Just to give an update on my situation.
I have contacted the shop where I got my lens so they could give a look on the rotation issue. Passed there last Friday and I was told (as expected) that this is normal and happens in another lenses and systems.
By coincidence, at the same time there was another Olympus shooter in the shop (first time I see one in the wild) and he has the same lens. He showed me that he had the same issue but he didn’t care and was shooting normally in the great irish weather with no problems.
At that moment I realized that, there was no way I could get my situation sorted. Even if I insist with the seller to refund me or send my lens to repair or replace it, the chances of getting one exactly with the same problem are very high according to all reports online and my personal experience on Friday.
Even if not happy (I still believe a lens that cost 1300€ should not show that behavior) I came home and started thinking on another solution.
I decided to do a bit of DIY (again, ridiculous that I need to do that on an expensive lens).
Lens mount unmodified (the problem is that big gap, larger than the camera mount pin):
View attachment 860524
I decided to precisely insert a bit of tape on the gap so make it thinner and reduce the rotation.
Lens mount after modification:
View attachment 860525
There is two layers of tape there. Tried to put a third one but the pin would not fix so I had to take it out. With two layer the rotation ins still there but less evident and there is no metallic noise anymore as you can see on this video:
Not ideal but there is a good improvement.
After a terrible day yesterday, I tried my first shoot on a less bad weather.
Very dark and misty weather but got some test shots.
This were the conditions (IPhone picture)
View attachment 860526
Now some details from the other side of the river.
View attachment 860528View attachment 860529View attachment 860530View attachment 860531
To finish, some shoots during a walk by the river.
View attachment 860532
Photo is blurred but liked the colors and the bokeh. A good example of the consequences on a low shutter speed.
View attachment 860533View attachment 860534View attachment 860535View attachment 860536
I like the composition and the almost black and white effect on this one. The focus is not on the bird though.
All photos are jpegs SOOC taken with my EM1.2
My thoughts comparing with the 75-300.
Way heavier. I could walk all day with my 75-300 in casual walks but after a couple of hours with this one I was not comfortable anymore, so they are to completely different lens on this regard. I would not bring this one with me for a casual walk. I was planning to sell my 75-300 but I need to think better.
Apart from that, the 100-400 has big advantages. Even in these bad conditions which forced me to work always on the limit of shutter speed and ISO (visible on the pictures), I could get very decent shots.
Stabilization is a big plus here and even if not syncing with the body, it has clear advantage over the IBIS only with the 75-300. When the subject doesn’t move it‘s possible to get sharp photos at low shutter speeds easily.
The lens at 400 is sharp. With some practice I got very nice shots with my 75-300 (I shared a few on its respective thread), but at 300 the quality is noticeable lower.
With the 100-400 the quality looks perfect at 400mm and the extra reach helps a lot.
I don’t use set ups for bird photography (yet). I normally walk to locations where birds are and slowly approach them to get the shots. I understand the behavior of the birds and could normally get close enough to get an OK shoot with the 75-300, but I always needed an extra couple of steps to get the bird to fill more of the frame and I step forward the bird just flew away. With the 100-400 I can get the bird to fill enough of the frame keeping that safety distance (chaffinch and wagtail photos). This will avoid some crop on post processing and quality will suffer less.
The bokeh is great. A lot better than the 75-300. Autofocus areas look smooth. A good surprise knowing that the aperture is not that different.
Also tested the minimum focus distance and it works great (flower photo). As a close up/macro enthusiast this is a big plus. I’m afraid my 60mm f2.8 macro will leave the bag even less than before. Can’t wait to try this in Portugal with some butterflies and dragonflies next summer.
The autofocus seems faster than the 75-300. Tried some birds in fly and it acquired focus quickly but I have no decent shoots to share (not enough light to keep shutter speed up so they were blurred)
Having weather sealing in the Irish weather is a big plus. It gives me peace of mind when walking outside on a day like today. I know that if it starts raining I don’t need to run to the car or hide the camera underneath the jacket.
Final thoughts:
Cons:
- Mount rotation ( this should not be accepted as normal. That insert should be narrower. If I can fix it with a bit of tape, precision machines could easily do a better job)
- Bigger and heavier than what I thought. Not a replacement for the 75-300. Being this big it could be at least f5.6 at 300mm
-Zoom is bit stiff. It’s hard to get a smooth zoom across the range.
Pros:
-Stabilization is decent. Easy shoots at 1/100. Probably a lot lower being carefully and using some handhold techniques.
-Amazing range.
-Very good quality at 400mm
Overall, I would highly recommend this lens to everyone on m43 system that wants the big range but cannot afford to spend 7000€ on the 150-400 pro.
Can’t wait for a sunny day to get some great shots.
My zoom ring is also very smooth, and way more so when compared to the Pany 100-300ii that I borrowed from a friend; that thing felt sticky.
