Showcase Olympus 100-400 f/5.0-6.3

[joerg218]

My lens arrived today
For a first test a befriended deer has taken a break in our garden and offered himself as a model.
So here are my first Pics with this lens. 4 shots at 100mm,200mm, 300mm and 400mm.
It was a little bit rainy, so not the best conditions.

 

[RichardC]

It must cost you a fortune in electricity at Christmas.

 

[joerg218]

It must cost you a fortune in electricity at Christmas.

Only for the ONE, which takes a place in our House

 

[joerg218]

Still no time to go out with my new lens
So here is one more from our chimney, maybe 5-6 meters from our rooftop window. I hope i can bring you some real world stuff in the next days an weeks.
I would like to say something about the lens...
When i unboxed it the first thing which come in my mind was "WOW, WHAT A BIG, HEAVY LENS!!!!"
Until now the 12-100 is my biggest and heaviest mFT Lens. And this is in mFT mind for most users too big and heavy. The new 100-400 tops it all. Such sizes i still good know from my Canon Days, over 5 years ago...
My plan was to sell my 75-300 after i got the 100-400. But it is so much tinyer and lighter that i think i will hold it, especially when i don't know if i need a long tele and when i go on vacation.
The 100-400 is well solid build, has a "pro" like finish, you can add the MC-14 and MC-20. Has an IS which is good at this lenghts. But i think i will never carry it out when i think i will not need this range...

 

[ephophex]

This is promising...congratulations on the new lens, and I'm anxious to see more.

 

[OldRex]

Jealous... thanks for sharing. Looking forward to taking this lens places when that becomes a reality again.

 

[retiredfromlife]

Good to see a forum member with one now.
After you have used it a bit your thoughts on the stabilization will be good as that is the main thing I am interested in as I gathe rthe IQ will be good enough.
If I end up with one I think my Pany 100-300 will keep it's home with me as well

 

[Holoholo55]

Still no time to go out with my new lens
So here is one more from our chimney, maybe 5-6 meters from our rooftop window. I hope i can bring you some real world stuff in the next days an weeks.
I would like to say something about the lens...
When i unboxed it the first thing which come in my mind was "WOW, WHAT A BIG, HEAVY LENS!!!!"
Until now the 12-100 is my biggest and heaviest mFT Lens. And this is in mFT mind for most users too big and heavy. The new 100-400 tops it all. Such sizes i still good know from my Canon Days, over 5 years ago...
My plan was to sell my 75-300 after i got the 100-400. But it is so much tinyer and lighter that i think i will hold it, especially when i don't know if i need a long tele and when i go on vacation.
The 100-400 is well solid build, has a "pro" like finish, you can add the MC-14 and MC-20. Has an IS which is good at this lenghts. But i think i will never carry it out when i think i will not need this range...

Agreed about the 75-300 staying on as a lightweight telezoom. My friend has one and it's about the same size as his 12-100 and not a bad addition to a travel kit. He thinks it's a bit soft past 225 though. I have the 40-150 Pro, but I'd take the 100-400 when there's a need for a sharp, long lens.

Let's see more shots!

 

[John King]

Agreed about the 75-300 staying on as a lightweight telezoom. My friend has one and it's about the same size as his 12-100 and not a bad addition to a travel kit. He thinks it's a bit soft past 225 though. I have the 40-150 Pro, but I'd take the 100-400 when there's a need for a sharp, long lens.

Let's see more shots!

I find that it's amazing how much sharper my 75-300 is at 300 when I pay great attention to my holding technique ...

IMO, many people who complain of softness above xxx mmm are really just notifying everyone of their own handholding limit. Mine varies from day to day, and is nothing like what it was when I was in my late teens/twenties ...

My 75-300 MkII is sharper than my FTs 50-200 MkI when I properly support both. That really did surprise me.

Phocal's extensive tests against his f/4 300 Pro show just how amazingly good the 75-300 MkII really is.

 

[Egregius V]

There are lens and AF accuracy variations, which carefully-done tripod tests can reveal. (Hand-holding technique can be taken out of the equation.) I found that the 75-300 II tended to be very unreliable. Maybe the E-M1 line, which I did not use it on, handles it much better. My 100-300 II, used mostly on an E-M1 II but also some other cameras, is sharp wide open at 300 and far more reliable. YMMV.

I'm looking forward to the Oly. 100-400 with a MC-14 to extend its range. The 100-300 II will remain very useful to me, especially for travel. The 100-400 + TC is too big for my travel kit and weighs as much as the whole caboodle, but will serve me well locally and on road trips. (140-560mm! )

 

[joerg218]

A lost bee (or is it a wasp?) at the inside of my rooftop window.
Both shots at 400mm and ISO-800, E-M1 MK1
Out of the cam with vivid setting.

 

[Baenwort]

If you get a chance to compare IS settings that would be nice.

 

[Bengeo]

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[royd63uk]

Wheatear

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[moonhawk]

I get mine next Thursday. I'll try to get a chance to post some images.

 

[Bengeo]

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[Bengeo]

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[PhotoCal]

I received my lens Friday but the air quality has been lousy, which has kept me indoors and kept a lot of birds grounded.

I also plan to keep my 75-300 for longer hikes and travel that are not specifically for wildlife.

 

[royd63uk]

Chiffchaff

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[joerg218]

After you have used it a bit your thoughts on the stabilization will be good as that is the main thing I am interested in as I gathe rthe IQ will be good enough.

After my first tests it seems like that the IS of the lens does at 200-400mm a better work than the IBIS of the E-M1 MKI. I think you can use IBIS and IS together (not sure the in camera Lens IS Priority is set with that lens) and this is maybe the best setting for most "still" Situations.

A few days ago my E-M1 MKII arrived. I did a moon shot this morning at 400mm with the "Dual-IS" which is available in combination with some Oly Cameras, the viewfinder was very, very, very stable and the stabilization seems to be very good. The results with the 100-400 @400 seems for me sharper than with the Oly 75-300II @300, but didn't made a side-by-side comparison.
But the 75-300 is also a very good lens, so you can expect even more from the 100-400, which should be also no wonder when you look at the lens size and pricing