MFT lens 100-400mm, Leica DG, announced (1 Viewer)

[nikonmike]

My 100-400 came yesterday. It's my first Leica lens and I couldn't help bursting out into song..."Leica virgin...set the f stop, for the very first time" ;o0

I also got a new GX85, and learning the combo is a bit challenging. I'll have some comments on the lens when I get some more experience with it. Meanwhile, I went out this morning an got a couple of hand-held shots. The autofocus and OIS are impressive

Both shots are taken at 400mm, auto focus, straight out of camera except for crop and rot on coot. Coot looks fairly good, robin is soft. Perhaps due to ISO of 250 and 1000 respectively. Coot is full auto exp, robin aperture priority.

C&C welcome.

Don

Hope you dont mind but just out of interest i ran the Robin through shake reduction,obviously it would not be perfect but if it was a rare catch.

 

[DonB]

Hope you dont mind but just out of interest i ran the Robin through shake reduction,obviously it would not be perfect but if it was a rare catch.

Thanks nikonmike, I appreciate your taken the time to do that. It's an interesting change. At first glance it looks better, but there are some artifacts introduced which detract.

Fortunately it's not a rare catch at all, I expect I'll have other chances for a sharp clean shot.

Thanks again.

Don

 

[DonB]

Here's a better shot of the Robin. It's taken near the min focal distance of the lens, just over a metre away, lens @100mm. A flash of yellow, turn the camera and snap a short burst. Lens/camera still in beginning learning stages, couldn't get a decent shot of a nearby quite active fairy wren, everything really blurry.

 

[capdegat]

I got rid of all my big stuff due to bad health but find it difficult to let go . Bought gx8 and 100-400 but now have gout so can only sit in garden room and look out .
first couple of pics - not bad even if lowly breeds .
Lens seems very sharp , not sure about mirrorless yet !

 

[nikonmike]

I got rid of all my big stuff due to bad health but find it difficult to let go . Bought gx8 and 100-400 but now have gout so can only sit in garden room and look out .
first couple of pics - not bad even if lowly breeds .
Lens seems very sharp , not sure about mirrorless yet !

Nice shots Les,ime in the same situation had to let the heavy gear go,mirrorless is not as good as a DSLR but it keeps me taking pictures and enjoying it,thats all that matters.
Its taking me a while to get the hang of the GX8 and 100-400 but ime getting there.

 

[capdegat]

I've just managed to get out for my first outing - gout doesn't hurt as much as is made out but it's bl***** debilitating !
Obviously after a first shoot there's a lot to master but a few pics came out fine . I haven't seen a reasonably close snipe for quite a time so this was excellent to see . Surprised myself with the cormorant as BIF seem rather difficult with m43 - I live in hope that one day I'll actually take a good one :smoke:

 

[nikonmike]

I've just managed to get out for my first outing - gout doesn't hurt as much as is made out but it's bl***** debilitating !
Obviously after a first shoot there's a lot to master but a few pics came out fine . I haven't seen a reasonably close snipe for quite a time so this was excellent to see . Surprised myself with the cormorant as BIF seem rather difficult with m43 - I live in hope that one day I'll actually take a good one :smoke:

Thats a good BIF, and some nice captures,have you set the camera to give you the best chances,ie things like no more than medium frame rate,although i am trying low which gives only 2 fps.
I see your just down the coast from me,

 

[nikonmike]

This one gave me no warning i walked around a corner and it took off,would have liked a bit more space as there is no cropping on this.

 

[capdegat]

chance would be a fine thing to get that close !excellent . Surely it takes too long to even get the evf on ? I'm playing with af tracking at well as my normal single point , still on single shot .

 

[nikonmike]

Les,have you seen this guys write up for BIF,i cant remember but i did alter it a bit after trying,his settings though do enable you to track with CAF,i have had as many as 7 in focus shots from one BIF burst.
Have you checked your on the latest firmware update as it does something to help CAF.

http://naturalexposures.com/birds-in-flight-settings-for-lumix-cameras/

Tried to follow your flickr link but it said bad link.

mike

 

[capdegat]

sorry about link but I took down old flickr and have new one and have modded signature. Basically after so long I get bored with all pics and start again .
Will peruse your ref .

