Micro 4/3 Olympus 100-400 vs 300 Pro

[Hendrik]

I recall some gnashing of teeth concerning Panny's repair policies in view of some perceived or proven fragility of the P100-400. I remember choosing the 300 Pro over the P100-400 for that reason. Should be a searchable topic.

 

[MountainMan79]

And not to trip you up too much on GAS, but over at MPB, they are selling used E-M1iii's for about $1,000.

Meh, no subject detection, so I’m good. I’ll go back to an x and pretend I know what I’m doing with it this time.

 

[MountainMan79]

I recall some gnashing of teeth concerning Panny's repair policies in view of some perceived or proven fragility of the P100-400. I remember choosing the 300 Pro over the P100-400 for that reason. Should be a searchable topic.

That sounds familiar. Was it a very tight mount with an Oly body? I can’t recall, but I do remember that.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Meh, no subject detection, so I’m good. I’ll go back to an x and pretend I know what I’m doing with it this time.

It’s all good. Didn’t know if you were chasing down the smallest combo, as the X is a bit more of a beast than the 1.3.

 

[MountainMan79]

It’s all good. Didn’t know if you were chasing down the smallest combo, as the X is a bit more of a beast than the 1.3.

No worries. I’m chasing the bird AI, and the X for a measly $900 is probably the most capable camera for the buck on the market right now. The only other is the OM1, which albeit way more capable, is also way more expensive.

 

[Avondale87]

Well that’s a somewhat interesting option. It can be had used for about what I can buy a new Olympus for, however it’s faster than the Olympus at f4 - 6.3 and the Leica badging means it’s no slouch. Hmmm…

Anyone with thoughts on the two 100-400 options given the Olympus body I’d be using it on?

I've the EM1 2 & Panasonic 100-400. And get very nice results given the right conditions.
It's smaller than the Olympus, slightly.
I'd be interested in others comments but it does suck dust in.
There's specks inside the lens now but doesn't appear to mess with quality.
Not sure how Olympus fairs.
It's something extending lenses suffer from I gather.
The 40-150 2.8 is internal zoom and I can't see any dust inside it.
I don't work around dusty, sandy environs so it's just typical muck in the environs.

 

[Hendrik]

Another point in favor of the O100-400 would be the claims of more robust weather sealing. Panasonic claims dust and moisture resistance while Oly claims weather sealing. What the metrics are behind the claims is anybody's guess, but one might be forgiven for thinking that Panasonic is saying, "We've done our best - be careful," and Oly is saying, "Go get 'em, tiger." Between fine mist, rain, snow and paddle drips, my O100-400 gets wet a lot and I have yet to be inconvenienced by other than water on the front element (rare, thank you nice, deep lens hood.). It has gone under the tap at times around salt water, as well.

 

[MountainMan79]

Good point. Weather sealing is super important, and I’ve shot in the pouring rain with my x and 300 before, and would want to do the same if needed. I think I remember seeing an ipx rating for that lens, so that’s a big plus. Ok…still leaning with my original decision now.

 

[SamoyedPapa]

The title thread caught my eye as I too have been debating whether to pick up the 300 f/4 for a planned trip to Costa Rica. I currently have the Oly 100-400 but it's too slow in the rain forest (I previously owned the PL 100-400 for about 6 months, but it irreparably snapped at the lens mount after dropping a foot to the ground from a bench seat). The 40-150 f/2.8 with the teleconverters is also in the mix (my Panny 12-35 and 35-100 f/2.8s have collected dust since I got the 12-100 f/4); so many choices.

In studying my options, I came across this entertaining Youtube video that you may find interesting as it lays out the real world pros/cons of going zoom or prime, even if it was comparing the 300 to the 40-150 with TC and the 150-400:

If you're not in a hurry, OMDS is known to be working on a faster (f/2.8 or 4) PRO telezoom in the 50-250 range. I will definitely be getting that one upon it's release.

 

[Avondale87]

Good point. Weather sealing is super important, and I’ve shot in the pouring rain with my x and 300 before, and would want to do the same if needed. I think I remember seeing an ipx rating for that lens, so that’s a big plus. Ok…still leaning with my original decision now.

Chris that is very valid
Somehow I feel more confident with the Olympus sealing than the Panasonic.
Plus the age old connection issue attributed to Panasonic 100-400 on EM1 bodies.
Metal filings etc.
No idea if it's still an issue but I never take mine off so it's not something I bother with.

But another matter is the zoom ring.
Panasonic , mine, is stiff as in STIFF.
Don't know what Olympus is like but the 40-150 2.8 is silky smooth and light.
Just now I was photographing a small wren when it's mate popped onto the branch next to it.
By the time I'd wrestled with the zoom it had gone.
My 40-150 2.8 would have killed that shot!

What's the lightness of zoom like on Olympus 100-400?

 

[Hendrik]

What's the lightness of zoom like on Olympus 100-400?

Not stiff-stiff, but nowhere near the 40-150 Pro. Any tromboning lens is likely to be harder to zoom than an internal zoom setup. The zoom helicoid on the O100-400 is pitched in such a way that the front section is easy to pull out or push in. This is how I normally deploy and home the lens. The zoom lock is very useful and necessary - zoom creep lives in this lens. Even so, I generally use the ring when my eye is to the viewfinder and I seldom lose my subject - especially when I’m widening the field of view. I orient the tripod foot so that it rests on the heel of my left hand. The tripod ring has some drag, yes, but I can still manipulate it easily enough with my thumb and middle finger.

