I recently shot the Leica 100-400mm Dual IS with Lumix GX8 in my hotel room while on our 2016 Japan Winter Wildlife Photo Tour. This test was inspired by fellow Natural Exposures Explorer Dean Schwartz who sent me an image he shot with his new Olympus 300mm F/4 and the OM-D EM-1 camera. The new Olympus lens is getting rave reviews for its Dual IS with the Olympus bodies so I thought I should try something similar with the new Leica 100-400mm and the GX8.
Shot with GX8 with Leica 100-400mm lens handheld. Lens set to 300mm (600mm equivalent). No post processing (including sharpening) of any kind was added. Lumix GX8 1/25th of a second, 1000 ISO
These tests are nothing fancy. All I did was shoot a clock in my hotel while sitting on the couch from across the room. I set the Leica 100-400mm at 300mm (600mm equivalent) so we could compare apples to apples, so to speak. I included every image I shot in this gallery so you can see the good with the bad. I tried numerous shutter speeds, some as low as 1/6th of a second. All images were shot handheld with my elbows braced to my side as I sat on a couch. I think the results are pretty amazing. I have given permission for downloading these images in their full size JPG form. Below is the link and the password for download.
Leica 100-400mm Dual IS with Lumix GX8
Password: leicalensIStest
Update
There’s been lots of interest in the Dual IS test I did with the GX8 and new Leica 100-400mm lens but there’s been equal interest in wondering how the new lens does with the Lumix GH4. Actually, I’m always happy when someone points to the obvious for me, and in this situation, I want to extend a thank you to Mikael Spetz for doing just that. He wrote and mentioned he had a GH4 and was concerned about that body not having the benefit of Dual IS. For the GH4, he is correct in his assumption that only the lens IS will work.
Screenshot showing star ratings within Lightroom, 5 stars = perfect focus, 3 stars = acceptable focus in a pinch, 1 star = totally unacceptable. These are images from Lumix GH4 with lens Image Stabilization only. All images shot at 300mm (600mm equivalent).
So once again I set up a clock in my new hotel room here in Japan to shoot another rendition of the clock IS test that I did with the GX8 and the 100-400mm Leica.
Screenshot showing shutter speed of 1/15th of a second. All photos were shot handheld at 300mm (600mm equivalent)
I’m happy to report I got extremely positive results with the in-lens IS only on the GH4. Once again, I’ve uploaded the images for all to see on my PhotoShelter website and they too are available for download as full size JPGs. Keep in mind I have done nothing to these files (including not sharpening them). Look for these images at the bottom of the gallery.