Category: Gear

  • Olympus 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 and MC-20 – a 1600mm focal length combo!

    Olympus 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 and MC-20 – a 1600mm focal length combo!

    Olympus launched about a month and a half ago their much-waited lens the M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5.0 -6.3 telezoom lens. I have heard that it is very popular. There is still a waiting list. That is good news.

    I have had a chance to test it a couple of times. I have linked two videos about at the end of this blogpost. M.Zuiko 100-400mm is the longest lens from Olympus at the moment. The upcoming lens the M.Zuiko 150-400mm f4.5 lens will match that. It should be out by the end of the year.

    If you need a long lens for your MFT camera M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 one is very good option. I teamed up with Matti Sulanto nad we tested it also with Panasonic cameras and it worked quite ok. The link to that video is at the end of this post.

    Versatile focal length

    M.Zuiko 100-400mm 5.0-6.3 zoom has an equivalent field of view as 200-800mm FF lens on a FF body. That is quite narrow. The field of view is from 12 to 3,1 degrees. The lens is very suitable for bird photography, sports, etc. The fastest aperture is 5.0 at 100mm so need some light to get fast shutter speeds to stop the action. I think the lens has a very versatile focal length.

    1600mm beast with MC-20

    M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 lens is compatible with the extenders MC-14 and MC-20. That will make the lens even longer. With the MC-14 the focal length is from 140mm to 560mm. That is 280mm to 1120mm in FF terms if we talk about the field of view. To get even more reach it is a 200mm to 800mm lens when used with MC-20. That is of course equal to a 400-1600mm FF lens. That is very long. It comes of course with a cost. The fastest aperture is 13 at the long end. A lot of light is needed to get fast shutter speeds.

    What about the image quality?

    When adding an extender the image quality is always a question. From 100mm to about 300mm I would say that the image quality is not affected that much. When using 400mm and the MC-20 to get the 1600mm FF equivalent field of view the image quality is a bit less than with other focal lengths.

    The DC-3 Air Veteran is about 2km (1,24 miles) from the spot I photographed it.Olympus E-M1 MKIII, M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 + MC-20 at 800mm (1600mm in FF)1/2000s f13 ISO800, handheld.
    The DC-3 Air Veteran is about 2km (1,24 miles) from the spot I photographed it.Olympus E-M1 MKIII, M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 + MC-20 at 800mm (1600mm in FF)1/2000s f13 ISO800, handheld.

    There are two reasons for that. The first one is that image quality actually is a bit less and the other one is that the objects that is photographed are far away. There are a lot of air and the particles in the air that will make the image quality worse. As you can see from the image above. The distance was about 2km (1,24 miles) to the plane.


    A lot of light is needed.

    As I wrote earlier in this blog post te aperture at 6.3 is f13 when the lens is used with MC-20. Of course, that is no problem in sunny weather. The shutter speeds are fast even with f13. When the weather is not nice or when it gets dark f13 can be a problem.

    Olympus E-M1 MKIII, M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 + MC-20 at 400mm (801mm in FF)1/15s f13 ISO800, handheld.
    Olympus E-M1 MKIII, M.Zuiko 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 + MC-20 at 400mm (801mm in FF)1/15s f13 ISO800, handheld.

    Handheld with 1600mm!

    I used it with Olympus E-M1 MKIII and had no problems with handheld shots at all. The IBIS and the IS in the lens work nicely together. It is not SyncIS, but it still works very well. If you are using the lens with E-M1 MKII or E-M1X remember to upgrade your firmware. The IBIS and lens IS works better with the new firmware that is available for those cameras. The image of the duck above was made with 801mm in FF terms with a 1/15s shutter speed handheld.

    👉 Pre-order it from Amazon: Olympus M.Zuiko ED 100-400mm f5.0-6.3 IS lens is here. My first impression of the new telephoto zoom lens…

    Olympus and Panasonic have both a 100-400mm lens. Which one should you get, Olympus 100-400mm lens or Panasonic 100-400mm lens? 📽 My first impression video a…

    disclaimer: Some of the links might be affiliate links to Amazon or other online stores. I will get a small commission if you use those links and buy something. You do not pay any extra. It is a win-win situation!

  • Laowa 50mm F/2.8 2x Ultra Macro

    Laowa 50mm F/2.8 2x Ultra Macro

    Laowa has made some interesting lenses for MFT. The latest addition is the Laowa 50mm f2.8 CA-Dreamer 2X macro. The lens is fully manual, but it has an electronic connection so that the aperture is controlled from the camera.

    Laowa 50mm f2.8 CA-Dreamer 2X macro
    Laowa 50mm f2.8 CA-Dreamer 2X macro
    Olympus OM-D E-M1 MKII, Laowa 50mm f2.8 macro, 1/60s f2.8 ISO200, Olympus FL-700WR
    Olympus OM-D E-M1 MKII, Laowa 50mm f2.8 macro, 1/60s f2.8 ISO200, Olympus FL-700WR
    Olympus OM-D E-M1 MKII, Laowa 50mm f2.8 Macro, 1/40s f2.8 ISO200
    Olympus OM-D E-M1 MKII, Laowa 50mm f2.8 Macro, 1/40s f2.8 ISO200

    Laowa vs. M.Zuiko

    The image quality is very nice. It has a bit different characteristics as the M.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro. Laowa makes a bit less contrasty image. Otherwise, the biggest differences are the AF vs. MF and the magnification. Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm f2.9 Macro is AF and Laowa 50mm f2.8 Macro is only MF. That is not a big deal in macro. In most cases, MF is better in macro. Especially if the subject is really close.

    Magnification

    The magnification is 2X in Laowa and 1X in M.Zuiko. The photos below show the difference. With Laowa you can photograph smaller things.

    The big image is Laowa 2:1 and the small one is M.Zuiko 1:1
    The big image is Laowa 2:1 and the small one is M.Zuiko 1:1

    My thoughts on Laowa 50mm f2.8 2X macro in a video

    In the video below I tell my impressions of the Laowa 50mm f2.8 CA-Dreamer 2X macro lens. If you want one use this affiliate link.

  • Does Gear Matter in Photography?

    Does gear matter in photography is a question that I get asked quite a lot. There is no one answer to this. You can answer No and you can answer Yes. It all depends on the perspective you take on this one.

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    Let’s start with No.

    Many of us think that getting new gear will make you a better photographer. In my opinion that is false. To be better you must learn how to use your existing gear. Getting new once won’t help in that at all.

    Sometimes limiting yourself will be a better solution. Having limitations makes you think more. You need to solve problems and that will make you better. You might come up even ith new ideas and totally new kinds of images.

    For example, in landscape photography, most of us think that a wide-angle is a must. Yes, a wide-angle lens is often used in landscape photography. If you do not have an ultra-wide-angle, what then?

    Why not try a standard lens or even a telephoto lens. That can give you a totally new kind of landscape photos.

    When the answer Yes?

    When you get better here might a time to start thinking about better gear that actually will make you better. Well it is maybe a bit too much to say that it is the gear, it is the possibilities that the new gear gives. What I mean by that is that it might open up all new ways of making photographs. Sometimes it might even give a possibility to try new genres.

    One example is bird photography. You can photograph birds with a wide-angle, but getting a longer lens will give new possibilities and new kind of mages that was possible for you before.

    In the video below I talk more about the No and Yes.