Lens help wanted

zorbo

zorbo

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john
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Dont know whitch way to go with lens choice and i thought id ask for some opinions. I am new to MFT comming from FF so at the moment i am down to two lenses a wide angle and the 12-100 f4. With the money from my FF gear i am looking to buy a longer lens and am torn between the olympus 300 f4 and the new olympus 100-400 when available.. Previously all i shot was wildlife ,but not done any for quite a long time .Lately i have gotten interested in landscapes .I am leaning more to the 300 f4 for several reasons ,but would this lens be soley for wildlife and birds etc and left in my bag for landscapes.I am not very far from lake district and most of my photography is from there so lots of hills /mountains etc but i would also like to get back more into birding.WOW im confusing myself.I cannot really explaing very well
 
Just my tuppenyworth...

I would almost certainly go for the extra versatility of the zoom, as long as it has good enough IQ for your wants/needs. A fast prime is all very well but unless it delivers a fair amount of extra IQ over the zoom or is significantly faster (a couple of stops), I would rather have the extra length and versatility. As far as landscapes go, 300mm on MFT is a bit long IMO!

FWIW, I'd also consider another body (or 2!) to reduce the number of lens changes.
 
When you say 100-400 do you mean the 150-400? The 100-400 is currently available whilst the 150-400 is going to be 12-18 months if you haven't placed an order already.

I think the 100-400 might suit you fine, I have seen a lot of images that look terrific with that lens.
 
It is the 100-400 5.6 that i am considering along with the 300.The 40-150 is very nice but a bit too short even with the converter.The 150-400 is out of my budget.
As you say the zoom gives more versatility but at my age i think i would need the tripod more and i was hoping to do more hand held and the 300 will synk with my em1 mk11 unless i read the review wrong. Having owned a FF 500 F/4 previously i understand what you mean about versatility also. thank you
 
Another vote for the oly 100-400 f5-6.3.

I had the PL for a short time on my em1.1 and felt it was very versatile for bif and general use. I know you can shove the tc14 on the 300f4 but I found doing that in the field ( even with my lighter 300pf and a tc14 iie a pain ).

The PL was very nice optically let down by poor build quality. I understand the oly is similar optically but made properly.

I abandoned m43 ( in favour of the usual suspect a d500+ tamron g2 for action/birding ) solely because I had to send the PL back.

With the advent of the oly 100-400 and the relative cheapness of em1.2 now it’s back on my “possible list”

I did have the 40-150 but not the 14 or 20 tc’s. It was a lovely lens but a bit front heavy for its range even with the em1.1 to my taste. I prefer the heft /balance of a 70-300 or 100-400 on a dslr / z. It’s funny, but I didn’t feel that way about the PL - probably because you expect 800 EFL lenses to feel a bit large.
 
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zorbo said:
It is the 100-400 5.6 that i am considering along with the 300.The 40-150 is very nice but a bit too short even with the converter.The 150-400 is out of my budget.
As you say the zoom gives more versatility but at my age i think i would need the tripod more and i was hoping to do more hand held and the 300 will synk with my em1 mk11 unless i read the review wrong. Having owned a FF 500 F/4 previously i understand what you mean about versatility also. thank you
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Put your mind at rest I use a 1-mkii + oly 100-400 for wildlife with and without the 1.4 tc total weight is 2kg ,I previously used the PL version but the Olympus is worth hanging on for .. as to worries about needing a tripod forget it I haven’t used my tripod and gimbal for 18 months the i.s system is really that good . And BTW I’m a few days shy of 75 .. plenty of sample images in the Olympus thread on here
 
Thank you looks like i may go for the 100-400 then.Seems to be more versatile for my way of shooting at this time. I will have to get my name on a waiting list .
 
Thank you for all the comments .I have placed an order today for the 100-400 but dont know how long it will take.
 
stryvya said:
Couldn't you hire one to try out?
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Why it’s the best general purpose lens for wildlife I have ever owned and that’s canon/Nikon/sigma lenses over 20 +years a quick view of other peoples photos on Flickr soon put any doubts to bed.

Plus with none freely available there’s none to be hired ?
 
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