Looking for experience on going from PL 100-400 to Oly 300

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rd6743

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rd6743
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I've been searching on the forum and watched a number of youtube vidoes and whilst I appreciate the differences between zoom and prime, 300 vs 400 etc etc am hoping someone here has actually used both.

I'm seriously thinking about trading in all my DSLR gear and putting towards / or getting the 300mm f4 Pro and either a 2x or 1,4x teleconverter. I had considered the 100-400 oly put it doesn't seem to have sync IS.

I do progressively more wildlife photography, birds, deer and now wild goats with the OM-1

Had the PL out the other day and got some photos of the goats on hillside but could have done with more reach; physically getting closer wasn't option.


So, any used both lens and preferred one over the other? How does the 300mm F4 with 2x compare in image quality to the PL?


PS if you reply, I'll likely start trawling through your flickr photos too
 
The photo below is shot with and without the 2x digital TC (appreciate digital TC is not the same as actual TC) but my thinking is there's potential for the 300mm with 1.4TC or may 2x may get that bit closer and still have good image quality.

 
ah had the PL 100-400 then the olympus 100-400 the latter being the better of the two .BUT and its a very big but your limited by the aperture and a touch of focus breathing . I now use the olympus 300mm f4 with a 1.4 tc virtually permanently attached . it gives a full 420mm reach @ f5.6 and TBH I rarely change it down so shoot wide open that in FF terms gives you a effective 840mm reach hand holdable with around 7 stops of i.b.is

PLUS if your still challenged for reach you can use the 2x digital t.c in the camera to stretch out your reach to a effective 1680mm @ f5.6 still hand holdable o.k it delivers a jpg but there useable and I often slip one in with out anyone knowing

so yes its the way to go coupled with a firmware up to date OM1 its a killer combo . don't waste money on a 2x t.c as that drops your aperture value . p.s there are plenty of my images taken with this combo either in the olympus thread or in the birds section here or you can link to my Flickr stream from here to .a sample image below
last lap by jeff cohen, on Flickr
 
the black fox said:
ah had the PL 100-400 then the olympus 100-400 the latter being the better of the two .BUT and its a very big but your limited by the aperture and a touch of focus breathing . I now use the olympus 300mm f4 with a 1.4 tc virtually permanently attached . it gives a full 420mm reach @ f5.6 and TBH I rarely change it down so shoot wide open that in FF terms gives you a effective 840mm reach hand holdable with around 7 stops of i.b.is

PLUS if your still challenged for reach you can use the 2x digital t.c in the camera to stretch out your reach to a effective 1680mm @ f5.6 still hand holdable o.k it delivers a jpg but there useable and I often slip one in with out anyone knowing

so yes its the way to go coupled with a firmware up to date OM1 its a killer combo . don't waste money on a 2x t.c as that drops your aperture value . p.s there are plenty of my images taken with this combo either in the olympus thread or in the birds section here or you can link to my Flickr stream from here to .a sample image below
last lap by jeff cohen, on Flickr
Click to expand...

I'm convinced. If you haven't already, this one of yours would go well in the reflection thread....
https://flic.kr/p/2pLo3ot
 
Just sent the info off for MPB, and for the life of me I can't work out how I got so many lens!

8 lens, the D610 body and a 1.4 TC. Hopefully I'll get closer enough to be able to get the 300mm pro and 1.4tc; without too much cash going MPB's way too.
 
Just been to the post office and dropped off my gear, not as sentimentally attached as I thought I was apparently.

Had to drop the 1.4tc as didn't realise the lens I was getting had a mark on the front lens. Better safe than sorry...
 
rd6743 said:
Just been to the post office and dropped off my gear, not as sentimentally attached as I thought I was apparently.

Had to drop the 1.4tc as didn't realise the lens I was getting had a mark on the front lens. Better safe than sorry...
Click to expand...
Can’t quiet make head or tail of what your saying here ,the Nikon 1.4 or the Olympus 1.4 .and mark on the front of what lens .’?? ?
 
Was getting the 300mm F4 and 1.4TC from MPB. However, I noticed that the lens had a mark on the front I hadn't realised when ordering; is why it was a bit cheaper than the rest. So I'm just getting one of their other 300mm F4 lens, and as it cost more, dropped the TC from the order.

Posted my nikon stuff back.
 
rd6743 said:
Thank you for the responses, got the 300mm F4 without the teleconverter the other day and went out with it....very happy. I suspect the TC will get ordered very soon.

https://flic.kr/p/2pTTrXi

https://flic.kr/p/2pTStT2
Click to expand...
Congrats, IMO the dogs-wotzits of Oly lenses.

Don't discount the 2x built in Digital-Teleconverter in camera, give it a try first.

A high shutter speed and high ISO works best.

With todays Topaz DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI you'll be surprised at what is achievable.
 
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Well, it's finally happened. The 1.4 TC arrived the other day and just pop round to my parents to pick it up. Into the hills tomorrow to see how it fares. And, how I fare after having cold or covid19 earlier in the week.
 
You will be extremely pleased it doesn’t affect the iq in any way at all
 
Decided not to start a new thread, but since I'm really happy with the 300mm f4 and the 12-40mm f2.8 I feel there's a bit of a gap between the two.

Been looking at the 40-150 pro lens, the f2.8 and f4. At the moment, am feeling the f4 would be a better option considering it would be more for landscape photography so wouldn't be used much, if at all at f2.8. Maybe I could throw in the mavic air 2 as part of a trade deal....

Idea being, I could carry all three lens on any outing and not be overly heavy.
 
Update on this I had a change of mind recently and took a chance on another 2x tc ( my third one ) this one performs far better than the previous ones I owned and is a keeper this time .. the only caveat being that with a effective F8 aperture you really need decent light to use it .but the results can be spectacular when the lights right .. I suspect as well that now using the OM1 has helped in this assement . I’ll leave you to do the reach sums but 2400 mm reach at F8 hand held is achievable using 2x + 2x digital
 
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