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m43 75-100 - should I get it?

Lorne Miller

New member
...hey everyone, my 2nd post on this, new to me, forum, looks like a great bunch of well informed photographic enthusiasts who also know how to get along with each other - as opposed to another forum that I occasionally check out that certainly doesn't meet that qualification...
...the store that I usually buy my photographic equipment from is having a sale that ends on July 31st. One of the items they have on sale is the Olympus m43 75-100 tele zoom. They NEVER have Olympus stuff on sale, I was quite astounded to see this. The 75-300 is going for $749 as opposed to the $949 price currently listed at the online Olympus Store. I'd like to get some input from you regarding this lens and its qualifications. I've bailed out of most of my 4/3rds stuff but decided to hang on to my ZD50-200f2.8-3.5, and two of the SHG lenses, the ZD14-35f2 and the ZD35-100f2. I already have the MZD12-50, the 40-150 and the 14-42, will the MZD75-300 still be a worthwhile m43 lens to add to my collection? Thanks for any and all responses to my query.

cheers,

Lorne Miller
 

tom in mpls

Active member
Well, it's in stock right now at Adorama for $899, which seems to be the general price for new. Still that's $150 off, sounds like a good deal to me if that's the lens you want. Used Panasonic 100-300's are available for about $450. I can't give any personal advice regarding which lens is better; the reviews I've been looking at seem to say the Oly is a bit better, but not much, and for a big price difference.
 

cjlacz

Member
I've only borrowed it a bit, but it seems like a decent lens. I've seen great shots out of both the 75-300 and 100-300 in the forums. People seem to say the Olympus is a bit sharper on the long end of the zoom. It's also 100g or so lighter and that might matter.

One thing people seem to agree on, is the the Oly is much better at CAF than the Panasonic lens.

I don't shoot that long most of the time and $750 is a lot for a lens I wouldn't use often. Grab it if you want it, but the 50-200 will probably be a lot nicer at the expense of weight and AF speed.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I have checked out both the 75-300 and the 100-300 for some days and my conclusion was that I got overall a slightly higher percentage of slightly missfocused shots with the 75-300 compared to the 100-300 which seemed to nail it allmost allways. (in S-AF)
I also got slightly sharper images with the 100-300 at infinity, and I could see the fidderence in DOF since the 100-300 is a little faster lens. Thats why I choose the 100-300. I have to say however - that 100mm as start focal length to be pretty long for what I do (which includes a lot of photography of my kids). Thats one disadvantage of the 100-300.
The lens which I really use a lot is the 14-150 Oly.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Well, it's in stock right now at Adorama for $899, which seems to be the general price for new. Still that's $150 off, sounds like a good deal to me if that's the lens you want. Used Panasonic 100-300's are available for about $450. I can't give any personal advice regarding which lens is better; the reviews I've been looking at seem to say the Oly is a bit better, but not much, and for a big price difference.
My experience with Adorama is that they are extremely optimistic about in-stock status. Unless you have talked with someone at the store/warehouse who is holding the item in their hands, you may be in for a long wait. I have also received impossible-to-find items from them, and continue to do a lot of business there, so I'm not bashing the company. I just never trust the website for in-stock status.

Anyone have similar (or different, for that matter) experience?

Best,

Matt

Oh.. the lens. I have the 75-300. I'd say OK, not great. On the other hand, 600mm hand held isn't something I have a lot of experience with. :ROTFL: I try to back off a bit from maximum zoom, and accept that the picture won't stand on its beautiful bokeh.
 
B

brian1208

Guest
I have the 75-300 and am very satisfied with it (haven't experience with the panny 100-300 so can't compare). I managed to pick up a mint used one and its still in great condition, no wobble in fully extended mode, excellent sharpness but I would recommend a monopod where possible at 300mm (as Matt said above, 600mm equiv field of view is a lot to hand-hold and expect razor sharpness even with the IBIS system of the EM-5). Its proving very good for long range close-ups of butterflies and the like giving very sharp and detailed images and I'm even beginning to develop a technique for nailing birds in flight with it (pre-focus, centre point SAF, 4fps and MF, although it does work with AF, but not so consistently for me)
 

Lorne Miller

New member
...well, I've been "saved" from the temptation of buying this lens for the time being. I went in this morning with all intentions of picking it up, but somebody had already beat me to the punch. I was also giving some hard thought to just what I need at the long end, based on a lot of work I've already done. On my 4/3rds 50-200 I will commonly make it to 200, but when I review the details realize just how often my shots are between the lengths of 50 and 140, with that being the case, my newly acquired m43
40-150 should be more than ample fro most of my telephoto needs...

