LUMIX PROMISES 100-400mm SUPER ZOOM
I’m writing this at the airport having just landed in the town of Longyearbyen, Norway. I’ve been on a ship, much of the time spent in the pack ice north of the archipelago of Spitsbergen searching for polar bears and other arctic wildlife. While I was away from the Internet, Panasonic announced the wonderful new lens they shared with me when Panasonic executives came to visit my office earlier this month. Finally, serious MFT lens for the Lumix cameras that will help me produce wildlife and ensure images like the ones in this blog post.
This northern fulmar was shot with the Lumix GH4 and the Olympus 40-150mm F/2.8 with the 1.4x teleconverter. This was the first time I’ve had a chance to shoot flying birds with this camera and lens combination and it preformed beautifully. Svalbard, Norway
So now I can spill the beans in case you haven’t already heard. We’re finally getting a super telephoto in the range of 100-400mm that should have spectacular lens characteristics based on the fact it’s branded with the Leica logo. If it’s half the lens my other favorite Leica/Lumix lens, the 43.5mm F/1.2, it will be a knockout.
This polar bear was shot with the Lumix GH4 and the Olympus 40-150mm F/2.8 with the Olympus 1.4 teleconverter. This lens and camera combination were super portable and allowed me to move from one part of the ship to another with ease.
Remember, all Micro Four Thirds lenses need to be multiplied by two, so this lens will be a comparable 200-800mm F/4-6.3. 800mm at f/6.3, that’s only 1/3 of a stop less than 5.6 for goodness sakes.
The new 100-400mm F/4-6.3 super zoom. Keeping in mind that all Micro Four Thirds lenses need to be multiplied by two, this will be a full frame equivalent of 200-800mm zoom. Wow, if this is as sharp as I predict, this will be a game changer.
This should finally be the lens I’ve been wishing and hoping for that will allow me to capture wildlife and nature as I’ve done with my Nikon system for so many years. Only now at 1/3 the cost and 1/3 the size and weight. Here’s some text from the Panasonic Lumix Press Release.
Panasonic is developing the first LEICA DG 100-400mm / F4.0-6.3 telephoto zoom lens (35mm camera equivalent: 200-800mm) for the Micro Four Thirds system standard to expand the lineup of DSLM (Digital Single Lens Mirrorless) digital interchangeable lenses.
The LEICA DG lenses are designed and developed under the stringent quality standard certified by Leica that boast excellent optical performance. Four single focal length LEICA DG lenses have already introduced to the market and have been highly acclaimed by users worldwide2.
The new telephoto zoom achieves exceptional imaging performance over the entire zoom range. It also features high speed digital signal exchange at 240 fps to comply with the high-speed, high-precision AF (Auto Focus) with DFD (Depth From Defocus) technology on LUMIX G cameras. Together with the POWER O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer), it lets users to focus on the target quickly to capture crisp, clear images. In addition, the new lens is both light and small and is splash/dust-proof to withstand heavy field use. As the new telephoto zoom lens excels in size and weight, it enables handheld 800mm (35mm camera equivalent) telephoto shooting without using a tripod.
The new Panasonic Lumix GX8 which will have a new 20.3 megapixel sensor.
Along with the large zoom Lumix also announced another new lens, a 25mm F/1.7 as well as the highly anticipated Lumix GX8 camera. The GX8 seems to finally nail down a great form factor with MFT quality. It will feature a new 20.3 megapixel sensor and a form factor more like the LX100. It won’t be quite as small as the LX100 but it will be much more capable. Looks like a great new small form factor camera.