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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 with Olympus PEN E-PL1 (1 Viewer)

R

relictus

Registered User
Anyone tried this lightweigth combination (ca.744 g)?
How performs the autofocus?
Can it track easliy birds in flight?
Is autofocus as fast as e.g. the Canon 7D or 50D?
 
I don't use this lens but I suppose it isn't a very good option for birds in flight, because the maximum aperture on the long end is pretty small (f6.7). You need a very good light to take some good shots with this aperture (supposing that you'll use a ISO value of 400). But, if the image quality with PEN is acceptable with ISO 800, I suppose that your combo will work for BIF...
I don't think that the autofocus will be as fast as with a Canon 40D/50D/7D.
 
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relictus said:
Is autofocus as fast as e.g. the Canon 7D or 50D?
Click to expand...

i have not tried the Cannon 7D or 50D, but from the results i see of these cameras, and my personal experience with the Zuiko 70-300mm, i think there is not no place for comparison, the Zuiko lens is not fast at all, and a bit difficult to focus when handheld, performs much better on a tripod, and this is not very convenient for flight shots.

while on the other hand i have used the Zuiko 45-150mm and found it very nice for flight shots, but only if the bird is easy to get like terns, as the reach of the lens is very limited.

and that all is only my personal opinion.
 
Warehouse Express are advertising this lens for £799.99, with a waiting time for delivery of 5-7 days, yet despite this some info on the net states that it won't be available until Dec 2010!

Taking into account the very high price (perhaps its biggest potential drawback, though hopefully it is a good indication of its quality) it looks like being a very small lens that could pack a powerful punch considering it will only weigh 430g.

I agree, birds in flight are not likely to be one of its greatest strengths, but if the IQ is as good as its price suggests, it could still prove to be a good solution for those who want a very small, light & versatile walkabout lens.

It is only 2/3 stop slower than Canon's 400mm f5.6 and 100-400L zoom lenses, both of which cope quite well for birds in flight in reasonable light, so it's not a complete disaster. If its focussing is quite quick and accurate then it should at least be useable in bright weather for occasional flight shots.

Finally, it will have almost as much reach as a 400mm lens on a Canon cropped sensor body (300mm with Olympus x2 crop factor = 600mm versus 400mm with Canon x1.6 crop factor = 640mm)

For the first time it looks possible to have a lens with this much reach, DSLR image quality and weighing in at well under 1kg (for the combined body and lens weight). If Olympus manages to keep the IQ high then it could prove to be quite an achievement.

Other pluses are the minimum focus distance of 0.9m, which should prove useful for butterflies and dragonflies.

I wonder how it will compare to Panasonic's forthcoming 100-300 zoom?

Steve
 
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Having read everything properly ...
Nobody has seen this lens in the wild, it'll debut at Photokina I expect, and the Panasonic is even more of a mystery ...
The Olympus is expected to be f/4.8 - f/6.7 while the Panasonic is expected to be f/4-f/5.6.
I'd hope (having used the old 4/3 ZD 70-300mm on my E-P2 and found it more than acceptable for portability and record shots ) that a dedicated mFT lens of the same range will, gram for gram, be even more handle-able and with a bit of luck, quicker to AF and sharper and more contrasty at the long end ...

we'll see

But I also think that if you want top notch quality for birding, then a high end dSLR and fast long prime is the way to go ... but you will also pay top top dollar, and be carrying a great deal more weight ... you pays your money, and you ....
 
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If Panasonic it is f4-f5.6, this will be an interesting gear. An equivalent of 600 mm (in 35mm) with f5.6 will be a great gear. What about the image quality at ISO 800 with PEN?
 
I use the Zuiko Digital 70-300 for macro shots and I have to say that is a great lens for this goal. I suppose that the new micro lens would be a great gear for this too.
 
Although the new Micro 4/3rds lens focusses slightly closer than the 4/3rd lens (0.9m as against 0.96m), the macro ratio seems to be poorer (only 1:5.6 as against 1:2). The figures are as quoted in the specifications on the 'Warehouse Express' website - unless they're incorrect, then it suggests that perhaps the lens achieves its minimum focus distance at a shorter focal-length than 300mm or the inner movement of the lens elements during focussing is affecting the nominal focal-length to quite a degree.

Either way, Olympus are making it frustratingly difficult to plump wholeheartedly for their new system - remember the lack of an EVF facility on the original EP1, for instance. Come on, chaps - design us a system that's genuinely competitive with a conventional DSLR at a reduced size, don't just reduce the spec as well.
 
