The µ43 thread - welcome to the really dark side

[Matt_Hirst]

Well stuck it on the camera last night and whilst the lens is heavier than I am used to it doesn't seem to unsettle the camera at all, updated the firmware ready to give it a go out at the weekend.

Impressions so far are:

* Its big but doesn't unsettle my EM5 MK2 which I am pleased about (need a new camera bag to fit it in though).
* When fully extended at 800mm I find it difficult to point it in the right direction - this will come with time though but is the beauty of having a zoom as opposed to fixed.
* Extending the lens isn't as smooth as I expected from a quality product - a few have reported this as the case and are saying the lens wears in.

Will let you know how I get on at the weekend with it.

Matt

 

[Greebo]

Best thing I ever bought and I am using only a 210mm lens is the Olympus dot eye. Makes tracking stuff soooooooooooo much easier. Got mine cheap second hand from ebay for £75.

 

[daelo]

^^

That is very cool! I was wondering how it would be sighted a bit like a gun sight, syncing with the LCD seems obvious but none the less awesome. Couple with the fact it moves to counteract parallax if you move from side to side is also impressive!

 

[Greebo]

Yeah i am loving mine, wish i had bought one years ago. Makes it so much easier for birds in flight and other action shots, more so because you have both eyes open and can see the whole scene.

 

[Matt_Hirst]

Well tried the Panasonic 100-400 on my Olympus EM5 MK2 out over the weekend it took a bit of getting used to finding things but eventually it all fell into place, anyway here are my thoughts so far on the lens (please note I am not good enough to call myself an amature photgrapher):

* The lens is stiff to use and I think would benefit from being attached to a larger bodied camera or at least one with a grip, as you turn it there are some noticeable grab points on it and it can twist the camera, I assumed it would be nice and smooth.
* Weight wise fine to walk around with for a number of hours - though I do need to find a suitable strap to use whilst carrying - currently carrying by holding onto the lens itself.
* Focus its quick enough for me and when I brought the camera and lens into work some of the guys at work who use SLR were impressed with it's focus speed. It did have a few issues at the weekend getting focus under a canopy of leaves a few times but eventually composed itself.
* The keeper rate of images has increased, please note I am beginning to learn how to use the camera and lens, but certainly I found myself taking individual snaps of things as opposed to multiples just in case.
* I'm glad I bought the 100-400 as opposed to the 300mm prime as I found shooting from hides the amount of times I needed to adjust the reach as a bird came into view and I needed to drop down to 200mm - its the most flexible lens for what I want.

Will try to post some pics up - please don't be too critical as I am no expert - just need to work out where to post them and provide a link here.

Matt

 

[Terminal_Boy]

The 100-400mm PanaLeica's zoom ring is a little on the stiff side, even when using it with my G80 which has a larger right hand palm-filling grip to hold.

Have you made sure that the zoom lock ring is fully clicked to "unlock"? My 100-400 zoom gets grabby the instant that the zoom ring isn't fully unlocked.

AF performance is hugely improved over the venerable 100-300mm and you no longer have to stop down to f7.1 at the long end to get decent sharpness.

As with the 100-300mm, the 100-400mm works best with a small single AF box rather than the full set of focus zones. No idea is the EM5 allows you to set custom AF zone patterns, but I've found setting a central cross to be handy for moving subjects.

I use a Black Rapids Sport strap for carrying my G80 with this less and attach the strap to the tripod mount point on the lens. This lets your shoulder take the weight and I just keep my right hand on the camera to steady it while walking.

 

[Matt_Hirst]

Here are a few images I took at the weekend:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4166/33601448453_a6b517e7c3_k.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2874/34252155772_c4bb291e83_k.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4190/34369847456_c3de9cda15_k.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4167/34026501630_3a88c8df4b_k.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2807/34411352915_92f347f3ec_z.jpg

Hope I've posted them correctly, if not mods please delete.

Matt

 

[Phate]

Lovely images

 

[Matt_Hirst]

Glad you like them.

Matt

 

[Greebo]

Terminal boy is spot on about the zoom lock. Seen quite a few owners complain about the stiff zoom ring until they found it the lock wasn't fully realeased plus I think it comes locked when new.

