PANASONIC LUMIX G II Vario Lens, 100-300MM, MIRRORLESS Micro Four Thirds, Power O.I.S, H-FSA100300 (USA Black)

Just got this lens and have used it quite a bit now on my Panasonic GX8. Wow, I am impressed. Its excellent. I mainly used it on the long end at 300mm and wide open at f5.6 for birds, and it is nice and sharp even without stopping down. Lots of feather detail on the birds even at some distance. The stabilization seems to work very well too. It is at least as good as my Olympus 75-300mm that I am now going to sell and I actually think it may be a little better. Its definitely nice to get the extra half stop of 5.6 wide open at the long lens compared to the Olympus f6.7 wide open at 300mm.

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This lens is quite fun. I pair it with my Panasonic GM5 . As with any modern camera and lens, the resulting image files are high quality. To a large extent (imo), the results depend upon the individual behind the camera. This lens works well for lunar photography. Also, great for small animals. However, for very small birds, such as hummingbirds, best results will be at ~10 feet or less. Otherwise, the photo will require an excessive crop in post production. Note, the hummingbird video I uploaded to Amazon isnt displaying the full resolution of the original file. I uploaded it to YouTube for a better viewing experience. The plastic body feels solid. A small nitpick is the telescoping zoom. I would prefer an internal zoom mechanism. Between shots, I sometimes inadvertently press on the end of the lens while it is zoomed out. This pushes the lens in, and ruins my focus. Ooops! A constant aperture would also be great, but I understand these features would make the lens bigger, heavier, and more expensive. Big props to Panasonic for including the hood! It is very much appreciated. Hear that Canon? None of this hood-sold-separately for $40 nonsense.

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Plenty sharp, even with the aperture wide open. Not as sharp as more expensive lenses with long focal lengths, but doesnt need to be. Focuses very well on my Olympus and Panasonic cameras. Smooth mechanical operation and magnificent image stabilization, especially with cameras supporting Panasonics Dual IS. Weather-sealing seals the deal for me. So why not five stars? Because zoomed in toward 300mm, the optics are slightly decentered, which usually introduces softness at the right edge of the frame. Research tells me this is a common problem with the 100-300mm lens, including version 1 (which means Panasonic has had a long time to improve quality, but hasnt done so). Also, the focus ring has a really cheap feel to it, compared with all the other lenses I own. These problems are acceptable for me, but could be serious enough for some users to make them want to either try many copies of the lens or go with an alternative.

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Excellent lens, well stabilized and renders superb images hand held. The Tiger was shot through bars, so contrast is not the best. The Giraffe was in deep shade; as was the Puma in its lair. Performance in all lighting conditions was superb. The image stabilization is best in class. All photos were hand held at distances of 30 to 300 yards! The image resolution is shown by the distinct whiskers on the Puma and Tiger.

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Great lens but does have some limitations. It is not a particularly fast lens so it can be difficult to get the shutter speeds you need unless you are out in the middle of day. Sharpness was better than I expected but does experience some drop off as you approach 300mm. The power optical IS in conjunction with the body IS of my G85 helps with some of the lens shortcoming. This wont help you if you are shooting birds or anything else that moves a lot but it certainly makes up for the slow apertures when shooting a still subject. This was the main reason why I chose the 2nd version over the 1st version. Build quality is good as this lens doesnt have that light plasticy feel that a lot of Panasonic lenses do. Overall I am very pleased with this lens for price and being able to have a 600mm equivalent at that price point is one of the reasons that I chose micro 4/3 to begin with.

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Better choice than the Leica 100-400 which I bought and returned because it was just not that impressive for such a hefty price tag. This is a third of the price and in my opinion is just as good. It doesnt have the all metal construction of the Leica but its built pretty solid. AF is lightning quick and pretty sharp when your subject is pretty close.

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I have a bird feeder and flocks of birds. Ive never had a "good" long lens before. The Olympus version is extremely slow with a wide-open f-stop of 4.8. Its a bit longer (75-300 rather than 100-300), and cheaper by a couple of hundred dollars ... but this lens got excellent reviews from everyone, especially from people who use it mainly to take pictures of birds. With an opening f-stop at 4.0, its obvious not a night-shooting lens, but in any normal daylight from bright sun to twilight, its sharp, bright and produced absolutely beautiful pictures. Im very, very happy with it. Its very smooth to focus. A bit big, but its got a lot of glass in it and although I really couldnt afford it, Im extremely glad I did!

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Awesome lens, and not bad in low light. Im a big fan of the Lumix line of m4/3 cameras and lenses, so I was eager to receive this long lens. The image crispness is terrific and works well at interior events. Its a bit thicker and longer than other lenses -- Ive gotten used to the compactness of the line. But its nicely balanced and natural to hold steady.

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Great lens. No complaints; smaller than I expected for this sort of telephoto lens. Attached are some sample photos, most of which have been touched up in lightroom.

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Wow! Super fast autofocus, good in moderately low light, and lightweight. I wind up using this paired with Panasonic G85 more often than Sony a6500 with Sigma MC-11 and Canon 70-200mm. Only potential negative is you have a serious telephoto, so no quick shots of someone/something closer than 10-20 feet away.

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