Olympus 300mm F4 Pro Lens

[@CycleDaddyTO]

Thanks for your review and enthusiasm for this new lens. Have you had an opportunity to try the auto-focus with moving subjects such as birds in flight that you can share with us?

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

+CycleDaddyTO Thanks for watching CycleDaddyTO, great question, the lens did focus very fast in C-AF, especially when using the focus limiter , when shooting video of flying birds it wasn't great ( no one wants to watch lenses focus in and out in video) but when photographing the flying birds it was quick, some shots were out, but it would catch up quickly, I have seen some other videos featuring still shots, but I wanted to show all video footage in my video

[@CycleDaddyTO]

+The Photo Buyer Guy Thank you! It does seem that this new lens and an EM1 are capable of great birds in flight photography in the right hands.

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

+CycleDaddyTO , yes great point CycleDaddyTO, the lens is VERY capable in the right hands ! as we know having, great camera gear doesn't always make you a better photographer but lots of practice does !

[@jtepsr]

do you still have to turn off IS when mounting on a tripod. I preordered mine many months ago and no one seems to have it except Australia. I live in NY, do you know any dealers that have this.

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

Hi James, thanks for watching, It's not necessary to shut off IS when on a tripod. With some cameras (Canon) sometimes the IS tries to compensate even if the camera is steady. I haven't seen this with the 300. Also, if you're shooting with an M1, M5 Mk II, or PEN-F with Sync-IS, switching IS off on the lens will also switch off the 5-Axis IBIS. It's not possible to operate the IBIS and the lens IS independently of each other. As for you getting your lens , I wish I could help you with that , these lenses are in short supply , and Im guessing the recent earthquakes in Japan have not helped either ( fingers crossed you get it soon )

[@ThePaleBlueDot94]

You might be able to clarify this for me...I've heard a lot of opposing statements. With regard to the 35mm equiv. talk. In terms of exposure it is a 600mm f/4. In terms of DoF it is a 600mm f/8.

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

+Peter Murrell Hi Peter, thanks for watching, you're right there is not a lot of information on that subject, but you are correct, the magnification is equivalent to 600mm however, for DoF, it is an F/8,all my tests were done on a bright day ( and looked awesome) but that is the trade off for having such a compact lens ( in comparison to a 600mm)

[@ThePaleBlueDot94]

+The Photo Buyer Guy so DoF it is f/8 (i knew that, probably an advantage at super telephoto). but in terms of exposure it is an f/4?

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

+Peter Murrell Hi Peter, it is still an F/4 lens, I hope I'm answering this correctly for you, have ever you seen this article from DP review ? www.dpreview.com/articles/2666934640/what-is it gets into some of the more technical aspects of equivalents across different types of sensor sizes, the level of detail they go into is definitely more comprehensive than I can show or even hope to explain

[@gur262]

+Peter Murrell you might try understanding the big picture, in terms of exposure its what it says, f4 (or well........ f doesnt say too much about light, the correct t-stop differs....sorry for confusing further). f is the math thing coming from certain diameters of the lens. if the coating is very reflective etc, the light passing through can be more or less anyway, thats the t-stop. imagine.... fullframe being a A4-papersheet, and MFt being A5. the lens is designed to only illuminate a5. but the smaller the chip, the bigger the depth of field, but more magnification. Actually, as i undertand it, its in regards of chromatic aberations, vignetting , depth of field and magnification just like cropping in digitally. tony northrup has a kinda confusing but nicely demonstrating video on it.

[@freequest]

2:55 no your wrong the lens is still 300mm you can not magically gain more magnification when used on an M43 system. What you are confusing is the view angle at 300mm you have an equivalent view angle of 600mm in Full-frame terms useful in framing photos but nothing extra. Source: www.four-thirds.org/en/special/lens_knowledge.html

[@artieshokin]

What’s the difference? I don’t get it.

[@photogol]

Fully agree!

[@mailperson]

and it's only $2499.00

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

lol, I know mailperson, its not the the most affordable lens out there, it does cost a fair amount, but it is still way less expensive than a Nikon or Cannon 600mm, so it's all relative I guess, and for working pro , that's not unreasonable at all, thanks for watching !

[@xaositectz]

check out the still photo references on slrgear. This lens is actually sharper and gives a more contrasty image than a 11.500 USD Canon lens. If you can swallow the disadvantage of 2 stops worse noise levels than a full frame camera, a telephoto lens of this quality is an absolute bargain.

