The Olympus 100-400mm f5-6.3 lens is a very capable lens for nature, sports, or any other subjects you may want to photograph at a distance. It may not be a “pro” lens, but it has a lot of features pros will love. It is a splash resistant lens that focuses very close, not to mention you can use it with Olympus’s excellent teleconverters. Check out my video reviews for my full take on this great new addition to the Olympus lens lineup.
100mm, ISO1600, f6.3, 1/250sec 400mm, ISO1600, f6.3, 1/320sec 400mm, ISO400, f6.3, 1/1000sec 186mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/800sec 138mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/3200sec 100mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/2500sec 123mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/1250sec 100mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/500sec 210mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/320sec 400mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/250sec 400mm, ISO800, f6.3, 1/640sec 400mm, ISO800, f8, 1/400sec 400mm, ISO800, f8, 1/500sec 400mm, ISO1600, f6.3, 1/1250sec 328mm, ISO1600, f6.3, 1/2500sec 292mm, ISO1600, f6.3, 1/3200sec 186mm, ISO1600, f5.9, 1/2000sec 100mm, ISO1600, f5.6, 1/6400sec
I use mainly the Panasonic Leica 50mm – 200mm on my G9. I recently bought the Panasonic Leica 100mm – 400mm. I have found it is real learning curve with the 100-400, The IS seems weaker than the 50-200, the quality of light plays a huge part in the image sharpness. I find overcast lower light levels gives a softer edge to the subject, whereas the 50-200 is 9/10 always tack sharp what ever the light. Having bought the G9, I wish Olympus, Panasonic, and Leica would collaborate and enable transferable Lenses to include full IS . This would open up a whole range of opportunities without re-inventing the wheel.
Thanks for you review.. As always, it seems whenever you plump for a particular system, you get leap-frogged. With the competition
Thanks for your comment, Frank! The longer I use the Olympus system, the more I’m convinced that the DFD AF in the Lumix system just can’t keep up with the PDAF in the Olympus cameras. I get so many more keepers it’s amazing.
Rob, thanks for an informative review and great images made with the new 100-400 f5.0-6.3. I have watched three other reviews of this lens, and each of the reviewers seem as pleased as you with the positive features, but also agree on some of its weaknesses. I love the images I get from the 300 f4.0, but I do want the versatility of a zoom and the longer reach of the 100 – 400 or the 150-400 f4.5. My rhetorical question is, do I get the 100-400 with its limitations at a lesser price or wait for the 150-400 Pro at a higher price? My question to you (knowing you may not know what the 150-400 will cost) is do you guess the 150-400 will be priced at three to four times or even more, than the 100-400? For me, there will definitely be a threshold I won’t/can’t exceed. Thanks again for your helpful tips and reviews. I hope to see you sometime in 2021.