NOTE: All the images in this post are mine. They are all made with either an Olympus OM-D E-M1 X or OM-D E-M1 MK III camera body and the new 100-400 f/5.0-6.3 Zoom Lens. The lens I used was a pre-production model that is very close to the final version but lacked a firmware update and some other minor corrections. The images you see here are representative of what the lens can do and image quality as well as camera compatibility will only improve with the final shipping product. Also note that I am an Olympus Visionary. While my views are my own and I was not instructed what I could or could not say about the new lens, I want to disclose my relationship with Olympus for those who may not be aware. I tried to be completely honest and do not believe there is any bias in my review other than that which would come from any fan of Olympus products.
Most of the time, in the world of bird and wildlife photography, you want the longest telephoto lens you can find. The new Olympus 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens has an effective focal length of 200-800mm in a relatively compact, affordable form factor. If you add the M.Zuiko Digital 1.4X Teleconverter MC-14 to the Olympus 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens, you get a lens with an EFL of 1120mm. If you add the M.Zuiko Digital 2X Teleconverter MC-20 you get all the way to 1600mm EFL.
Now THAT will get you lots of pixels on any creature that might come into your viewfinder, even if it is far away.
The promise of a new telephoto zoom from Olympus that can achieve that kind of reach has excited many bird and wildlife photographers, including me. I was fortunate enough to get to test the lens early. I have had a couple of outings with this lens and I have to say, it exceeded my hopes. I put it through its paces, using it in real world, professional bird photography situations. I tested it with both the Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera body and the Olympus OM-D E-M1 MK III camera body. I also tested with both Olympus teleconverters. I tested it with both the OM-D E-M1X and OM-D E-M1 III.
If you don’t have time or interest to read my entire article, here’s the executive summary.
The Olympus 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS Lens is deadly sharp. It focuses quickly and accurately. Its construction is top grade. It’s relatively small and light weight for a lens that has such a long reach and the images it delivers are bright, crisp and contrasty. It has an insane close focusing distance of 1.3 meters and it will serve as a spectacular upgrade for those using other lenses in the same focal range on Olympus cameras. The new 100-400 offers features that the other lenses in the category do not, such as weather sealing. It works with both Olympus teleconverters and can get bird and wildlife photographers all the way to 1600mm EFL. It even supports Olympus’ brilliant in-camera focus stacking feature which makes sense because of the close focusing distance and the 0.57 magnification it can deliver.
You want one!
Now on with the rest of my review…
I have used lenses in this focal range throughout my career. I have used most of the commercially available tele zooms sold in the USA over the last 25 years. NOTHING in this price range and focal length comes close to the quality of the new Olympus 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS Lens. Nothing.
Let’s start with the basic lens construction and then go on to handling. The 100-400 is built with four ED lenses for suppressing color bleeding, two Super HR lenses, and two HR lenses for bright, clear, image performance all the way to the edges of the image, and across the entire zoom range. It has the famous ZERO (Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical) coating which in my tests, is effectively used to reduce ghosting and flaring. It’s very sturdy and hefty and well built, but it doesn’t feel as heavy as a lens capable of delivering an EFL of 800mm should be.
The rear focus system of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm drives the lightweight focusing lenses for fast, high-precision AF performance. This lens is also equipped with a Focus Limiter. It allows switching the AF operating range between three levels according to the focusing distance for quick focusing and comfortable shooting even in the super-telephoto range. Also, the in-lens image stabilization featuring up to three stops of compensation and it actually enables handheld super-telephoto shooting.
This lens has a variable aperture meaning the further you extend the lens, the smaller the maximum aperture will be. Extended to 400mm (800 EFL) your aperture will be f/6.3 wide open. You’ll notice that the M.Zuiko 300 f/4 IS Pro Lens is faster at f/4, but it is also shorter and much more expensive.
In the field I found that the lens still delivered a pleasing bokeh because I was able to get close to the subjects. In fact, the close focusing distance on this lens is just four feet and four inches (1.3 meters.) That is simply astounding. To be able to get that close to your subject and still access autofocus is something I consider to be quite remarkable. Similarly situated lenses on DSLRs have minimum close focusing distances of 15 feet and even more.
Since the closer the distance between camera and subject, the shallower the depth-of-field, I was able to work at f/13 and still have a background that was pleasingly out of focus.
There are a couple of handling things I want to mention. Thankfully, Olympus built the lens collar with an Arca-Swiss compatible lens foot. This means you do not need a separate lens plate to mount this lens to any traditional Arca-Swiss compatible ball head or gimbal. This is the same as on the 300 f/4 IS Pro Lens and I love it. This means one less piece of equipment to buy, carry around and mess with. You can just mount this lens as is to any Arca-Swiss head.
