Merry Christmas all.
Noticed this lens online (but also saw it displayed in stores).
Im still on the fence for either this lens or the newer Panny 100-300ii for my gx80.
This is however the cheapest I've seen it, even cheaper than most grey import (according to staticice).
Has excellent reviews and with local JB warranty.
Its m4/3 btw
we are not all as fast as you are
That's what my wife said too…
I know
Nice lens - super zoom - equiv of a 600mm reach which is amazing! Really sharp too in broad daylight. But a bit letdown by the small apertures. Don't expect to shoot when the light starts to fade! Still amazing for the price.
Great lens to spy on your neighbours.
300mm (full frame equivalent) is my limit for handholding in good light. Get a tripod.
Very few of the Olympus lenses have optical stabilization, that is because every Olympus camera micro four-third body for the past few years has sensor-stabilization, which is good for at least a stop or two (sometimes more).
I have personally been happy hand-holding shots with another another Olympus lens at close to 300 mm (600 mm in 24mm 'full-frame' equivalent)
https://vkelim.smugmug.com/Flowers/2013-Spring/i-jdQVD5p/A
(a different Olympus 70-300 mm lens, at 226mm zoom. ISO 3200, exposure 1/4000 second, I know those numbers are all a little extreme, but that is what I need to partly freeze a flying bee's wings! has to be hand-held, bees which are alive don't stay still…)
This particular lens doesn't qualify for the current Olympus cash-back summer promotion https://www.olympus.com.au/promotions, but some other lenses do.
For example, the Olympus 8mm f1.8 is at up to 15% discount (Boxing Day sales) at some Australian retailers (e.g. DigiDirect), and also has a $200 cash-back, resulting in a final cost price of $789. As far as I can tell, there isn't an equivalent wide-angle auto-focus lenses for ANY camera system at this price, particularly from the camera manufacturers themselves.
The 8mm 1.8 is a fisheye so you can't compare it to other system ultra-wides. I don't like fisheyes and think $789 is a very expensive price for one, and it's not nearly the cheapest wide angle autofocus lens either.
The Olympus 9-18mm is easily the best value ultra wide for m43, it's about $350-$400 used. But Canon has the best value ultra wides of all that I know of, their 10-18mm and 11-22mm are around that price new.
I am still using the kit lens. Is this a must have?
Only if you like taking photos of birds, surfing, or distant landscapes while hiking, IMO. It's a specialty super-telephoto lens that is still very small for its reach. Even then it's not a must-have, since there are other alternative lenses to consider. But this is a good price for sure.
I bought a kit for our honeymoon. The wife couldn’t see why I bothered. Our trip the next year I bought another (prime) lens, not expensive. THEN she could see why we got the camera.
I think a telephoto is a must have if you are into wildlife photography or taking shots from a distance. But you might like to start with the cheaper 40-150 lens, which can be bought for $150-$200.
"Im still on the fence for either this lens or the newer Panny 100-300ii for my gx80."
I bought this lens and the original Pana 100-300, both second hand on ebay, to compare and choose the better one and sell the other. Trouble is, they are very close in quality, and while one beats the other slightly in some areas, the other one wins in other areas. So I still can't decide so far which to keep.
Cheers Biggles,
I assume that was the Pana ii you are talking about?
No, the 100-300 version 1.
That was 2 days ago…