PANASONIC LUMIX G Leica DG Vario-Elmar Professional Lens, 100-400MM, F4.0-6.3 ASPH, MIRRORLESS Micro Four Thirds, Power Optical I.S, H-RS100400 (USA Black)

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Ive been a stock photographer for nearly nine years and recently switched from a full frame DSLR to the 4/3 format. Weight reduction was the driving force behind that decision but after using my OMD em 5II camera for over a year, the most positive change (improvement) is the ability to see the effect of your exposure, before pushing the shutter. Every shot can now be perfectly exposed no matter how difficult the lighting situation. My decision to buy the Panasonic 100-400mm Zoom Lens over the other purchase options has also exceeded my expectations. The zoom range is the most apparent improvement but its not what make this lens such a great choice. Unlike most zoom lenses which are less than tack sharp at the extremes of their zoom range, this lens is super sharp all the way out to 400mm (800mm equivalent). It doesnt matter if youre using it to photograph an up close dragonfly or a distant bird your photograph will be sharp (assuming youve made the correct exposure decisions). The image stabilization is excellent as is the focusing which is extremely fast and accurate. Ive even been able to do hand held focus stacking (thanks to Olympus Technology), with very good results (see attached dragonfly photo). As stated by other reviewers, the zoom is rather stiff but not unlike other professional lenses and is very acceptable in my opinion. Due to the limitations of the current focusing technology in 4/3 format this lens will not keep up with fast action like flying birds but then this is no surprise as Ive had like results using my other lenses. While I have never given a five star rating before, I highly recommend this lens to anyone who wants "near perfection" in an extreme zoom lens. Without a doubt this lens has exceeded my expectations and is worth 5 stars and its rather exorbitant price tag.

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I was concerned with this purchase as the early indications from photog review sites showed the lens was not sharp. Panasonic & Leica seemed to recognize this and held up release of the lens to make appropriate adjustments. Knowing this & seeing a late "and very positive" review after it was finally released I took a chance and ordered it once it became available. Thank goodness I did that because this is a wonderful addition to our lens collection! Its a beautiful lens and works flawlessly but all that wont matter for me if its not sharp. Trust me this lens is VERY sharp and the colors are gorgeous! The thing I see about this lens is it needs to be worked to its strengths. Its obviously not the fastest lens in the world especially at the long end so you need to have good light in order to get the best results out of it. If I have poor, dim, overcast condition light Im going to use my Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 Pro or 300mm F4.0 Pro lenses because they are a lot faster "although without the range on one or the zoom on the other". If I have good light this is the lens I will have mounted because its so versatile with that huge zoom range and is fully capable of producing stunning results!

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After getting the Pana Leica 100-400 I had the opportunity to try it out on the seals and birds at Point Lobos resereve near Monterrey, CA and then on the beach birds near Pensacola, FL. and dragon flies on a hike near Prescott, AZ. I was very pleased with the results, better than I expected, very sharp especially at 400-500 mm equivalent and even at 600-800 mm equivalent the results were still very good. I also found the lens exceedingly useful for shooting sharp pictures of insects up to one half life size at 4.3 feet away allowing me to get many many more dragon fly and bee shots than I ever could have with a much shorter macro or medium tele focal length. I was also pleased that the Pana Leica matched quite well with my Olympus EM-1 although it was a bit irritating to have to remember to turn off the in body stabilization on the EM-1. Overall the Pana Leica lens stabilization worked quite well--I found that shooting sharp shots as slow as 100th of a second was possible if the subject remained still. However, I found it best to shoot birds at least 1000 even better at 2000 of a second and even faster to insure that I froze the action to cover sudden movements like hops, sudden turns and flapping of wings while shooting at 9 frames a second. But to shoot at those speeds I needed to ramp up the ISO speed more than I liked to (up to 3200) creating more digital noise unless it was a very bright day. This lens is very well suited for bright light conditions but struggles in early morning and lower light settings if capturing fast action is the need of the moment. I really like this lens it is extremely compact and light weight, quality is excellent to quite good across the entire zoom range but the reasons I did not give it a 5 rating are as follows: *the zoom mechanism from 100-400 and back is stiff making focal length changes while shooting a moving subject an awkward task! *vignetting or lens shading in the corners is very noticeable at 200-350 mm equiv. shooting at white sand beaches. *Success rate nailing focus on flying birds using Continuous Auto Focus is very low with the EM-1, hopefully more practice shooting birds in flight and the future purchase of the new EM-1 MkII will give the needed fix so I can get higher percentage of in focus hits. *Finally, $1799 pluse $150 California sales tax is too much for this lens--E-Bays current price of $1599 is about right.

