Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6.3 II ASPH. POWER O.I.S. Lens

It may be expensive, but it's amazing to consider just what you're getting for the price: one of the lightest ways to get an image-stabilized 800mm image. If you were already thinking about this lens, then looking at these test results should be more than enough to convince you.

Sometimes there are few choices in certain niches. This Panasonic Leica DG 100-400mm lens fits its purpose very well indeed, at a price which, although high, is reasonable in its class.

I have a Panasonic Lumix camera and have been using the Lumix 100-300 mm zoom for photographing birds. I was intrigued by this lens, but put off by the price. I finally sprang for it, and was able to use it on a vacation trip recently. It is a beautiful lens.

Best lens I ever bought in my life. No more comments! Note: the "stiff" zooming is caused by the customer's mistake: the lens is supplied with its zoom-lock-ring put into the "lock"-position. Please, unlock, turning it to the left (anti-clockwise).

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  * quite short at 100mm * excellent image quality * excellent mechanics * excellent tripod coupling * not so expensive: little more money than a Nocticron but much more versatil * luminosity ok. (in my analogous times I had to take my photos with a 60

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  none

The lens is relatively light, and has an awesome range, however, it is not very sharp. I took identical photos with this lens and my Olympus 40-150 Pro, after cropping the Olympus to almost a third of the size to match I see no advantage to the Panasonic, with almost 3 times the zoom I would have...

Nice sharp lens .. I use this on an EM1 Mkii and it works well.Fast focus .... very compact and light for a lens in this range.only complaint: manufacturers, please make a tripod foot with built in Arca Swiss mount so an additional plate is not necessary!!

My wife bought this lens about two years ago and had some difficulties, initially. Now, after thousands of keepers, there is just one thing to say: It is a great lens, especially for photographing objects and animals at fairly close by, up to 30 meters / 100 ft.

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  Fantastic lens up to 30 meters / 100 ft, at any focal length. Also OK for close-up photography, like butterflies.

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  Not the best at infinity and 300-400mm.

I had owned the Lumix 100-300 lens and I have taken some great shots with it. However I wanted to utilize the stabilization that the lens had but also my GX8 Lumix body which also has stabilization, since the two interact with each other to give you really something.

This is a great lens that produces great quality photos. I purchased this lens before I went on safari hoping that it would be worth the investment and it was!I did find out the hard way that at long range of the focal length lens filters degrade the quality and almost make photos unusable.

I can't argue with the review of image quality, but it is very hard to turn the zoom ring, especially in comparison to the ease of the Olympus 40-150 2.8., and it hasn't gotten any easier after using it a few months. It's so hard, in fact, that it makes me want to not use the lens

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  Image quality

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  Zoom stiffness

Got some excellent total eclipse pictures with this on an OMD EM10 with shutter shock set to 0. Sold a few other lenses to get it, and glad I did.

I had the Olympus 300mm F4 lens which was a ted sharper at 300mm than this lens at 400mm, but comparing the two using a 1.4x on the Olympus lens differencewas negligiblebetween the two.This lens is more than sharp enough for me and with a lot more flexibility.