Micro 4/3 Oly 150-400 quick testing

Chris5107

Rookie
I usually test lenses that I buy on a brick wall or something just to make sure they are not totally off in some way. My tests are not scientific and have a general lack of perfection but they serve my purpose to see if a lens is working generally as expected.

Today I tested my new 150-400 with and without the TC and the 1.4 Teleconverter in some cases against my 40-150/2.8, Leica 200/2.8, and 300/4 all of which I think work pretty well for me.

I am generally happy with the results and have not come to any conclusions other than the new zoom seems to be pretty good.

Tests were done on a cloudless day (with the sun scooting across the sky as usual and some tree shadows approaching) with a tripod and a remote shutter release using S-AF with a small central point at ISO 200. Aperture Mode with silent shutter. IBIS was left on. SOOC jpgs used. Target was not ideal but it was all I had on short notice to hang up. Would have been nice to have something with more detail now that I see the results.

Here are some folders with photos comparing different lenses at different focal lengths for those who are bored and/or interested. My thought is that I created the files and maybe someone would like to take a look so I am sharing. See the file names which end with the aperture value (or the Info button on the smugmug site) for the apertures used. Typically used a range of aperture from wide open to f8.

At 420mm, I compared the O300 with 1.4x to the O150-400 with the 1.4x and with the built in 1.25X. I did not use both teleconverters at the same time here.

At 300mm, I compared the O300 to the O150-400 as well as the O150-400 with the 1.4x and with the built in 1.25X. I also used both teleconverters at the same time here.

At 200mm, I compared the PL200 to the O150-400 (no tc)

At 150mm, I compared the O40-150/2.8 to the O150-400 (no tc)

After confirming I have a good long zoom lens I will likely sell the primes to re-inflate my wallet a little. Right now it looks like a vacuum pack.
 
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I usually test lenses that I buy on a brick wall or something just to make sure they are not totally off in some way. My tests are not scientific and have a general lack of perfection but they serve my purpose to see if a lens is working generally as expected.

Today I tested my new 150-400 with and without the TC and the 1.4 Teleconverter in some cases against my 40-150/2.8, Leica 200/2.8, and 300/4 all of which I think work pretty well for me.

I am generally happy with the results and have not come to any conclusions other than the new zoom seems to be pretty good.

Tests were done on a cloudless day (with the sun scooting across the sky as usual and some tree shadows approaching) with a tripod and a remote shutter release using S-AF with a small central point at ISO 200. Aperture Mode with silent shutter. IBIS was left on. SOOC jpgs used. Target was not ideal but it was all I had on short notice to hang up. Would have been nice to have something with more detail now that I see the results.

Here are some folders with photos comparing different lenses at different focal lengths for those who are bored and/or interested. My thought is that I created the files and maybe someone would like to take a look so I am sharing. See the file names which end with teh aperture value or the Info button for the apertures used. Typically used a range from wide open up to f8.

At 420mm, I compared the O300 with 1.4x to the O150-400 with the 1.4x and with the built in 1.25X. I did not use both teleconverters at the same time here.

At 300mm, I compared the O300 to the O150-400 as well as the O150-400 with the 1.4x and with the built in 1.25X. I also used both teleconverters at the same time here.

At 200mm, I compared the PL200 to the O150-400 (no tc)

At 150mm, I compared the O40-150/2.8 to the O150-400 (no tc)

After confirming I have a good long zoom lens I will likely sell the primes to re-inflate my wallet a little. Right now it looks like a vacuum pack.
I'm going to sell my 300mm f4 as well. It hasn't had any use since getting the 150-400mm. As your tests show, image quality is incredibly good.
 
I usually test lenses that I buy on a brick wall or something just to make sure they are not totally off in some way. My tests are not scientific and have a general lack of perfection but they serve my purpose to see if a lens is working generally as expected.

Today I tested my new 150-400 with and without the TC and the 1.4 Teleconverter in some cases against my 40-150/2.8, Leica 200/2.8, and 300/4 all of which I think work pretty well for me.

I am generally happy with the results and have not come to any conclusions other than the new zoom seems to be pretty good.

Tests were done on a cloudless day (with the sun scooting across the sky as usual and some tree shadows approaching) with a tripod and a remote shutter release using S-AF with a small central point at ISO 200. Aperture Mode with silent shutter. IBIS was left on. SOOC jpgs used. Target was not ideal but it was all I had on short notice to hang up. Would have been nice to have something with more detail now that I see the results.

Here are some folders with photos comparing different lenses at different focal lengths for those who are bored and/or interested. My thought is that I created the files and maybe someone would like to take a look so I am sharing. See the file names which end with the aperture value (or the Info button on the smugmug site) for the apertures used. Typically used a range of aperture from wide open to f8.

At 420mm, I compared the O300 with 1.4x to the O150-400 with the 1.4x and with the built in 1.25X. I did not use both teleconverters at the same time here.

At 300mm, I compared the O300 to the O150-400 as well as the O150-400 with the 1.4x and with the built in 1.25X. I also used both teleconverters at the same time here.

At 200mm, I compared the PL200 to the O150-400 (no tc)

At 150mm, I compared the O40-150/2.8 to the O150-400 (no tc)

After confirming I have a good long zoom lens I will likely sell the primes to re-inflate my wallet a little. Right now it looks like a vacuum pack.
Some useful test target links in my post here:

Thread 'A miscellany of lens test targets' Lens - A miscellany of lens test targets
 
This will be a little hard for me :). When I picked up the 300mm after using the zoom for a while it reminded me just how "relatively compact" that 300mm lens is when you consider the reach that you get.
I agree, the 300mm f4 is quite compact and lightweight. Still, I'm not using it and it's a waste sitting in the safe while the big zoom has all the use. I just need to find someone that's interested in a fixed focal length in that used price range.
 
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