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I have been waiting many years for a native micro 4/3 long telephoto zoom lens to come along. Finally, this one appeared. Its incredible. Sure, its expensive, but you get what you pay for. The main feature here is really the size. Consider that the Nikon 200-800 is enormous and costs $17k. The canon 800 is enormous and costs $13k. This costs under $2k. Ive got it in a tiny bag along with my GH4 and TWO other zoom lenses and the pancake. I bike around NYC with that on my back, no problem. To my knowledge, a lens of this range, at this price, and this size has never existed before. The image quality, stabilization, fast autofocus, excellent build quality, are all just icing on the cake. Its really not getting the attention it deserves.

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I am very disappointed with this lens. Photos are blurry, especially at the long range. The attached image was taken at 400mm with 1/250s with a GH4. This shutter speed should produce better results at 400mm. I will take more shots with a tripod asap to see if this improves things, but I am inclined to return this lens right now and spend a little more money. Update: I used the tripod and remote control, tried with and without O.I.S., manual focus and autofocus, full or reduced autofocus range, and got poor results across the board from 200mm through 400mm. The lense is going back now. I have 5 other lenses for this camera across a wide price range and they all produce better results. I will keep looking for better tele zoom. Based on the other reviews here, it seems that I am not the only one who had no luck with this lens, but others get good results. There must be an issue with the production process and quality. While the zoom was a bit stiff on my specimen, the mount of the lens and the operation of the zoom and lock ring felt firm and precise. I did not notice any mechanical issues.

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Definitely a nice step up from the old 100-300mm, more reach of course, but also sharper (even at 400mm), well built. I dont have any issue with the Zoom ring sticking as some mentioned. It also mounts pretty tightly on my G7. The focusing is much improved vs the old 100-300. I do worry a bit about the weight though, since the G7 does not have a metal reinforced face like the G85 or GH5. May have to upgrade! I have gotten some really nice bird pics with this as long as the light is good. Is it worth the $1800 list price??? Hard to say... but it does take much better pictures.

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I paired this lens with my LUMIX G85 camera and got some amazing results. The quality of the photos is really amazing. Some cons of the lens are as follows: The lens is very heavy. You will feel it after walking around shooting for a day. I used a monopod as much as I could to help with fatigue. Another negative is with the focus rings. They are very tight, they are not smooth flowing so making changes on the fly can be a little difficult. In daylight the camera is amazing. I tested it at our local zoo and got some great shots. I will post some photos here later. At night, it was just okay. But I expected this. All in all it is a serious upgrade from the 300mm model and so far I think it is worth the big price tag. I will update more later as I get to use more often.

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Amazing glass in this lens. I use it solely for birding on a Lumix g9 body and have been extremely pleased. It is fast and not bad even in low light (great on a tripod or monopod). It can be a little less sharp on the 400mm end but if you use a monopod the images are still very good. It’s a trade off for the extra reach, which I find I always need. In lens image stabilation is excellent and even though the lens is heavy it is very comfortable to hand-hold (and I am admittedly on the weak side). My only complaint before I realized I had the lens on lock was the tight zoom barrel. I read online that I needed to make sure the lens was not on lock and I swore up and down that mine wasnt, until I realized it was. So double-check that. Now that I have the lens unlocked I have no complaints about the zoom ring.

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Unparalleled reach,very good autofocus speed, I use on Olympus EM1 and have found it great to take wildlife and bird photos. Quite compact, quite heavy for its size. Barrel lock is effective. Perhaps not as sharp as M Zuiko 40-150 2.8 at 300mm equivalent, but from there on out I can simply take shots I never could, and print without excessive cropping and loss of sharpness. Good color rendition. There can be a blue cast to images simply because of the distance between you and the subject: for instance, shooting today from Berkeley across San Francisco bay at 800 mm equivalent, I could not get both towers of the Golden Gate bridge in the picture. And, I should add, this is a very easy lens to hand hold, at these ridiculous focal lengths. Images really are sharp at 800 mm thanks to Olympus camera stabilization combined with Panasonic lens stabilization.T There is some looseness in fit at the camera mount, but not interfere with operation at all.

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This listed item includes; the lens, lens cap, lens hood, lens sack, tripod mount. I did not get the polarizer or uv filter add ons, so I cannot attest to their quality. This micro 4/3 lens is great. It is well made and sturdy. I love to get great wildlife pictures with it. I only shoot in manual, but I assume anyone looking at this lens does as well. I mainly use it without a tripod, and of course I have to be very careful. Ensure your cameras neck strap is in good shape, because this lens will push it to its limit. Make sure to keep a hand on just in case. When using the lens at any extended zoom, you should engage the lock to ensure it stays in place. Theres no getting around the price tag though. But photographers all know it is an expensive hobby and career. Chances are you have probably spent alot on a camera body or two, so for some, this lens isnt much of a stretch to afford. Prime priced for sure. Overall I am happy with my purchase. I am excited for future shots I may get, as this is my first prime lens.

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