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Fun with Panasonic 100-300

biglouis

Well-known member
I love extreme lenses which is why I couldn't resist obtaining the new Lumix 100-300 f4-5.6.

Here is my take on the lens. Nicely built in typical Pansonic quality plastic style. Less impressed with the focus throw on my copy which is stiff. Maybe it will loosen up with use (I hope). It is a big lens but not as big as, say, the equivalent focal length or even half the zoom focal length on any other system I know of. In fact, you could say the promise of m4/3rds is finally realised with this sort of lens in terms of size. Comes with a nice reversible lens hood and a soft case and caps.

Obviously, it is a hard lens to get a sharp shot from at maximum. The problem is the inevitable shake and the need for high speed. I really doubt the OIS is much use and in fact the manual even hints that you might want to turn it off at high magnification.

As a result, this means operating at high iso and unfortunately my GF-1 loses a lot of definition above iso800. I can recover some of this because I shoot raw and the raw settings tend to be soft and noisy. However, when shooting birds, for example, this leads to a loss of detail.

In typical Panasonic style the lens is capable of sharp, colourful pictures, though I feel it will take some time and practise to get the best out of this lens. And possibly a GH-2 if the improvements to high iso definition that I've seen in samples really are there.

The full size jpegs are at my Flickr stream if you feel the need to pixel peep. All pictures have minimal to no post processing.

iso640 f7.1 300mm 1/500


iso1250 f5.6 234mm 1/250 - pleasing bokeh?


iso160 f7.1 120mm 1/200


iso200 f5.0 125mm 1/200


iso640 f5.6 300mm 1/800
 
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Leica 77

New member
I love extreme lenses which is why I couldn't resist obtaining the new Lumix 100-300 f4-5.6.

Here is my take on the lens. Nicely built in typical Pansonic quality plastic style. Less impressed with the focus throw on my copy which is stiff. Maybe it will loosen up with use (I hope). It is a big lens but not as big as, say, the equivalent focal length or even half the zoom focal length on any other system I know of. In fact, you could say the promise of m4/3rds is finally realised with this sort of lens in terms of size. Comes with a nice reversible lens hood and a soft case and caps.

Obviously, it is a hard lens to get a sharp shot from at maximum. The problem is the inevitable shake and the need for high speed. I really doubt the OIS is much use and in fact the manual even hints that you might want to turn it off at high magnification.

As a result, this means operating at high iso and unfortunately my GF-1 loses a lot of definition above iso800. I can recover some of this because I shoot raw and the raw settings tend to be soft and noisy. However, when shooting birds, for example, this leads to a loss of detail.

In typical Panasonic style the lens is capable of sharp, colourful pictures, though I feel it will take some time and practise to get the best out of this lens. And possibly a GH-2 if the improvements to high iso definition that I've seen in samples really are there.

The full size jpegs are at my Flickr stream if you feel the need to pixel peep. All pictures have minimal to no post processing.
Hi Louis,
Thanks for sharing your first impressions of the Panasonic 100-300 zoom lens. Your comments and images are quite informative. My favorite is the one with lovely birds! Best, :)
 

biglouis

Well-known member
I must be the only person who owns one of these!

iso640 300mm f5.6 1/800


iso640 100mm f5.6 1/400
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I must be the only person who owns one of these!
Maybe, but I find this lens very interesting. If it's good enough (sharpness, focusing speed), I might buy one for the GH1, replacing the Nikkor 300mm on the D300 and saving a lot of weight.
 

kwalsh

New member
Thanks for the examples!

Few questions:

- Regarding the focus ring, they are electronic of course so no reason for them to have made it stiff. I do notice it appears to have been quite cold when you were shooting. Does it loosen up inside at room temperature?

- Regarding the photo of the four gents on the lock being photographed. Seems a little low contrast to me but lighting looks really challenging as well. Were you standing in the sun to take the shot and do you recall if you had the hood on? Just wondering if there was light hitting the front element.

Again, thanks for the examples. I'm ruminating on this lens!

Ken
 

peterb

Member
Louis,

Thanks for sharing. I had had high hopes for the lens but when I saw the samples on the Lumix website I saw waaaaaay too much chromatic aberation (particularly in the shot of the swimmer). YOUR shots have SOLD me completely (particularly the second shot of the swan and the thistle). The lens has great potential to be tack sharp and looks like it would make a good addition to my arsenal.

I'm looking forward to hearing about the GH2 which I am looking into as my new go to camera relegating my trusty G1 to back-up status.

Thanks for the shots!
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Ken

Ooops. I wrote 'focus' ring when I meant 'zoom'. The zoom ring is stiff and not as smooth as I would like. Might just be my copy, though.

Regarding the group shot - the sun was at right angles to the lens which did have its hood on. I could have punched the shot up by adjusting the black point in LR3 but I decided to post it 'as is'.

Peter

I've also been surprised at the lack of aberations etc but you should check out the full size jpegs just to make sure (at my Flickr site).

Thanks for the comments

LouisB
 

Terry

New member
Panasonic.com just listed them but they show as backordered....also it isn't easy to find them. You actually need to click on the GH1 and then look in the accessories tab on that page. If you go to the regular lens page it doesn't show up....don't say it....Panny's site need a PHD to understand and they really need to revamp it.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Hmmm. May be a US/UK thing. They are available from some stockists here in the UK if you look for them.
 

apicius9

New member
Panasonic.com just listed them but they show as backordered....also it isn't easy to find them. You actually need to click on the GH1 and then look in the accessories tab on that page. If you go to the regular lens page it doesn't show up....don't say it....Panny's site need a PHD to understand and they really need to revamp it.
PhD doesn't help either...

