(news & commentary)
Both Olympus and Panasonic today officially announced their latest telephoto offerings for the m4/3 crowd. Hold onto your checkbooks…
- The Olympus 300mm f/4 enters the ring at US$2500
- The Panasonic 100-400mm f/4-6.3 checks in at US$1800
Both lenses have additional image stabilization (in addition to sensor-based, if any), which is something I pointed out quite some time ago: the longer the focal length and narrower the angle of view, the less effective in-camera stabilization is. But the addition of lens stabilization also makes these two telephotos more complex and costly. Olympus claims six stops of stabilization with the 300mm f/4 and their OM-D cameras.
Both appear to be excellent performers on first examination, and now give m4/3 owners the “exotics” they’ve been desiring for awhile.
