I have the Olympus version and absolutely love it (never tried the Panasonic). I find it very sharp indeed, I can hand hold at ridiculous shutter speeds(no tripod needed) and I find it lightweight - just sling it over my shoulder and off I go.. eq. 800 lens that’s just crazy
To my testing, when using the panasonic lens, it's better to turn the lens stab off and just use the ibis. The OM-1 ibis is really effective and I think it surpasses the performance of both lens stabilization. Another thing is the SAF speed for the panasonic lens is faster than the Olympus lens. Possibly because the Olympus lens uses a STM motor.
@@LeighWPhotos The ibis is really strong. I can handheld 1/15s with ibis only at 800mm while only 1/30 with the lens stab. Quite strange though. The CAF is on par. For wildlife, I barely use SAF anyway except for still birds. Not something that much of an issue. Just one small observation.
I have an early 100-400 Panasonic, thought that glass was good but af wasn't reliable. What I couldn't cope with was the mechanical construction, it was like two pieces of scaffolding pipe sliding inside one another. Since having the Olympus I've only touched the Panasonic to move it out of the way!
I have the PL 100-400 and I will say that the copies seem to vary considerably. I bought mine new from an online seller (I imagine that it’s a gray market lens with no support but I’ve had it for a couple of years with no issues) and it is very smooth on both zoom and focus. I have a friend who bought one used from a local store and it is very stiff. I suspect that a lot of used ones are on the market because of the stiffness. I played with a new one in our local store a few months ago and it was reasonably smooth as well. If I were starting from scratch I would likely buy the Oly version. Since I have a good copy of the Panasonic I will likely keep it. First I have to find an OM-1.
Have you tried the procapture feature on the Olympus yet? I think you'll find it only works with Olympus lenses mounted on the camera i.e. you won't be able to use this feature with the Panasonic lens. This would be a big deciding factor for me.
Hi Keith, Procapture definitely seems to work with the Panasonic on the EM-1 Mk2. I didn't get chance to test it with the OM-1 though due to needing to borrow the lenses for a short time to do the video but my friend who owns the Panasonic has no problems with it at all.
I would say definitely. I've not tested it but the whole ethos behind the micro four-thirds standard is that everything is interchangeable so I wouldn't see a problem with it.
@@LeighWPhotos I'm considering getting the Oly lens (because it's cheaper than the Leica 100-400mm) and pairing with a GH4. My biggest concerns with that would however be stabilization. The GH4 has no IBIS and I'm not sure if the camera would give power to an Olympus lens for Power OIS at the least, to get shots that are usable.
@@draysax that's definitely something I think it's best asking a Panasonic centric forum. In theory the lens stability should work fine, but I couldn't guarantee it. I know on Olympus cameras it doesn't do full sync with the camera so you have to rely on the lens and it works well enough.
@@LeighWPhotos it syncs the same way, but not with the same amount stops 😊 only 1 with the lenses 2 stops. 12-100mm and 300mm gets all 6 in camera and the full amount from the lens. It think it's 8 stops with om-1, right? 7.5 with m1 mark iii
Thank you Bill! All of the shots on the first half of the video were with either the Panasonic 100-400 or Olympus 100-400. A few shots at the end were with the Olympus 300 f/4 Pro with 1.4x Teleconverter though but the 100-400 shots are titled to show which lens I was using at the time :)
Sorry Bill, I mis-understood you. The 100-400 lens shots were all shot at 400mm, I tend to use the super telephotos at their longest reach for wildlife as the distance is usually the requirement for such a long lens. It's also the reason that I've bought the 300mm f/4 Pro as I so rarely used the zoom it seemed the ideal lens for quality and image stabilisation for what I'm looking at doing with it.
Another slight advantage of the Oly lens is the possibilty of using the MC14 converter with it giving you 560 mm.
Yes, and it does work quite well but you do have to be aware of your max (min) aperture going up too so bright conditions are a must!
I have the Olympus version and absolutely love it (never tried the Panasonic). I find it very sharp indeed, I can hand hold at ridiculous shutter speeds(no tripod needed) and I find it lightweight - just sling it over my shoulder and off I go.. eq. 800 lens that’s just crazy
It's definitely a great lens for usability and build quality and the shots are spot on from it too!
To my testing, when using the panasonic lens, it's better to turn the lens stab off and just use the ibis. The OM-1 ibis is really effective and I think it surpasses the performance of both lens stabilization. Another thing is the SAF speed for the panasonic lens is faster than the Olympus lens. Possibly because the Olympus lens uses a STM motor.
The ibis in the OM-1 really is well implemented isn't it? Interesting fin on the Panasonic being faster too. Not something I noticed on the day!
