My hat's off to OM System

[daddyo]

After spending some time with my new OM 100-400mm Mk ll lens, there is one area of improvement that makes me realize that the engineers at OM System are observing and thinking in very practical ways.

Aside from adding Synch IS, which is why I upgraded from the Mk l, a surprising and least considered improvement in my decision process, is the change in the tripod collar. I'm not referring to the hinged design, although that is a nice feature; but rather to two other simple changes.

First, is the moving of the collar/lens alignment marks on the collar and lens body from the front of the collar to the rear of the collar. When the lens/camera is mounted to a tripod, it is now much easier to see and align the marks with the camera at eye level.

Second (and I just realized this yesterday), is a thoughtful redesign of the tripod collar foot. Like many, I have often carried my camera/lens compo in one hand using the tripod foot as a grip. The problem is that the Mk l collar foot is tapered, and I never felt like I had a secure grip, so really avoided carrying the camera that way with one hand. The new Mk ll foot has been lengthened slightly, and given a 'flat' profile, and in addition, the camera side of the foot now has a nice indention for the tip of your thumb to rest.

These are not earth shaking, but very nice improvements that show someone at OM is thinking.

 

[Sylvan120]

Are you happy with the performance of the lens?

 

[daddyo]

Yes I am. The improvement in IS with the addition of Synch IS is a definite improvement -- not earth shattering, but for birding (which I love to do) every bit of improvement helps. I have not attempted a side by side comparison of sharpness with my Mk l (which I still have, but will sell), but it is every bit as sharp, if not slightly sharper.

 

[macrophoto_markus]

Yes I am. The improvement in IS with the addition of Synch IS is a definite improvement -- not earth shattering, but for birding (which I love to do) every bit of improvement helps. I have not attempted a side by side comparison of sharpness with my Mk l (which I still have, but will sell), but it is every bit as sharp, if not slightly sharper.

Why does everyone always call it Synch IS It's Sync IS for Olympus/OM System

 

[daddyo]

You're correct. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Woody Meristem]

Yes I am. The improvement in IS with the addition of Synch IS is a definite improvement -- not earth shattering, but for birding (which I love to do) every bit of improvement helps. I have not attempted a side by side comparison of sharpness with my Mk l (which I still have, but will sell), but it is every bit as sharp, if not slightly sharper.

Tested my new 100-400mm ii against my old 100-400 i. Used my OM-1 with a tripod and switched lenses, keeping the ISO, aperture and shutter speed the same to shoot several series of photos with each lens. There was a noticeable improvement in image quality with the new lens. The older version is off to be sold today; it was a good lens and I was happy with it , but the new one is sharper, with an improved foot, plus it has sync'd stabilization, it's a better lens overall.

 

[cc99]

Yes I am. The improvement in IS with the addition of Synch IS is a definite improvement -- not earth shattering, but for birding (which I love to do) every bit of improvement helps. I have not attempted a side by side comparison of sharpness with my Mk l (which I still have, but will sell), but it is every bit as sharp, if not slightly sharper.

Why does everyone always call it Synch IS?

The Greek syn means with, and chronos means time, so splitting the c and h seems odd.

 

[macrophoto_markus]

Yes I am. The improvement in IS with the addition of Synch IS is a definite improvement -- not earth shattering, but for birding (which I love to do) every bit of improvement helps. I have not attempted a side by side comparison of sharpness with my Mk l (which I still have, but will sell), but it is every bit as sharp, if not slightly sharper.

Why does everyone always call it Synch IS?

The Greek syn means with, and chronos means time, so splitting the c and h seems odd.

OM has named it sync is.