Adey Baker said:
In fact, looking at the Olympus website the image magnification is x.18 with a 35mm equivalent of x.36 and the minimum focus distance achieved at the shortest focal-length of 75mm - sorry Olympus, this won't do, back to the drawing-board if you want my money!

http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/21693_23444.htm
Click to expand...

Whilst this does come as a bit of a surprise, I don't see it as such a great disaster as you seem to Adey. Olympus are marketing this as a compact tele-zoom afterall, not a macro lens.

I'm not sure what its MFD will actually be at 300mm, but hopefully it will be competitive with the forthcoming panasonic 100-300 lens. That lens still has a fairly respectable close focus distance of 150cm, which is similar to a Canon 300mm F4 (actually better whan taking into account the greater crop factor), which many utilise because of its capabilities as a butterfly/dragonfly lens. This is of course with the prerequisite that I have not missed any similar 'complications' with the Panasonic that limit the Olympus lens' abilities. What's more, there appear to be no TCs or extension tubes available for the M4/3 system as yet, which further limits the potential performance for close-ups.

Based purely on cost in relation to predicted performance, the Panasonic lens does appear to offer better value for money.

Steve
 
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SteveClifton said:
Whilst this does come as a bit of a surprise, I don't see it as such a great disaster as you seem to Adey. Olympus are marketing this as a compact tele-zoom afterall, not a macro lens.

Steve
Click to expand...

I'm sure it'll be a good lens for its purpose, Steve. I was, of course, speaking from a personal point of view. I have a Canon DSLR with a Sigma 400mm Apo/Macro lens which is ideal where you want to get a shot of a butterfly/dragonfly in less than ideal situations - for instance, when time is at a premium on holiday (wife watching impatiently!).

When holidaying in Europe the weather is usually sunny enough to assure fast shutter-speeds so the long focal length isn't a big problem for hand-holding but lugging it around all day in hot climates can get a bit tiring after a few hours. The weight-saving and compact size of a similar micro 4/3rds system would be really useful to me in these circumstances.

My 400mm gives a 'crop-factor' focal-length of just over 600mm on my Canon and the minimum focus distance of 1.6m gives a macro ratio of 1:3 on full frame which means slightly better than 1:2 and the lens gives high-quality images at this distance.

Of course, I'm not expecting Olympus to bring out a 300mm prime of a similar spec to my 400mm so I have to accept some compromises. The smaller sensor + the (probably) lower-quality image + the closer focus distance makes three compromises and the fact that I'd have to crop the image even more to get a similar-size image of the insect is probably one compromise too far.

I really like the concept of the micro 4/3rds system and I think it's what the original 4/3rds system ought to have been all along, but there's got to be a wide range of lenses/ accessories to go with it or it'll just get swamped by the 'big boys' when they finally get their mirrorless cameras out there.
 
Adey Baker said:
I'm sure it'll be a good lens for its purpose, Steve. I was, of course, speaking from a personal point of view. I have a Canon DSLR with a Sigma 400mm Apo/Macro lens which is ideal where you want to get a shot of a butterfly/dragonfly in less than ideal situations - for instance, when time is at a premium on holiday (wife watching impatiently!).

When holidaying in Europe the weather is usually sunny enough to assure fast shutter-speeds so the long focal length isn't a big problem for hand-holding but lugging it around all day in hot climates can get a bit tiring after a few hours. The weight-saving and compact size of a similar micro 4/3rds system would be really useful to me in these circumstances.

My 400mm gives a 'crop-factor' focal-length of just over 600mm on my Canon and the minimum focus distance of 1.6m gives a macro ratio of 1:3 on full frame which means slightly better than 1:2 and the lens gives high-quality images at this distance.

Of course, I'm not expecting Olympus to bring out a 300mm prime of a similar spec to my 400mm so I have to accept some compromises. The smaller sensor + the (probably) lower-quality image + the closer focus distance makes three compromises and the fact that I'd have to crop the image even more to get a similar-size image of the insect is probably one compromise too far.

I really like the concept of the micro 4/3rds system and I think it's what the original 4/3rds system ought to have been all along, but there's got to be a wide range of lenses/ accessories to go with it or it'll just get swamped by the 'big boys' when they finally get their mirrorless cameras out there.
Click to expand...

Adey, I know exactly what you mean, as when on my travels, I also like to cover the close & distant subjects with just one lens. At the moment, it's the 100-400L zoom, with a 25mm tube if I need it. I prefer to use a Sigma 180 macro when not so limited by space/weight restrictions, as I think the IQ is distinctly better for close-ups.

With the new m4/3 lenses from Panasonic & Olympus, it seems questionable at the moment whether either will cover both near & far subjects well. I'm sure these companies know exactly what we want, but instead decide to deliver it in the form of two lenses whan one should have sufficed!

Steve
 
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