 

[macdoc]

Just got mine here in Australia and bit intimidated by the weight but very happy at the speed of the camera/lens compared to the P900 it replaced.

It's quite a shift from the lovely and featherweight 45-175 which takes photos with superb IQ ...but not the reach I need.

I had trouble getting good IQ past 250 mm on the 100-300 but this one apparently is sharp wide open at full range.

No BIF shots as yet but should be some tomorrow.

The wagtail IQ is reasonable tho I should have taken more time with the peak focusing.

I was pleased with the full zoom cropped photo of a decorative plant.

I have a weak shoulder and found anything above 45 degrees a bit of a chore to hold and focus but I should be fine over time ....it's a chunk compared to the 100-300. Focus ring is smooth - zoom is stiff initially but reports say it loosens up.
Multiple mounting points for the tripod is a good feature...

This was a good hands on review and he shoots the way and what I shoot.
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2016/...ic-leica-100-400mm-lens-review-by-bob-towery/

Looking forward to a trip to Yellow Water in a few days for lots of wildlife opportunities

 

[capdegat]

A few from recent holiday showing how good lens is. At the moment however I'll be going back to slr because of Af and EVF. For me response just isn't quick enough and I lost a few good chances and they don't appear very often with bearded tits - there one second ,gone the next .Missed the males ! Excellent quality from system when close , further away - not there for me .

 

[Geoffw58]

100-400mm and m43 system

Last year I sold all my Nikon system after 40 years and switched to M43 with Olympus omd-em-1 body and earlier this year got the 100-400mm.There is no way I would go back! The optical vf seems dark and dull,you can't magnify the view easily,the weight of a D800 and 500mm f 4 was crippling.The 100-400mm is excellent,the af is pretty good and its as sharp as any lens I have had.I can carry this outfit all day and barely notice the weight.Considering the M43 system is not yet a decade old it shows great promise for the future.

 

[njlarsen]

Thanks Geoff,
I do not yet have the 100-400, but I am very happy with my current 100-300 and a pana camera.

I do feel a little concerned with not knowing if the oly or the pana cameras being the best fit for the 100-400 when I get that one.

Niels

 

[Vespobuteo]

Not sure if this review has been posted before:

http://www.lenstip.com/476.1-Lens_r..._4.0-6.3_ASPH._POWER_O.I.S._Introduction.html

 

[njlarsen]

That is the review where he did not seem to need to do any testing

There’s a proverb saying that any strategy cuts both ways. It is perfectly right. As you deal here with a zoom lens it will need stopping down by about 1-1.5 EV at the maximum focal length in order to “cut out” most of optical aberrations. It means a necessity to close the lens to f/9-11 apertures. In the case of a small Micro 4/3 sensor with a resolution of 16 millions of pixels the diffraction limits resolution in a significant way by those aperture values so the lens simply lacks space to spread its wings. I don’t have to test it thoroughly in order to know that it will be a huge success if at 400 mm the lens is able to produce images of barely decent quality.

Niels

 

[Vespobuteo]

That is the review where he did not seem to need to do any testing


Niels

Not sure what you mean, the quote you refer to is just an introductory discussion,
they did a lot of testing. More tests than I have seen in other reviews.
But the results at 400mm looks not as sharp as I have seen elsewhere.
Feels a bit strange. Shutter shock problems? Air/heat movements?
This for example lacks contrast to me.

http://pliki.optyczne.pl/pana100-400/pan100-400_fot14.JPG

 

[njlarsen]

I mean that he seemed to have reached the conclusion before even starting the test ...

Niels

 

[Vespobuteo]

I mean that he seemed to have reached the conclusion before even starting the test ...

Niels

:-O
Perhaps, but most (if not all) super telezooms are a bit weaker at the long end so the results are not that surprising.

Ephotozine review shows a similar trend (but not quite the same drop in edge sharpness..):
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/...o-elmar-100-400mm-f-4-0-6-3-asph-review-28971
Unfortunately some of their test shots are a mess with motion blur etc...

When it comes to flares/ghosts, I wonder if they used the larger lens hood when testing? It's not on any of the photos in the review. The integrated lens hood is far too short..

Overall to me it seems that the Panaleica 100-400mm is a solid lens with 800mm reach,
It's not as good as a Nikon 800mm/f5.6 FL...but it only costs 1/10th.
:t: