I would like to borrow / hire a Panasonic 100-300mm lens if there is anyone out there who is kind enough to loan it to me for a day or so.

I am attending an event this week and my Panasonic 45-150mm isn't going to give me the zoom I need.

I looked into hiring the lens but no one in Melbourne rents this one out (that I can find) and I didn't want to go through the hassle of getting it shipped from Sydney. Michaels in the city have the equivalent Olympus lens but I really want the IS in the lens as I wont be able to use a tripod.

I am happy to leave you with a cash deposit to ensure your lens gets back to you safely and if you think I look dodgy when you meet me feel free to say no.

Happy to pay around $40 to borrow it for a day depending on where you live and how far I have to drive to pick it up.

I know there are other, better Pana zooms available but I figured the chances of anyone lending me a $2k lens would be nil.

Apologies if this is an inappropriate request as I am a first time poster.

Cheers,

Brett

Panasonic GM5 with 12-32mm, 20mm F1.7 and 45-150mm.

I don't have much gear but I look after it very well.

I'm in Berwick, I have the Oly version if you dont get hold of the Panasonic...

Have you considered using the 2x digital magnification option on your GM5?

It works quite well even though there's some loss of IQ...

That is a good idea. I hadn't thought about using the digital zoom so I just had a play around with it and did some test shots. Unfortunately it seems you can't shoot raw using either the digital zoom or the extra tele conversion and I have no idea what the difference is between them both.

Thanks for the kind offer of the oly lens. I will see if I have any luck getting my hands on the panasonic lens or otherwise might just go with the digital zoom option

Cheers and thanks.

AFAIK, the ext tele function is only for video, (or maybe in low-res jpg stills mode?) it somehow  uses the centre portion of the sensor to give loss-less magnification in video mode.

Another option would be to use RAW or JPG set to its max quality and crop the pics at home after the event? That would be my preference I think....

Whatever, I agree the OIS of the Panny lens would be a blessing - the Oly 300mm on a GM5 body could be a bit of a challenge, although I have used that setup in the past....

Yes I think you are correct. the Ex Tele converter only works on smaller stills in jpg.

I have done a few test shots with the 2x digital zoom in good light but I don't think the quality of a distant object will be any better than shooting at max optical zoom in raw and cropping it down. But the 2 x digital zoom at 150mm did highlight the difficulty I am going to have holding the camera steady especially on fast moving objects.

Cheers

Hi, yes I do, send me back a PM and can try & organise something. I work near the CBD so will be best to collect from there during day or early evening. Cheers, RonOz

-
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/8773650576/photos/841812/p1110230a2a