 

[ac12]

But another matter is the zoom ring.
Panasonic , mine, is stiff as in STIFF.
Don't know what Olympus is like but the 40-150 2.8 is silky smooth and light.
Just now I was photographing a small wren when it's mate popped onto the branch next to it.
By the time I'd wrestled with the zoom it had gone.
My 40-150 2.8 would have killed that shot!

What's the lightness of zoom like on Olympus 100-400?

That isn't MY 40-150.
I have to grab the zoom ring with my hand to have enough leverage to work the ring. Too much drag, maybe from the weather sealing???
OK, it is not as bad as many other zooms, but . . .

For ME, light is the Nikon 70-200/4.
I can and do work the zoom ring with my fingers. And I do that for two sequential football games, which I can't do with a zoom with a stiff zoom ring.
In fact, that light zoom ring has kept that lens as my standard for field games.
I was hoping the 40-150/2.8 would be as light, but nope, it wasn't.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I tried a used pl100-400 and it had a terrible zoom action. Felt very grindy. Got a new one and never had a complaint on the zoom action. It is stiffer than most, but not offensively so, IMO.

 

[doxa750]

Chris, I am bit late to the party. Slowly getting back to this forum . Reading through all the comments and tried to understand your positions, past experiences, I think your best choice is EM1.X and Oly 100-400mm lens. Good luck with your choice. You are super lucky to get those kind of hefty discount. I am envious .

 

[MountainMan79]

Chris, I am bit late to the party. Slowly getting back to this forum . Reading through all the comments and tried to understand your positions, past experiences, I think your best choice is EM1.X and Oly 100-400mm lens. Good luck with your choice. You are super lucky to get those kind of hefty discount. I am envious .

I wish it was still half off! But beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. I think the X and the 100-400 make the most sense for me, and sometime between now and next spring I’ll pick those up.

 

[doxa750]

I wish it was still half off! But beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. I think the X and the 100-400 make the most sense for me, and sometime between now and next spring I’ll pick those up.

By the way, when you said, you didn't think you set up your 1X properly earlier by using AF tracking. I don't have 1X but believe you need to use AF tracking in order to enable AI detection like Bird AI. What I recall is that you need to use AF All Target on.

Anyhow, 1X AF is a notch or two above EM1.3. Only complain I have about EM1.3 is that sometime the image came out soft or OOF even though I nailed the focus. It also tends to lock on the background without proper Focus limiter setting. OM-1 solves those issue almost 100%. If you can get your hands on OM-1 at deep discount by spring time, I say go for it. Many have said, it even make their PL 100-400mm feels like a brand new lens. My two cents .

 

[MountainMan79]

By the way, when you said, you didn't think you set up your 1X properly earlier by using AF tracking. I don't have 1X but believe you need to use AF tracking in order to enable AI detection like Bird AI. What I recall is that you need to use AF All Target on.

Anyhow, 1X AF is a notch or two above EM1.3. Only complain I have about EM1.3 is that sometime the image came out soft or OOF even though I nailed the focus. It also tends to lock on the background without proper Focus limiter setting. OM-1 solves those issue almost 100%. If you can get your hands on OM-1 at deep discount by spring time, I say go for it. Many have said, it even make their PL 100-400mm feels like a brand new lens. My two cents .

Ah crap, your right. Bird AI only works with CAF+tracking. My issues were alway with the tracking turned on, as I’d have a million slightly soft shots, or just unusable shots. The 300 was calibrated perfectly, but I’d watch it nail focus, I’d press the shutter, and get a soft shot. More times than not. It’s why I got rid of it. Later I learned this was the case because the tracking stunk, and normal CAF was fine. I forgot you can’t enable bird AI without tracking on, so now I’m back to the drawing board. Maybe an OM1 is the way to go. Oh well. I’ll think on this for awhile. Thankfully I’m not in any sort of desperate position with my current gear, which returns good shots.

 

[doxa750]

Ah crap, your right. Bird AI only works with CAF+tracking. My issues were alway with the tracking turned on, as I’d have a million slightly soft shots, or just unusable shots. The 300 was calibrated perfectly, but I’d watch it nail focus, I’d press the shutter, and get a soft shot. More times than not. It’s why I got rid of it. Later I learned this was the case because the tracking stunk, and normal CAF was fine. I forgot you can’t enable bird AI without tracking on, so now I’m back to the drawing board. Maybe an OM1 is the way to go. Oh well. I’ll think on this for awhile. Thankfully I’m not in any sort of desperate position with my current gear, which returns good shots.

well, great thing you have time . I shall post some images taken with OM-1 at super high ISO soon. For my personal need, I have found ISO12,800 is usable with OM-1.

 

[MountainMan79]

well, great thing you have time . I shall post some images taken with OM-1 at super high ISO soon. For my personal need, I have found ISO12,800 is usable with OM-1.

Thanks for reminding me about that, or I would’ve repurchased it and not have been happy! I’ll continue to think about the OM1 for awhile and hopefully be able to get a deal at some point.

 

[BruceRH]

If you don’t plan on buying until spring, I would think a nice used OM-1 would appear at some point or maybe some discounts on the body around Christmas. The OM-1 really is worth it over the EM1X IMHO. Focus is better and the files are cleaner.