This lens really does look promising, but it will have to wait until spring. Nothing left in the camera budget after the GH2 gets here.

Stefan
 

CPWarner

Member
Hmmm. May be a US/UK thing. They are available from some stockists here in the UK if you look for them.
They just showed up this evening as in stock on Amazon.com. Panasonic seems to stock the US slowly. Looking forward to getting this lens!
 

biglouis

Well-known member
The swan on the colored water looks amazing!!
Thanks for that. As per other long zooms by Panasonic, the lens performs far better at the short end (100mm) than fully zoomed, although I should point out I pulled down the 'clarity' slider in LR3 to enhance the soft-focus effect in the other swan picture.

LouisB
 

kai.e.g.

Member
I struggled between two "extremes" this month - the month in which I slip a little something for myself under the Christmas tree while nobody is looking. Between this 100-300mm and the Nokton 25mm/0.95, the latter won this time around; I figured these Cosina lenses might prove shorter in supply, while the 100-300 will become increasingly readily available as time goes on. Also, it's dark & wintery here now. That said, nearly every shot I've seen posted from the 100-300 has been impressive. It's next on my list!
 

Tesselator

New member
Uh-Oh, another naysay post from me today. That's two in a row.

I think the 100-300mm Lumix is one of the worst in that range I've ever seen. It's really soft and smeary in every sample I've seen. It halos and ghosts all over the place. It's low contrast and colors unattended in post-processing are usually quite pale and washed out looking. I can even see it in the 20% scaled versions shown here. It's a slap in the face whenever I see a 100% (unprocessed) sample from it. And they want like, $600 for that? So we'll be sacrificing a heck of a lot of IQ for AF and OIS over something like the $100 FD 100-300mm f/5.6 or the $180 Tamron SP 60-300mm f/3.8 (with 1:1.2 macro!), both of which will just totally rock your socks (compared to this Lumix), and we'll paying 4 to 6 times the price in order to do so? Ug!

I think it's really sad that such a poor lens was developed in this day and age when all manufacturers and designers have the knowhow and toolsets to make something really kick-butt with very little R&D involved.

I'm depressed. I had hopes but they are being smashed to itty-bitty bits with each new sample I see from this lens. :(
 
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biglouis

Well-known member
Uh-Oh, another naysay post from me today. That's two in a row.

I think the 100-300mm Lumix is one of the worst in that range I've ever seen. It's really soft and smeary in every sample I've seen. It halos and ghosts all over the place. It's low contrast and colors unattended in post-processing are usually quite pale and washed out looking. I can even see it in the 20% scaled versions shown here. It's a slap in the face whenever I see a 100% (unprocessed) sample from it. And they want like, $600 for that? So we'll be sacrificing a heck of a lot of IQ for AF and OIS over something like the $100 FD 100-300mm f/5.6 or the $180 Tamron SP 60-300mm f/3.8 (with 1:1.2 macro!), both of which will just totally rock your socks (compared to this Lumix), and we'll paying 4 to 6 times the price in order to do so? Ug!

I think it's really sad that such a poor lens was developed in this day and age when all manufacturers and designers have the knowhow and toolsets to make something really kick-butt with very little R&D involved.

I'm depressed. I had hopes but they are being smashed to itty-bitty bits with each new sample I see from this lens. :(
Tesselator, it doesn't sound like this lens is for you :D I also wonder of m43 is your bag, as well.

I also have a Flickr group which people are slowly adding more samples to:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1577115@N21/

LouisB
 

Tesselator

New member
Why would you wonder if M43 is my bag?

Don't mistake an honest lens review for a senseless hater post. I'm not like that. I'm very knowledgable and fairly skilled. I spend all of my time on camera gear as it's my current job. If not in critical bench tests and reviews then in design theory, history, and etc. I'm not trying to add weight to my comment but I know what I mean and I mean (most of :D) what I say. Seriously, it's not that this lens isn't for me... it's not for anyone serious about image quality. In many cases it produces worse results than some super-zoom point and shoot cameras of the same equivalent focal length.

Peace! :)
 

kai.e.g.

Member
Why would you wonder if M43 is my bag?

Don't mistake an honest lens review for a senseless hater post. I'm not like that. I'm very knowledgable and fairly skilled. I spend all of my time on camera gear as it's my current job. If not in critical bench tests and reviews then in design theory, history, and etc. I'm not trying to add weight to my comment but I know what I mean and I mean (most of :D) what I say. Seriously, it's not that this lens isn't for me... it's not for anyone serious about image quality. In many cases it produces worse results than some super-zoom point and shoot cameras of the same equivalent focal length.

Peace! :)
That's interesting, and it demonstrates the importance of looking at more than just a few selected samples posted to forums. The samples I've seen to date - and I've not been hunting all over the place for them by any means - have seemed good to me - sometimes very good. I did see one batch posted that I thought were appalling, but I put that down to user error or a bad sample (the guy had tried his hand at some over-the-top noise reduction and ruined the shots). Perhaps it's not as rosy as people are saying it is?
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
We have to be realistic here. This is a lens in the same class as the current crop of 70-300mm lenses from some of the leading manufacturers, although with a bit longer reach. The high-end telephoto lenses for m43 haven't materialised themselves yet. I'm waiting for Olympus, and I wouldn't be surprised if a professional m43 camera with a couple of high-end f/2.0 zooms would come from the within the next 18 months. When that happens, the question will be if it's possible to live with m43 as the main system for professional use.
 
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