I am looking for a m4/3 telephoto zoom and need your help in choosing one. If you have a suggestion and the lens it's not listed in the above poll please feel free to share. Right now I have a kit 14-42 lens and Panasonic 20mm on the way. Thanks
I had the 45-200 but sold it. I now have the little Oly 40-150 and it's an amazing little lens. Mine is tack sharp throughout the range. It softens a little (though still very good) on distant subjects at the long end, but from 15m in, it's just fantastic. You can't beat the price either.
Thanks. Oly 40-150 would definitely fit nicely. How do you like its IQ overall (besides the sharpness)? The only problem it might be a bit short. What didn't you like about 45-200?
faremax wrote:
Thanks. Oly 40-150 would definitely fit nicely. How do you like its IQ overall (besides the sharpness)? The only problem it might be a bit short. What didn't you like about 45-200?
Overall it's quite good. Very contrasty with good color. Bokeh is quite decent as well, though due to the speed you don't get a huge amount of subject separation at long distances. The 45-200 was very sharp below 100mm, but above, it was no competition for the Oly. I could get good shots at the longer distances, but even with IS, I got fewer keepers than I do with my 40-150. Plus it's MUCH larger. Here are a few samples with the 40-150...I think these are all at 150mm wide open:
This isn't a great shot, but it'll show you the IQ at 150mm wide open:
OP - I have 100-300 and like it. My copy seems sharp and is also good wide open (I'd upload samples, but my internet is sloooow). I have tried the 45-200 twice, and haven't kept a copy of it.
I have the Olympus 40-150 and have been very pleased with it. If I needed more reach I'd probably give the Panasonic 100-300 a try. The other telephoto I have used is the Olympus 50-200 SWD (using the 4/3rds to m4/3rds adapter). I feel the 50-200 was one of the best lenses I ever used of any make, although it is of course not very lightweight or compact.
Good point about the tripod. One of my early m4/3rds mistakes was thinking I could handhold the smaller cameras when using longer focal lengths or shutter speeds and get sharp photos.
Jman13 wrote:
Overall it's quite good. Very contrasty with good color. Bokeh is quite decent as well, though due to the speed you don't get a huge amount of subject separation at long distances. The 45-200 was very sharp below 100mm, but above, it was no competition for the Oly. I could get good shots at the longer distances, but even with IS, I got fewer keepers than I do with my 40-150. Plus it's MUCH larger. Here are a few samples with the 40-150...I think these are all at 150mm wide open:
Very nice shots. I think I will give Oly 45-150 a shot. The problem with 100-300 is that I will have a gap between 42mm and 100mm and I use those FLs quite a lot. I bought E-PL2 for those instances when I want to go out "light" and would not want to carry a tripod with me.
lordarka wrote:
Not considering the Panasonic Lumix 14-140 OIS or 14-150 Oly lenses? I have the former, and like it very much.
Arka C.
I actually thought about it but according to reviews it's softer than Oly 40-150 and CA is a real issue.
Can those people who had a chance to use Panny 100-300 comment if they need to use tripod on the longer end? I actually ordered Oly 40-150 but I might add Panny 100-300 too. They don;t overlap too much and having 600mm reach would be pretty nice.
i bought the Oly 40-150 to use on my GF1. I expected it to be fun to play with, I have been very surprised and of course very please at how sharp it is and how very clear and contrasty the colors are. joanlvh
faremax wrote:
Can those people who had a chance to use Panny 100-300 comment if they need to use tripod on the longer end? I actually ordered Oly 40-150 but I might add Panny 100-300 too. They don;t overlap too much and having 600mm reach would be pretty nice.
I use it at 300 on some sort of rest, tripod or beanbag or whatever is handy most of the time Rested, it really needs IS turned off or you can see it wobbling around trying to figure out how to 'stabilize' for you.
I covered the mid range with a 35-70 Contax-Zeiss, which works on either my Canon system or m4/3. Yummmmm.
Some samples of 100-300 fun. It's hard to tell at web size, but both of these are tack sharp. BG was snowy, so I converted to B&W.
mco_970 wrote:
One of these is 1D3 and one is GH1, both shot from my bird blind. Both images were tack sharp. 100-300 is pretty good when the light is decent!
Sorry if I confused things. The EF 300/4L IS above was my first contribution to this thread. The adapter was a fairly well constructed generic that I bought from eBay seller jinfinance, in June 2009. I sold off all of my EP-1 gear and most of the LM lenses that I bought for it, about a year ago.
there's also the 70-300mm Oly that'll need the 4/3rds adapter. for the money it's a nice size/IQ/range that'll leave money in your pocket and sacrifice little to the 100-300mm.
I use mine on my E-P1 and have have had some good results with it.
I just picked up a 45-200mm Panasonic form mobilepc for $224 refurbed. I have a full sweet of L glass for my Canons, but for $224 this effective 90-400mm lens with IS is pretty awesome! I mainly plan to use if for my lightweight travel kit and on a tripod, but you can't beat this lens for value for money even at full price.
alfas wrote:
there's also the 70-300mm Oly that'll need the 4/3rds adapter. for the money it's a nice size/IQ/range that'll leave money in your pocket and sacrifice little to the 100-300mm.
I use mine on my E-P1 and have have had some good results with it.
You do sacrifice a LOT of AF performance though, the ZD 70-300 has lousy AF performance on 4/3rds and it's even worse on m43. Surprisingly good glass though, I never really had any complaints with it, although it wasn't as good as the cheap little ZD 40-150 f4-5.6 which I also had in 4/3rds mount.
Jman13 wrote:
I had the 45-200 but sold it. I now have the little Oly 40-150 and it's an amazing little lens. Mine is tack sharp throughout the range. It softens a little (though still very good) on distant subjects at the long end, but from 15m in, it's just fantastic. You can't beat the price either.
Are you using this on an Oly body? I have a Panasonic body and I believe I won't have IS with this lens, correct? If so, what would be your recommendation for a tele lens for the Panasonic G3? I certainly would need IS.
What adapter do you use for your Canon lenses?