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

Thanks for the comment xaositectz !!

[@xaositectz]

The Photo Buyer Guy I'm contemplating on buying the lens, it's so awesome:) But unfortunately not a lot of wildlife around my city.

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

I just came back from Photokina ( in Germany ) I heard a photographer say "many people travel great distances to go to a destination to take pictures, and then sometimes people from the place you went to visit to take pictures actually want to travel to your city or region to take pictures" meaning sometimes we think we need to go to a great destination to take amazing photos , but maybe we are not looking our own backyard close enough...I thought it was a really good point

[@Stefan1968ful]

I can believe this Olympus lens is good. But the Autofocus of the Olympus sucks in ANY regard compared to what a Nikon D500 or Nikon D5 can deliver. And as long as this is the case, there is ZERO willingness to move to mirrorless systems like the Olympus or Panasonic. Who wants to give up a perfect system for wildlife and move to a system with an inferior autofocus performance? I guess you know the answer, right?

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

Hi Stefan, thanks so much for watching and commenting , I guess all I can ask is have you tried the EM1 MKII ? you may be pleasantly surprised, just say'in

[@Stefan1968ful]

I would like to be... Because I cannot take (also don't want) to take on every trip with me a Nikkor 600mm 4.0 FL. So I need a valid backup. But I also don' want to compromise here on Autofocus quality. Sorry for having been a bit challenging maybe with my statement. But I cannot get in the moment really the right answers on the Autofocus performance of the Olympus EM1 MK2 vs Panasonic G9 vs Nikon D500. I just had the change to do some quick test on the Olympus EM1 MKII but that was too short to make a final assessment and it was also in not best light conditions. Here the Autofocus was really not that good whereas the Nikon D500 performed excellently. But I could live with an issue at low light, question is how that performs to D500 at normal light conditions.

[@joebamfield6703]

Pp

[@danieldougan269]

The E-M1 II, E-M1X, and E-M5 III all have sensors with 121 all cross-type phase detect AF points. That's really, really good. Is it as good as a D5? No, but the camera and lenses are way more portable, and the video quality is much better. And I can't overstate the importance of previewing your exposure through an electronic viewfinder. That has saved my ass many times.

[@nabile9112]

Why keep comparing size and cost to Canon or Nikon 600 mm f4 (not just this video but almost all videos about M4/3 lenses and this lens in particular)? Not valid at all. I can place the 600 mm f4 on a Canon or Nikon DX camera and get reach of 900/960 mm f4 (and with their more pixels crop further to match M 4/3 sensors). Should I charge more for 600mm f4 if the user has an APS-C sensor? Still the same lens do so the answer is no. The new Nikon 300 mm PF E etc. on a D7200 is lighter and smaller and super sharp with very fast focusing. Takes both 1.4x TC as well as 2x TC very well (especially the 1.4). On Nikon I can use V1 mirror less and get even more reach that M 4/3 (I don't like the V1 but for still shooting and maximum reach is a very good option). In summary it is just cropping and with cropping you can use smaller cheaper lighter lenses.

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

Hi James, I hear what you are saying, however I know a lot of bird photographers who travel the world , as I'm sure you are aware allowable carry on gear is at a premium, I don't think anyone would dare put sensitive gear in their checked luggage.This lens on a good body ( especially the New EM1-MKII) makes a compelling reason to look at M 4/3 system, this lend and a body can fit into a very compact bag with no extra tele converters needed.... shanks for your comments

[@lekkousa]

Yes, that Canon 600MM f4 will only set you back $11,500.00USD, plus insured shipping costs every time you want to take it on an assignment.

[@thephotobuyerguy4138]

Thanks for your comment James , customers have many options for telephoto shooting , and yes, I have even seen people shoot out to 2000MM on the Nikon J1, (lol, not something I would personally do) , And even using a new Nikon P lens with a tele-converter on the D7200 is an option, but I would prefer to use the weatherproof image stabilized Olympus lens any day There are many options for shooters today, this was just another option for some, kind regards

[@orangeelephantphotography3746]

Thanks for the comment Nabil, I can see where you're coming from. I have a Nikon D810 & an Olympus OMD EM1.2. The autofocus on the D810 is far superior to the EM1.2. Comparing the Nikon 300mm f4E against the Olympus 300mm f4, the Nikon is lighter, smaller & less expensive. With the D810 I have extra pixels to play-with for cropping & better low light handling. The one advantage with the Olympus kit is the image stabilisation which is superb. It's a difficult choice.