...for anyone who may be interested in what I shoot, feel free to take a peek at: Lorne Miller (lornemiller)'s Photos | SmugMug

cheers,

Lorne Miller
 

JMaher

New member
All this talk of telephotos has me seriously thinking about the Panasonic 100-300. Only to find that it seems to be out of stock everywhere in the US.

Jim
 

Jeffg53

Member
I've been following this thread with interest but I still haven't seen anything that explains why the Oly 75-300 is so much more expensive that the 100-300. Coming from Hasselblad, none of it looks expensive but I'm still wondering what it is. Are they both push/pull zooms, is one better built or what? I personally hate push/pull ever since owning a Canon 100-400 many years back.
 

tom in mpls

Active member
All this talk of telephotos has me seriously thinking about the Panasonic 100-300. Only to find that it seems to be out of stock everywhere in the US.

Jim
Jim, the lens is not hard to find at the fredmiranda B/S forum. They have been selling for about $475 or a bit less even.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I've been following this thread with interest but I still haven't seen anything that explains why the Oly 75-300 is so much more expensive that the 100-300. Coming from Hasselblad, none of it looks expensive but I'm still wondering what it is. Are they both push/pull zooms, is one better built or what? I personally hate push/pull ever since owning a Canon 100-400 many years back.
they are both zooms where xou have to turn-not push-pull.
The Oly zooms a little smoother , the Panasonic a little stiffer.
The main advantage I see in the Oly is a) smaller size and b) additional range between 75-100mm.
The Panasonic on the other side is faster (f-stop) and it has IS which leaves you open regarding not only using it on Oly but also on Panasonic or other M4/3 cams i the future.

I have the 14-150 as real flexible and small lens so the 75-100 range for my super long zoom was not so important.

the 75-300 and 100-300 are both well built, but the 75-300 feels maybe very slightly better built than the Panasonic.
 
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f6cvalkyrie

Well-known member
This thread is more and more misleading :confused::confused:

Already the title reads "m43 75-100" where the discussion is about the 75-300 and 100-300 lenses
And now, all of a sudden, Sigma shows up ? While the discussion was about lenses from Olympus and Panasonic ???

I, for one, am a little lost ...

CU,
Rafael
 

tom in mpls

Active member
This thread is more and more misleading :confused::confused:

Already the title reads "m43 75-300" where the discussion is about the 75-300 and 100-300 lenses
And now, all of a sudden, Sigma shows up ? While the discussion was about lenses from Olympus and Panasonic ???

I, for one, am a little lost ...

CU,
Rafael
Yes, it drifted a bit, which is not an unusual phenomenon, but I don't see this as irrelevant to a question regarding "should I get it". Also, Paratom refers to Sigma but certainly means Panasonic.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Yes, it drifted a bit, which is not an unusual phenomenon, but I don't see this as irrelevant to a question regarding "should I get it". Also, Paratom refers to Sigma but certainly means Panasonic.
Yes, I meant Panasonic. Sorry for the confusion.
 

f6cvalkyrie

Well-known member
no, no, not irrelant, just confusing ...

I would think that at 300mm (600 equivalent), some kind of stabilization is mandatory. So, if your camera is a Panasonic, than get the 100-300.
If your camera has IBIS, you could use the Olympus lens also.

But still, as Matt said, handholding at such long focal lengths is a gamble.

I have taken the route of a superb prime (Nikkor 300/2.8 IF-ED) that I have to mount on tripod anyway

C U,
Rafael
 

Jeffg53

Member
Thanks folks. I'm reading from this that, for an Olympus user, there is no compelling reason to spend the significant extra cash on the Olympus lense.
 

jnewell

New member
no, no, not irrelant, just confusing ...

I would think that at 300mm (600 equivalent), some kind of stabilization is mandatory. So, if your camera is a Panasonic, than get the 100-300.
If your camera has IBIS, you could use the Olympus lens also.

But still, as Matt said, handholding at such long focal lengths is a gamble.

I have taken the route of a superb prime (Nikkor 300/2.8 IF-ED) that I have to mount on tripod anyway

C U,
Rafael
I'm posting this from an event where that lens wouldn't be allowed into the venue without press credentials and even if it were I frankly couldn't hump it around all day. :( I will be the first to point out that m4/3 does not address every photo need but in real life compromises are often required and one of the m4/3 long zooms are the best compromise.
 
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