Love th photos btw

 

[Matt_Hirst]

Moved the lock to and forth a few times, still feels a tad stiff, will see how it goes.

Glad you like the images, I was very impressed the lens allowed me to be confident with the shots to just take single images - I just need to start looking at doing some processing of them - but always said I would never do any of that lol.

Matt

 

[Greebo]

Moved the lock to and forth a few times, still feels a tad stiff, will see how it goes.

Glad you like the images, I was very impressed the lens allowed me to be confident with the shots to just take single images - I just need to start looking at doing some processing of them - but always said I would never do any of that lol.

Matt

Yeah i used to say that and now spend longer processing than i do taking pictures

 

[daelo]

Great images Matt, you'll soon start fettling around with them in lightroom or similar, its quite addictive as you can just do so much , so easily!

I'm so tempted by this lens for a france road trip in june, just so damn expensive, travelling right down the east of france , along the south coast and back up through bordeux area, especially looking forward to the Pyrenese where there will be loads of opportunities to get the camera out!

I've looked at second hand ones on the bay and don't think anyone is selling. I do wonder if I bought one outright used it for a month or so and then sold on i'd probably not loose much in theory, a bit like renting it i suppose! I have the 12-40 f2.8 pro lens so this would make a perfect addition and cover everything zoom wise!

Hnnnnggggggg.

 

[Matt_Hirst]

Daelo,

Thankyou, the lens is superb and makes getting keepers a lot easier, I do think it is a rather specialised lens and I have begun to wonder if the 40-150 f2.8 would be a better all round / semi permanent lens and keep the 100-400 for days when I know I going to need the reach.


Matt

 

[Greebo]

I must admit i love my 40-150 plus my 1.4x tele and the quality and image sharpness is superb but want/need that extra reach sometimes. I have started playing around with the digital tele vs 100% crop to see which is best on my mark 2. Of course neither will be as good as the 100-400 native though.

 

[Minstadave]

I picked up the 75mm F1.8 for a touch over £400 and it is by far the sharpest lens I've come across. I thought the long focal length would be awkward but getting some lovely outdoor shots of our little girl running around.

Think I'll sell the Oly 9-18, I just don't use it and don't really like it's output.

 

[Greebo]

I picked up the 75mm F1.8 for a touch over £400 and it is by far the sharpest lens I've come across. I thought the long focal length would be awkward but getting some lovely outdoor shots of our little girl running around.

Think I'll see the Oly 9-18, I just don't use it and don't really like it's output.

Stunning lens. I thought the same about the length but you get used to it. Got mine for around £400 as well. That's a hell of a lot of lens for the dosh.

 

[Flukester]

We now have way too much m4/3 kit in our house

Daughter - EPL6 with kit lens for video blogging
Me - EM5ii
Wifey - EM5ii
To sell - EM10 Mk1

Oly 12-40 Pro
Oly 25mm F1.8
Oly 45mm F1.8
Oly 9-18mm
Oly 40-150mm

I mostly use the 9-18mm for landscape stuff (would love the 7-14mm but lack of filter screw thread annoys me) and the 45mm. 12-40 Pro is on wifeys camera as she is starting a little photography business.

We did think of moving up to full frame, but too be honest unless we are talking low light full frame doesn't give enough benefits to make the investment worth while.

I love the whole Olympus approach to m4/3 .... total fan boy

 

[Greebo]

Went on an olympus photography day at the lakes yesterday. Great pro Steve Gosling did a talk and Q&A plus one to one out and about. They had several of every lens to play with. Sadly I now want the 7-14 and 12mm prime even more but worse than that I fell in love with the bokeh from the 25mm 1.2 and even though I never wanted it or saw the need for it, I was blown away with the 12-100mm f4. It's as sharp as the 75mm f1.8 which is amazing for a zoom and the extra IS is the icing on the cake.

The 300mm I've always wanted but way out of my price league but was fun to try it.

Got a nice goody bag and olympus techs were there all day to answer any questions anybody had on the em1 mark ii. Olympus know how to organise an event and even gave a decent goodie bag

 

[footman]

^^
I had been thinking about going to this event as I was up in the lakes all week but had to go home a day early unplanned.
If the 12-100 could take the mc-14 converter I'd buy it in an instant.