photo:mft300mm
300mm telephoto options for Micro Four Thirds
introduction
-
most of us do not need such super telephoto capability but it does come in handy for:
-
wildlife photography
sporting events although most venues will not allow lenses with greater than 200mm focal length (to protect the rights of professional photographers who have paid for this right)
highly compressed perspectives
gaining 600mm field of view on a full frame system generally means a big heavy lens that must be used on a tripod
on Micro Four Thirds you may be able to get away without a tripod, and certainly you can get by with MUCH less weight and size
-
Olympus mZD 300mm f/4 OIS Pro
Olympus ZD 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 SWD for Four Thirds with 1.4x TC
-
AF will be stutteringly slow on most bodies, although the E-M1 will allow faster phase detect AF
sharp lens wide open, although not quite as sharp when used with teleconverters
when used with the 1.4x TC, you can get to 280mm f/4.9
when used with the 2.0x TC, you can get 100-400mm f/5.6-7.0 and at 150mm it will be 30mm f/6.6
the problems are:
slow AF
big, heavy lens (1.07kg), and almost absurdly long when extended even to 135mm focal length when the hood is in place (10.5cm longer than the Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L lens with its lens hood)
requires four-Thirds adapter
advantages:
gives best telephoto range
close focus 1.2m
has tripod mount
nice bokeh for a zoom lens
can be bought at reasonable prices 2nd hand
can be used with Olympus ZD tele-extenders (EC-14 and EC20)
weatherproof
Olympus ZD 150mm f/2.0 with 2x TC
-
gives 300mm f/4
a beautiful lens BUT AF will be stutteringly slow on most bodies, although the E-M1 will allow faster phase detect AF
very sharp lens wide open although not quite as sharp as the 300mm f/2.8
the problems are:
slow AF
still expensive (>$A3000 new perhaps $A1700 2nd hand)
very heavy (1.6kg, 82mm filter)
close focus 1.4m
requires four-Thirds adapter
advantages:
Olympus ZD 90-250mm f/2.8 Super Pro with 1.4x TC
-
a beautiful lens BUT AF will be stutteringly slow on most bodies, although the E-M1 will allow faster phase detect AF
very sharp lens wide open
the problems are:
slow CDAF
still v expensive (>$A5000 new perhaps $A3000 2nd hand)
very heavy (3.27kg, 105mm filter)
close focus 2.5m
requires four-Thirds adapter
advantages:
Olympus ZD 300mm f/2.8 Super Pro
-
a beautiful lens BUT AF will be stutteringly slow on most bodies, although the E-M1 will allow faster phase detect AF
very sharp lens wide open
the problems are:
slow CDAF
still v expensive (>$A6000 new perhaps $A3500 2nd hand)
very heavy (3.29kg, 43mm drop in filter)
close focus 2.4m
requires four-Thirds adapter
advantages:
Canon EF 300mm f/4L
Olympus OM 300mm f/4.5
-
when compact size trumps AF
only 1000g and 181mm long, 72mm filter
will need OM-MFT adapter
built-in lens hood
close focus 3.5m
best stopped down to f/5.6 to reduce purple fringing
comparison chart
| Olympus mZD 300mm PRO | Olympus ZD 50-200mm SWD with 2xTC | Olympus ZD 150mm f/2.0 with 2x TC | Canon EF 300mm f/4L |
focal length range | 300mm | 100-400mm | 300mm | 300mm |
aperture at 300mm | f/4.0 | f/6.6 (2x tc) | f/4.0 | f/4.0 |
CDAF speed on MFT | FAST | slow | slow | MF only |
close focus | m | 1.2m | 1.4m | 1.5m |
flare resistance | EXC | V.GOOD | V.GOOD | GOOD |
weatherproof | YES | YES | YES | YES |
filter | mm | 67mm | 82mm | 77mm |
weight | | 1070/1200g | 1500/1610g | 1190g |
length | mm | 157mm + adapter but extends | 150mm + adapter | 221mm + adapter |
price | $US1500? | $US1200 | $US2300 | $US1449 |
max. focal length with TC | 420mm f/5.6 | 400mm f/7 | 300mm f/4 | 600mm f/8 |
photo/mft300mm.txt · Last modified: 2016/11/14 23:59 by gary1