Product reviewsPanasonic LUMIX G Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6 Zoom Lens

Awesome Leica 100-400mm for my G85

This Lens is great if you need this reach. Very sharp at 100 and 200mm wide open, sharp at 300mm and good at 400mm wide open. Stopped down to F8 at 400mm is sharp. This lens can focus close at all focal lengths so it make for a great macro type shooting. I tried the 100-300 Mk II, which is fine but too soft at 300mm for my taste. Stopping down on the 100-300 MkII didn't help much either, which surprised me. This lens is much better and worth the price. The zoom ring is a little stiff but it is the weight of the glass (20 elements). But I love this lens anyways. I put black electrical tape on the OIS button to prevent accidently hitting it off and missing a shot, as it is easy to hit this without knowing it. I hate carrying a tripod around so I will never be turning off the OIS. That extra 200mm reach does come in handy with a small sensor and only 16 mp. Yeah, it is expensive, but I have no regrets now that I have it, as it is worth it.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: onewaylogistic

AVOID!

As others have reported, the lens mount snapped off of the camera following a minor bump. Worse yet, when the mount broke, a shard left a scratch on my also new Lumix G9. I'm now out $2,700 after just a year of use.

Users need to understand that unlike the established camera brands, Panasonic is not equipped to service their photography gear at a reasonable price or schedule. They need to stop treating cameras like their home appliances; it's not disposable!

I've now replaced my Panasonic gear with an Olympus EM1 mk ii and Olympus 100-400 zoom. As a long-time Canon user, I can attest to the robustness of the Olympus gear. It is how camera equipment should be designed and built.Read full review...

Great Lens Stabilization and Focus

I begin by saying that I am not an experienced photographer. The following photos were taken using a Olympus EM1 Mark II with the Panasonic 100-400. All were shot at 30 feet, at >300 mm, hand held / sitting down, with the in-lens stabilizer on (camera stabilizer off) and no flash. (Photos were also cropped). Results are best in bright light--focus is less sharp in low light. I think the photos speak for themselves and I am generally quite pleased with the lens, especially the stabilization and focus. On the down side, the lens focus can be a bit noisy and the magnification ring is quite stiff. It is a well built lens that should endure hard use. Read full review...

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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: pixel.connection

It is pricey but so much better than my Lumix 100–300.

Range is exceptional, acceptably fast in all light for a super telephoto. E-infinity's price was a $400 discount from retail, it got from the Far East to my door in 2 days via FedEx—free! Manufacturer's Packaging, brand new. A 3-year service warranty for $100+ is offered which is also very acceptable insurance conceding this is a $1,799 lens at retail list. It's light, small, fast, sharp, fully stabilized & weather resistant with 200–800 DSLR equivalent... and sharp throughout the focal range. I'm now thinking about buying the current Lumix body if only to enhance the stabilization engineering to the max. The only con I have is that the zoom ring is a little stiff which is a pain when hand-held—necessary most of the time when shooting wildlife and especially birds flying.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: einfinityshop4

The Best Super Tele for your Micro 4/3 - The Best on Lumix IS Bodies

I’m a Semi-Pro for more than 40 years (I chose not to earn a living from Photography). I’ve shot with lots of telephotos over the years and never had a Super Tele as sharp as this lens.Without a doubt for the money this is the best lens for your Micro 4/3 System. The build is Pro all the way. The Glass is Pure Leica Standards. Let me address the negative comments I’ve read. 1) The so called “Stiffness” in the zooming, I don’t understand this, there is virtually no stiffness in the Zoom from 100 all the way to 400. If you’re expecting a super easy zoom feel that you get from smaller zoom lenses then you don’t understand a zoom lens of this focal length. Your moving a lot of glass in this lens but in no way would I consider it “Stiff”. I did a side by side comparison with my Lumix Leica 12-60mm and the zoom feel is very close. Understand the weight of this lens contributes to the overall feel. I think those who claim that their lens was stiff, perhaps they have the Zoom in the lock position or not all the way open. 2) The tripod mount only pivots 90 degrees and to that I say So What! Why it would need to turn a full 360, you’re either going to shoot Horizontally or Vertically which is turning the camera 90 degrees in either direction. Besides if you are using an in camera stabilization Lumix body you may not even use a tripod as sharpness is incredible handheld at very low shutter speeds. If you do the tripod mount works just fine. I keep it off the lens to reduce bulk. 3)The built in and external lens hood. A pointless issue. The built in hood is adequate for most shooting conditions, if you’re getting major glare from your lighting angle it’s no big deal to pop on the external hood. The smaller hood is convenient and reduces bulk in my camera bag. Lastly this is a lot of glass in a very compact design. Although not heavy by comparison to a lens you’d use on a full frame DSLR, for 4/3 Micro it’s about as heavy as you would ever want, coming in a little over
2 Lbs.
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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: dwi-internation...

Solid build quality, excellent optics, superior image stabilization.

Bought this lens to get an improvement in image quality over the Panasonic 100-300, and I wasn't disappointed. Images are sharper, there is greater reach (via the additional 100mm zoom range) and the image stabilization, when combined with the in-body stabilization on the Lumix G9 camera, is simply amazing.

I can handhold the lens set to 400mm and get sharp images of the moon, and of birds at appreciable distances.

The all-metal build of the lens gives it a solid feel, but the lens is quite easy to handle, and carry around. Now to sell off my old 100-300!
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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: einfinityshop4

Early applications of the Panasonic/Leica new 100-400 zoom

Well made. Heavy, Beautiful close up work at minimum to middle focal lengths. Nice bokeh with minor distortion at distant DOF limitations.

Really needs both of my image stabilization features turned on for hand held 300 mm + applications.

Like the foot mount on the mid lens for balance of a normal MFT DSLR.

Focus and zoom functions are still stiff but may be because of my subzero temps use. Will see in warm weather.

Removable lens hood is clunky but rarely necessary and reverses nicely onto the lens body. Read full review...

Verified purchase: No

Compatibility issue with Oly

The lens is perfectly good for its price point. the only reason I give a good 4 stars rating is because it is NOT compatible with Olympus cameras. So, for those who are considering this lens, IQ is exellent when focus is set, if not your images WILL be blurred, because the lens OIS is NOT compatible wiht Olympus' cameras, only use the lens OIS or the Oly IBIS and not both. Also, the lens will suffer from Shutter shock from the Oly bodies, the fix is to use Electronic shutter with the lens, but if you want to avoid all of these issues then you should use the lens with Panasonic's body (GX85).Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: dwi-internation...

A well built lens

Best is the build: solid and oozes quality
Lens is not very large and heavy for the focal range
Zoom mechanism could be a bit tight at first
2 hood system a bit clumsy; wish they have just a long hood but built in one
The tripod mechanism is clever : the controls rotate along with it
Sharpness is great , not as sharp as the Olympus 75mm but close
Bokeh is acceptable, not the smoothest
A bit on the expensive side but one cannot find a 200-800mm lens anywhereRead full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: diddykong007

Best value in micro four thirds supertelephotos

I am using this lens on an Olympus OMD EM5 Mark II. Lens is very well made with rugged build quality and top notch glass. Images from 100-400mm are very sharp! Even 400mm at f/6.3 is sharp enough to make very detailed prints up to 16x20". Stop down to f/8 and detail is extremely good. Focusing is near instant and accurate. Image stabilization works great. Weathersealing for nasty weather shooting is a big plus. Also, this lens is much smaller and significantly less expensive than the Olympus 300mm f4, while being way more flexible with the 100-400 range and giving up nearly nothing in real world (read not based on lab tests) image quality. Highly recommended lens!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: dwi-internation...