Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Micro Four Thirds Forum | Join Upload & Sell

Archive 2017 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

Sootchucker
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

HI all. I currently use two systems for my birding / wildlife shooting. A Nikon D500 with the 200-500 or 300mm F4 prime (with teleconverters where necessary), and my Olympus OMD EM1 MK II with the Panasonic Leica 100-400.

Whilst the Nikon setup is appreciably better in the image quality stakes (certainly at over ISO800), as much as I love it, it is a bit of a leviathan and it's a big and very heavy rig (especially with the 200-500). I've sort of been wanting to switch over the Olympus for most of my shooting as its much more manageable and lighter, even if ultimate quality will take a slight hit. However the main problem for me with the panasonic isn't ultimate image quality (it's really sharp), it's that it's F6.3 at the long end and that means I'm usually shooting at ISO1600-3200 (or even higher) a lot of the time on the EM1.

I've been thinking for some time now about replacing the 100-400 with the Olympus M.Zuiko 300mm F4 pro, which although shorter in FL (600mm vs 800mm) I think would do me for a lot of my shooting, and that one stop of light difference could be the difference between a really noisy ISO6400 shot vs a cleaner ISO3200 one. I also have the teleconverter already (for my 40-150 F2.8 Pro), so could always add that to get me back up to 800mm (albeit at F5.6).

Has anyone actually done this i.e. had the Panasonic lens and sold it for the Olympus or have both and can comment if the 300mm is much more useable in everyday circumstances please ?

Nov 01, 2017 at 02:44 AM

Wilbus
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

There are quite a few people here who have used both. I am not one of them but I'm looking to get one as soon as I can and here are my thoughts.

m43 has got a smaller sensor and is thus fighting an uphill battle as it is, nothing wrong with this, just pure facts. It will not be as clean in higher ISO's as the D500 or other cameras with APS-C or larger sensors. The IBIS more then makes up for an extra stop of light, in fact it makes up for several but only where you don't need faster shutter speeds in order to freeze action, which of course is the case with birding.

Here the 300F4, does, just as you say, add another stop of light and could make the difference between 6400 and 3200. Even if you add the 1.4 TC you'll still be at 5.6 compared to 6.3 (not a huge difference) at 420mm instead of 400mm so you gain both some light and some reach compared to the Panny.

I've been considering both the lenses for a long time, and almost bought the PL yesterday as a photo store here in Sweden sells it for about 1300 dollar compared to 2500 for the Oly 300 F4. But knowing my self, I'd better spend twice the amount and get what I want right away.

m43 needs all the help it can to claw back some advantages it looses in the smaller sensor and F4 compared to 5.6 or even 6.3 makes a difference.

As far as I remember, I've heard of people who have made the switch in either direction and most people have been happy with it for whatever reasons they had (smaller size, faster glass, more versatile, longer etc).

I'll be going for the Olympus I am quite sure even though the 1300 price tag of the PL is very VERY attractive.

/Rasmus

Nov 01, 2017 at 04:03 AM

MedicineMan404
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

We have both.
Better-half has 300/4Pro
I have PL100-400.
Listen to Wilbus, he's meted out the differences quite well.
I'll just reinforce- PL100400 for versatility and weight, 300/4Pro for sharper images/lower ISO.

For me it is situational and specifically where I'll be shooting. Here at home (constant clouds/gloom/ISO 3200 min.) the PL100-400 only comes out on the rare sunny days. When we go to Florida it shines (both the PL and the sky

Milbus said 'mFT needs all the help it can claw back' so true. Methods that really help are to decrease the distance, try to fill that frame in camera, wear camo, use blinds, etc. etc. I recently started using a Sony RX10iv with an even smaller sensor and it needs to claw back even harder!

p.s. though the 300/4Pro is 5 feet away from me as I type I've never used it

I rely on zoom out to find then zoom in to capture.

Nov 01, 2017 at 04:40 AM

birdied
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

My background is much the same as yours - D500 with 200-500 and 300f/4PF who made the switch to Olympus.

I tried both the Panasonic 100-400 and the Olympus 300 with and without TC. I kept the Olympus 300. While the weight of the Panasonic was very appealing , there were a couple of things I did not like. I seem to live at the long end and shooting at F/6.3 was a killer in the shade and bad light. I personally found the image quality of the Panasonic wonderful at close distance to the subject. However if farther away , found the image quality (especially fine detail) started to deteriorate , less ability to crop.

Everything is very subjective, lots are very happy with the Panasonic. Coming from Nikon and especially the 300PF, I was accustomed to a certain amount of detail and sharpness. The constant F/4 of the Olympus and quality of the images , pushed me to make the decision to go with the Olympus despite the additional cost and weight. In addition , I can use the TC with little to no loss of image quality getting me to 420mm at F/5.6.

My 300 practically lives on my EM1M2. While not a macro lens, does very nice closeups with magnification of .48 compared to the Pany magnification of .25 Both lens have min focus distance of around 46 inches.

Wilbus (Rasmus) stated it much more elegantly than I !

Birdie

Nov 01, 2017 at 07:39 AM

kimknapp
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

I'll second what Birdie said, as I have both, too.
In addition, I have been recently doing a lot of comparison testing between the EM1.2 with 300 Pro and 1.4TC and my A6300 with 100-400GM with 1.4 TC and have repeatedly found the Oly kit is better. I'll try to upload some comparisons at high ISO here later today.
I have been doing this comparison to help me decide what to take to Costa Rica, where I understand that low light is the norm.

Kim

Nov 01, 2017 at 08:29 AM

bobbytan
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

“m43 needs all the help it can to claw back some advantages it looses in the smaller sensor and F4 compared to 5.6 or even 6.3 makes a difference.”

My thoughts exactly, Rasmus.

This is a really tough one as the PL 100-400 is clearly better value, but if you want to squeeze the most out of a smaller sensor and can live with the more expensive and relatively heavier lens, the 300/4 would be your best bet. For bird photography, reach is always a problem and cropping is often necessary (very necessary IMO) so a sharper and higher-resolution lens is important to me.

Nov 01, 2017 at 08:58 AM

sparadise
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

Same here.Owned both . 300 F4 is the way to go. Very little degradation with 1.4

Nov 02, 2017 at 12:58 PM

Brian Wadie
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

optically the 300f4 is the peak product and worth every penny " if you want to squeeze the most out of a smaller sensor" (I like this

)

One thought may be to check what you typically shoot and see what focal length ranges you most often use.

If 300mm+ - go for the 300f4

if 100-400 then either stick with your Nikon or go for the PL100-400

Nov 02, 2017 at 03:21 PM

Imagemaster
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

Opposite view here. I did not find the 300 images that much better and found the 100-400 so much more versatile, lighter, and no need for TC's. Another option is to change your 200-500 to the 80-400G.

Nov 04, 2017 at 11:19 PM

Sootchucker
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Sell Panny 100-400 for Olympus 300mm F4 Pro ?

I went a slightly different tack. I had a Nikon 300 F2.8 VR I which I hadn't used in a while (due to size and weight), so I managed to sell that on for a good price, kept the Panasonic 100-400 (at least for the time being), and with the money from the Nikon lens, purchased the "beast" which arrived yesterday.

Can't wait to get out and shooting with this rig.

Nov 07, 2017 at 02:41 AM


FM Forums \| Micro Four Thirds Forum \| Join Upload & Sell

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.