The lens has on-board image stabilization but it is not SYNC IS compatible. That said, the IS in the lens does work with the IBIS in the following way. The lens handles the pitch and yaw, while the IBIS corrects for roll. While this is not full SYNC IS, it is still quite good and better than using just the IBIS alone.
As mentioned, this lens comes with a focus limiter switch. This allows you to speed up autofocus acquisition when photographing subjects that are 1.3 to six meters, or six meters to infinity.
When working with subjects that are more distant to the camera, this limit really helps. There are other Olympus lenses with this feature, but on the 100-400 it’s one I strongly recommend that photographers be more inclined to use. The 100-400 does take a little longer to acquire focus of subjects more than six meters away if the focus limiter switch isn’t selected. But it’s there, so why not use it? I found it to be very effective.
Since some people have already asked me, the new 100-400 lens does indeed come with a lens hood. Lens Hood:LH-76D and no it’s nothing like the hood on the 40-150 f/2.8 Lens. The lens hood is a simple screw on affair. Good news it will also fit the 40-150 f/2.8 Pro Lens if you’re looking for a better solution for that lens. It is a little pricey at $39 if you buy it stand-alone.
Lastly, and this is the exciting news, the 100-400 works with both of Olympus’ teleconverters, i.e., the M.Zuiko 1.4 Teleconverter and the M.Zuiko 2.0 Teleconverter. This gives you a maximum effective focal length of 1120mm and 1600mm respectively! I don’t think there are many lenses (for any camera system) capable of this kind of reach. While these distances present new opportunity, they also present new challenges. You will need to be careful about atmospheric distortion when working at 1600mm and your technique has to be very good to coax the best results out of this combo. But those are good problems to have. 1600mm! Come on, man. That is far out! (See what I did there?)
I tested both Olympus teleconverters on the 100-400 and found that both performed beautifully. If you hear someone say that the 100-400 is “soft” when attached to a teleconverter, what that really means is the photographer making that report had poor technique. You can look for yourself. Some of the pictures that accompany this article were shot using the teleconverters. The results are sharp, and the image quality really very good, especially given the price point of this lens.
CONCLUSION
The price? A ridiculously low $1499. I was shocked when I saw how inexpensive this lens is compared to its ability to perform. You can see by looking at my test images (made with a pre-release but reasonably stable copy of the lens) that the image quality is superb. Some will worry about having to use smaller apertures but with a super telephoto like this it isn’t a problem. I have an image here made at f/13 and the background just goes away. If you know what you’re doing, it won’t be a problem.
Since I will also be asked about the Panasonic lens and how it compares, I feel it’s just easiest to address this head-on. People want to know how this lens compares to its closest competitor, i.e., the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6.3 ASPH. POWER O.I.S. Lens. First off, the Olympus lens has an MSRP nearly $300 less than the Panasonic. The Panasonic is a little lighter. And the Panasonic has an f/4 to f/6.3 variable f-stop compared to the Olympus f/5 to f/6.3. They both have image stabilization. The Panasonic does not have an Arca Swiss compatible foot. The Panasonic does have a built-in lens hood compared to the screw on lens hood for the Olympus. And lastly, the Panasonic lens is not weather proof while the Olympus is weather proof.
Now all that is just really a bunch of talk about specs. Here’s what you really want to know. How do images compare from these two lenses and what is their ability in the field to get you the results you want? I haven’t used the Panasonic lens for several years but I did have one and I can tell you it is a good lens. But it is NOT a great leans. There are lots of compromises involved in dealing with the focal lengths of 100-400 (200-800 EFL) and while Panasonic did the best they could with the technology available to them at the time, Olympus has really come through delivering far superior lens handling, autofocus and image quality. Given the fact that it is less expensive by nearly $300, well it’s not even close.
I have been able to get professional results out of almost every Olympus lens I have ever used. But I have never been able to so EASILY get professional results out of “pro-sumer” lens from Olympus or anyone else as I have with the new 100-400. The lens is expected to ship September 8, 2020. I hope that Olympus made enough of them!
Contact Hunt’s Photo (below) to get your name on the pre-order list. These things are gonna sell like hotcakes.
Picture Methods has partnered with Hunt’s Photo & Video to bring you the best gear at a competitive price and backed by personal service. Call Alan Samiljan at 781-462-2383 or Noah Buchanan at 781.462.2356. If you cannot reach either one try Gary Farber at 781-462-2332. You will ALWAYS get the best prices if you call the store v. Using the web site. You can also email Noah at: nbuchanan@huntsphoto.com or Alan at alansamhunts@gmail.com or Gary at: gfarber@huntsphoto.com. Hunt’s has been around a long time and you can trust them. Make sure to mention that Scott Bourne sent you. That will get you the best deal.
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