Some Zuiko 70-300mm lens questions (1 Viewer)

pshute · Jan 16, 2015

After using my E520 with a manual focus Sigma APO 400/f5.6 since I bought it several years ago, I've bought a used 70-300mm lens and I've got a few questions.

- How do you hold it? Assuming one shouldn't be supporting it by the zoom or focus rings, or the moving outer barrel, there's not much left to hold.
- What's the best focus mode? I've got it set to SAF+MF so I can override it when there's vegetation in the way. I couldn't work out CAF+MF. As soon as I stop turning the focus ring, it AFs again.
- The focus ring is slow and gives no feedback. Is it safe to just turn the barrel to focus mechanically?

I still have to do some proper tests, but so far I'm disappointed with the image quality. Seems very flarey to me. I thought it might rival the Sigma despite the shorter focal length, because the design is decades newer, and the Sigma has haze on an inner element that would make it unsellable except sight unseen on eBay to suckers like me. Could it be that I've bought a faulty one?

pshute · Jan 16, 2015

Here's a sample, showing the full frame resampled to half the resolution to make it small enough to upload, and a crop.

This is taken at 1/500, ISO 100, f5.6. Why so soft? Is it just because it's focused a bit behind the bird?

I've never really cared much about bokeh, but maybe that's because the Sigma had nice bokeh. This lens's bokeh is ugly. Maybe that makes it unforgiving of focusing errors?

iveljay · Jan 17, 2015

At about 30 ft you have about 3 inches (three thumb widths) of dof either side of the point of focus (this being the most obvious problem), when I use this lens it also benefits greatly from being stopped down (not just for dof but also controlling lens abberations) - as do many lenses. The supplied lens hood is a must if you don't want flare.

While it isn't the worlds greatest lens it is capable of results far better than your example - see

http://www.lenstip.com/230.11-Lens_review-Olympus_Zuiko_Digital_ED_70-300_mm_f_4.0-5.6_Summary.html

which while it isn't complimentary for some aspects of the lens performance, does have some typical bird shots taken at 300mm that you would probably find more acceptable.

Turning a lens manually where there is no 'real/mechanical' manual switch built into the lens places strain on bearings, cam followers or gears. This will build up slackness in the system at the very least and can result in lack of precision in focussing or jamming of components, depending on the lens design. (On inspection, the lens barrel does rotate quite easily - unlike some - especially when you are putting on the lens hood! It is still something I would avoid.)

The lens is normally supported by your hand on the zoom ring - this should not normally be slack enough to be a problem.

I tend to use monopods with this lens on a E-520. The bigger bodies on an E-30 or E-3 are better balanced, however that fact doesn't help you a lot.

The exposure at 9 a.m. (in one of my typical bird roosts - empty because it is snowing) being 1/80th at f5.6 at ISO 1600, the image stabilisation on its own doesn't stand a chance!

iveljay · Jan 17, 2015

E-520, 300 mm, ISO 800, 1/400, f8, IS1, handheld leaning against wall - locked exposure and focus and then concentrated on holding steady so focus point was actually where leaves are sharp! Full frame jpeg - reduced and compressed.

If a bird turns up will snap it!

iveljay · Jan 17, 2015

Found a bird shot! E-3, 1/200, f5.6, 300mm, 800 ISO full frame, shot through double glazing so enhanced slightly to compensate.

It appears that I rarely use this lens for birds, most of my grab shots have been on various superzooms - they weigh less!

Jakob72 · Jan 19, 2015

Why shouldn't you hold it by the zoom ring? That is where I hold it.

I use SAF+MF on my OM-D E-M5 for the same reasons as you do.

This is my primary bird lens. I like the bokeh that it produces and it is sharp enough for me.

I even use the EC-14 converter with good results.

I have put together a small folder with some examples of mainly bird shots take with this lens here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87078874@N07/sets/72157650359808292/

/Per

iveljay · Jan 19, 2015

Per,

Nice pics.

Do you find the auto focus is reliable/fast enough on M 4/3 using the MMF-1, 2 or 3 adaptor?

I'm afraid that I havn't yet used it on a micro 4/3 yet as I am a bit sensitive about hanging a lens twice the weight of the camera on the E-M5 lens mount + adaptor and also wary of the strain on the tripod mount. It looks huge enough on an E-520 for me. Also it won't fit in the E-M5 lens bag and trots around with the old E-3 kit as a result.

The lighter OM 500mm f8 is a better bet for me when I'm in the mood - via an MF OM adaptor, but is purely manual and of course you get the doughnut ring out of focus highlights.

May have a play tomorrow, weather permitting.

Back to pshute, it is a 2007 design and it does have its deficiencies compared to the latest offerings, but it certainly should work for you, have you tried shooting something like a brick building on a reasonably bright day to check the lens for performance under ideal conditions. I am concerned by your interesting bokeh effect which I have never seen on my example.

J

Jakob72 · Jan 20, 2015

Thanks!

The AF is fast enough for non flying birds but for birds in flight it sometimes hunts focus. I use the Viltrox adapter (can be found extremely cheap on Ebay).

My tripod is usually occupied by the spotting scope so almost all pictures are taken handheld. With the amazing image stabilisation of the E-M5 it is possible to get sharp shots down to 1/250 even with the TC on.

iveljay · Jan 20, 2015

Excellent, I must get out and see what it can do on my E-M5, I have clearly lost my sense of camera creativity. Some years ago I even tried the 500 f8 on an Olympus E-1 + 2x convertor, the equivalent of a 2000mm lens seemed too good to pass up. Even with the great prism finder on the E-1 trying to focus at f16 s worth of light and no effective depth of field wasn't really workable. Perhaps a modern evf may make all the difference!

Not one for handholding or birds in flight I think.

njlarsen · Jan 20, 2015

Is there a tripod collar on the lens? some straps are able to screw into the tripod collar instead of attaching to the camera.

Niels

iveljay · Jan 20, 2015

No Neils, there is no tripod collar on the lens, the original E series 4/3 cameras will take the weight, anyway the barrel is largely covered by the rotating zoom ring when at the wide setting, the nice flat bit between the grip and the mount rotates too. Its fine on the cameras it was designed for, but as it weighs 625 gm with the cg some distance away, I am playing safe with m 4/3 on a tripod, I may be over cautious.

To be fair Olympus expect everyone to have transitioned to the M 4/3 75-300 Mk I or Mk II lens which is 200gm lighter. Its just that as I still have the full size bodies I tend to use them for the zooms 12-60 etc., and use the M 4/3 Primes on the E-M5 as a high quality lightweight setup.

You have prompted a thought for pshute and his E-520. There was a firmware update for the lens back in 2012 for Version 1.4 that improves manual focussing. In the circumstances it is probably worth checking that it has been applied to your lens and if not carrying it out, it only takes a few minutes. Details below:

http://www.olympus.co.uk/site/en/c/cameras_support/downloads/zuiko_digital_ed_70_300mm_1_4_0_5_6_download.html

Just checked mine - it was up to date - you never know!

pshute · Feb 14, 2015

Jakob72 said:
Why shouldn't you hold it by the zoom ring? That is where I hold it.

I'm used to holding a lens closer to the end for more stability, but maybe that's not necessary with a lens this light.

This is my primary bird lens. I like the bokeh that it produces and it is sharp enough for me.

I've found that the odd bokeh in my sample is probably cured by reducing the aperture a little.

I have put together a small folder with some examples of mainly bird shots take with this lens here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87078874@N07/sets/72157650359808292/

/Per

Thanks for those, the quality looks pretty good. But are those all full frames? Perhaps I'm asking too much of this lens by cropping so much, but I use it for id, so I take shots at whatever distance the bird happens to be.

pshute · Feb 20, 2015

iveljay said:
You have prompted a thought for pshute and his E-520. There was a firmware update for the lens back in 2012 for Version 1.4 that improves manual focussing. In the circumstances it is probably worth checking that it has been applied to your lens and if not carrying it out, it only takes a few minutes. Details below:

http://www.olympus.co.uk/site/en/c/cameras_support/downloads/zuiko_digital_ed_70_300mm_1_4_0_5_6_download.html

Just checked mine - it was up to date - you never know!

I will have to try this. Is there any way to tell what the installed version is without running the update utility?

I still haven't had time to do many proper tests, but I'm thinking this lens is just flarey when wide open.

Cristian Mihai · Feb 20, 2015

For the long end (300 mm) I would suggest to use apertures of f7.1 or f8. The lens is pretty soft for larger apertures (f5.6, f6.3). In the past I used the combo E-520 + 70-300 a lot and I achived acceptable results using f8. I will not recommend a E-14 added to this combo. In my humble opinion, the only acceptable solution for a focal length about 800 mm on E-520 is to use 50-200 mm SWD plus EC-20. In a good light this last combo deliver acceptable results for f9.

Jakob72 · Feb 23, 2015

Most of my pictures are more or less cropped.

Tis one is taken with the TC on (focal length 425mm) and wide open (f8.0). It is heavily cropped:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87078874@N07/15825807696/in/set-72157650359808292/

This one is also taken with the EC-14 on (focal length 338mm, f7.6). Slightly cropped.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/87078874@N07/11000442923/

I have found that focal lengths around 250mm produces sharp shots wide open, even with the EC-14 on. At 300mm it can get a little bit softer wide open.

Tord · Mar 3, 2015

Cristian Mihai said:
For the long end (300 mm) I would suggest to use apertures of f7.1 or f8. The lens is pretty soft for larger apertures (f5.6, f6.3). In the past I used the combo E-520 + 70-300 a lot and I achived acceptable results using f8. I will not recommend a E-14 added to this combo. In my humble opinion, the only acceptable solution for a focal length about 800 mm on E-520 is to use 50-200 mm SWD plus EC-20. In a good light this last combo deliver acceptable results for f9.

I agree to this.
Samples of what 50-200 SWD + EC20 can produce can be found in this post (other forum) http://e-group.uk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13640&page=4. F/9 is the sweet spot. F/8 works but will not produce as sharp images. F/7.1 (wide open) will produce somewhat soft pictures.

pshute · Mar 8, 2015

iveljay said:
You have prompted a thought for pshute and his E-520. There was a firmware update for the lens back in 2012 for Version 1.4 that improves manual focussing. In the circumstances it is probably worth checking that it has been applied to your lens and if not carrying it out, it only takes a few minutes. Details below:

http://www.olympus.co.uk/site/en/c/cameras_support/downloads/zuiko_digital_ed_70_300mm_1_4_0_5_6_download.html

Just checked mine - it was up to date - you never know!

Finally got around to attempting this update. Took a while to find the cable, which I've never used before - is it a proprietary plug? I have v1.3, and 1.4 is available for it.

Battery went flat during the upgrade, so I've bricked the lens. Silly of me not to check. With the old MF lens, the battery lasts ages, but this AF lens chews through it quickly and I'm not used to it.

Has anyone had a bricked lens fixed? Expensive? If it is then I'm not sure I'll bother, I'm not that fond of it.

Some Zuiko 70-300mm lens questions (1 Viewer)

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