@@LeighWPhotos The ibis is really strong. I can handheld 1/15s with ibis only at 800mm while only 1/30 with the lens stab. Quite strange though. The CAF is on par. For wildlife, I barely use SAF anyway except for still birds. Not something that much of an issue. Just one small observation.
I have an early 100-400 Panasonic, thought that glass was good but af wasn't reliable. What I couldn't cope with was the mechanical construction, it was like two pieces of scaffolding pipe sliding inside one another. Since having the Olympus I've only touched the Panasonic to move it out of the way!
You can definitely feel the difference in the construction can't you? The Olympus just feels a little more "complete" I thought.
I have the PL 100-400 and I will say that the copies seem to vary considerably. I bought mine new from an online seller (I imagine that it’s a gray market lens with no support but I’ve had it for a couple of years with no issues) and it is very smooth on both zoom and focus. I have a friend who bought one used from a local store and it is very stiff. I suspect that a lot of used ones are on the market because of the stiffness. I played with a new one in our local store a few months ago and it was reasonably smooth as well. If I were starting from scratch I would likely buy the Oly version. Since I have a good copy of the Panasonic I will likely keep it. First I have to find an OM-1.
The OM-1 is definitely in short supply at the minute that's for sure but what a camera!
Thanks for the review. I think I would opt for the Panasonic due to the size and availability on the used market.
It's a great lens!
Have you tried the procapture feature on the Olympus yet? I think you'll find it only works with Olympus lenses mounted on the camera i.e. you won't be able to use this feature with the Panasonic lens. This would be a big deciding factor for me.
Hi Keith,
Procapture definitely seems to work with the Panasonic on the EM-1 Mk2. I didn't get chance to test it with the OM-1 though due to needing to borrow the lenses for a short time to do the video but my friend who owns the Panasonic has no problems with it at all.
@@LeighWPhotos pro capture low (which has af) doesnt work on em12/3 or em1x with pana lens, i think it works with om-1
Thanks for this comparison. I would like to know if the Oly lens works well on a Panasonic camera.
I would say definitely. I've not tested it but the whole ethos behind the micro four-thirds standard is that everything is interchangeable so I wouldn't see a problem with it.
@@LeighWPhotos I'm considering getting the Oly lens (because it's cheaper than the Leica 100-400mm) and pairing with a GH4.
My biggest concerns with that would however be stabilization. The GH4 has no IBIS and I'm not sure if the camera would give power to an Olympus lens for Power OIS at the least, to get shots that are usable.
@@draysax that's definitely something I think it's best asking a Panasonic centric forum. In theory the lens stability should work fine, but I couldn't guarantee it. I know on Olympus cameras it doesn't do full sync with the camera so you have to rely on the lens and it works well enough.
@@sterling1015 Thank you so much!
Om-1 with olympus 100-400mm is my setup too 😊
It's a great combo!
Is the Panasonic lens the leica enemar version? I’ve been looking at getting one but haven’t seen too many reviews on it
Yep, that's the one!
Which one?
1. em10 mark ii and olympus 100-400
2. Nikon 7200 and 200 500
3. D70 or d7 mark ii or d90 and canon 400 f5.6
The 100-400 really is a great lens!
Nice shots, I use the 300 pro F4 tack sharp.
That's for another video but yes - you can really tell the pro lens can't you?
The power ois is useless on oms, right?
Oly runs sync is on Oms. But only 3 stop. 2 on lens, 1 in camera.
The lens IS works with lens priority enabled in the settings, but doesn't sync with the sensor like an Olympus Pro lens does (like my 300 f/4 Pro).
@@LeighWPhotos it syncs the same way, but not with the same amount stops 😊 only 1 with the lenses 2 stops. 12-100mm and 300mm gets all 6 in camera and the full amount from the lens. It think it's 8 stops with om-1, right? 7.5 with m1 mark iii
I would like to add I make a damn good model!
Set the lenses off perfectly!
NIce job! Were you using a 400mm focal length on most of these shots?
Thank you Bill!
All of the shots on the first half of the video were with either the Panasonic 100-400 or Olympus 100-400. A few shots at the end were with the Olympus 300 f/4 Pro with 1.4x Teleconverter though but the 100-400 shots are titled to show which lens I was using at the time :)
No, I mean what focal length was each shot taken at? For example were the shots using the Leica taken at 400mm, 300mm, etc?
Sorry Bill, I mis-understood you.
The 100-400 lens shots were all shot at 400mm, I tend to use the super telephotos at their longest reach for wildlife as the distance is usually the requirement for such a long lens.
It's also the reason that I've bought the 300mm f/4 Pro as I so rarely used the zoom it seemed the ideal lens for quality and image stabilisation for what I'm looking at doing with it.
Could hardly understand anything you’re saying
Sorry to hear that!