I would be walking and stalking so slung the lens from my shoulder on a Black Rapid strap and used a camouflage cover to mask the white barrel. It's not something I would do all the time, but both internal and external converters do work together better than I have experienced before. In my view the 100-400mm was far too cheap for what is delivered and that is the problem, it caused false expectation! IS Sound Reduction When Shaking– Olympus has a much better built-in front IS, makes almost no sound when shaken. This might sound meagre to OM System/Olympus users accustomed to getting considerably more from their camera’s in-body IS.

That’s been updated in the new AF-S version, but it’s still only worth about 3-stops and is less effective than in the cheaper Tamron 100-400mm.It also benefits from four focus buttons around the mid-section of the lens barrel, which you can use to start or stop autofocus, or to apply a preset focus distance. This 100-400mm features powerful image stabilisation that gives 3 steps of compensation to keep your images super-sharp and enables handheld telephoto shooting. Despite producing the relatively small image circle used by APS-C format cameras, the lens is about the same weight as competing Canon and Nikon full-frame compatible lenses.

Thanks in large part to this, the build quality feels as rugged and robust as the manufacturer's Pro lenses. He also compares with the PanaLeica 100-400 and he says that 400 mm mean something different for Oly than for Panny. In our opinion the Olympus lens offers more flexibility, and a better experience on OM-D cameras, and would be our pick between the two. When the wavelength is much smaller than the aperture width diffraction is not an issue, and 18mm is way beyond visible light. In addition to the many great principal specs, there is one that will probably be addressed by a lot of people, and that is its minimum aperture.

The broad bodied chaser dragonfly is exceptionally beautiful and quite the tribute to your patience to capture such natural beauty. You will appreciate this once you start enjoying another feature of this lens – a minimum focusing distance of 1. Digital Camera World is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. It does have a switchable dual-mode autofocus system, enabling you to give priority to autofocus or manual override.

with the tripod mount and hood attached, and measuring over 20cm in length, this is one of the largest and heaviest Micro Four Thirds lenses. With the focus mode on the OM-D E-M1X set to AFC, the lens tracked moving subjects well, although it takes some practice to keep them in the frame when using the 800mm focal length! Chief among these is the weather sealing, and the extensive hermetic sealing on the entire lens barrel to protect it no matter where you're shooting. We've played with some spectacular zoom lenses in the last couple of months, including the superlative Nikon 120-300mm f/2.

So that you can draw your own picture of the optical performance of Olympus’ new zoom, have a look at the link below to my Google Drive folder with a few sample photos. Optical highlights include five ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and one Super ED element, for minimizing chromatic aberrations. Another thing to bear in mind is that the reach of a 100-400mm lens will be extended if it's used on a crop-sensor camera (i. So it's important to remember what this lens is, and who and what it's intended for –lightweight, take-anywhere wildlife shooting for photographers eager to get a lot of reach without spending a lot of cash. Personally I will always want a long focal length zoom as the benefits it offers my photography are so much, There is no doubt in my mind that this is the perfect lens for the serious wildlife and sports photographer so hats off to Olympus / JIP for delivering what we want.