150-600 zoom on olympus body: Any one have experience using a 150-600 lens from any manufacturer with the proper adapter,i.e. an adapter that has all the contacts. Does it handle well?

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

Any one have experience using a 150-600 lens from any manufacturer with the proper adapter,i.e. an adapter that has all the contacts. Does it handle well? Is the set up solid? Is the picture quality good,would it be worth the investment? As we all know, when shooting birds or wildlife,one can never have enough focal length. olympus nor panasonic offer anything close to those lens specs,so I need to create my own.Any thoughts yea or nay appreciated.

fosis Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I've looked this over - thoroughly, I think - but looking forward to anyone else with better info.
The auto focus mechanism is the issue. My understanding is that Metabones' adaptor won't provide that connection/function for any of the 150-600 zooms.
The Leica/Panasonic 100-400 is the only game in town that I know of. Frankly, I found its zoom function very stiff, and several others have/have not commented on that. Wildlife and long landscapes would likely be OK, but sports? I don't think so.
I'm waiting for Olympus' announced 150-400 f4.5 with built-in 1.25 extender, hoping that it will not cost a king's ransom. Supposed to be on the market by year end+. See last January's announcement: https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2019/01/24/handheld-at-2000mm-olympus-announces-150-400mm-f-4.5-tc1.25x-pro-lens

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

I saw the announcement on the 150-400. seems to me that that is reinventing the wheel. Panasonic already has a 100-400.I was hoping olympus would streach things out a bit more,say to 500.The pana is $1700.00 give or take, I don't think the olympus is going to be that inexpensive. I thought the m43 format was going to save me money. Doesn't look like it. especialy if it's a pro series. I simply don't have that kind of bank account. I feel like us m43 users are being left out of the real super zoom fun.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

papaluv4gd wrote:

Any one have experience using a 150-600 lens from any manufacturer with the proper adapter,i.e. an adapter that has all the contacts. Does it handle well? Is the set up solid? Is the picture quality good,would it be worth the investment? As we all know, when shooting birds or wildlife,one can never have enough focal length. olympus nor panasonic offer anything close to those lens specs,so I need to create my own.Any thoughts yea or nay appreciated.

Why don't you just get a Nikon P1000? That will give you an equivalent of 24-3000mm and would be a lot simpler than what you want to do.

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

Clicked on that sight you posted after I put in my 2 cents.Actualy looks like a real nice set up specially with the additional 2.0 converter. Gonna have to get more serious about collecting pop cans. Need some way to pay for it. THX.

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

Thanks Mac, I'll look into one. No camera stores close to me. Will have to head into the city.

User ID

fosis wrote:

...............
I'm waiting for Olympus' announced 150-400 f4.5 .....
hoping that it will not cost a king's ransom. ........

I spoze it really depends on which king of what
kingdom is being ransomed. Rotsa ruck. And I
do hope you began saving your sheckels about
five years ago for this one !

User ID

Mac wrote:

Why don't you just get a Nikon P1000? That
will give you an equivalent of 24-3000mm
and would be a lot simpler than what you
want to do.

Not saying that it's a horrible device.
Really not ! But there are very obvious
reasons why someone can may find the
P1000 verrrry unappealing :-( Given its
potential, I even wish that I could love
it ... but every time I touch it, no way !
Mebbe it's something about it being the
world's hugest klunkiest sub-sub-mini ?

Jerrin1 Loc: Wolverhampton, England

papaluv4gd wrote:

Any one have experience using a 150-600 lens from any manufacturer with the proper adapter,i.e. an adapter that has all the contacts. Does it handle well? Is the set up solid? Is the picture quality good,would it be worth the investment? As we all know, when shooting birds or wildlife,one can never have enough focal length. olympus nor panasonic offer anything close to those lens specs,so I need to create my own.Any thoughts yea or nay appreciated.

When I owned an Olympus EM1 mark II I looked for an adapter for my Nikon mount Sigma 180mm f2.8 macro lens (I also owned an Nikon D500 at the time). Though I found one, it proved to be a very, very tight fit and only allowed for manual focusing and exposure was a bit of a guess. I did mange to capture bees in flight, though. I'm afraid I did not look for a Canon to M43 mount, but cannot recommend Nikon to M43.

papaluv4gd Loc: durham,ct

Their are a heck of a lot of us m43 users out here. Just try bidding on an olympus camera or lens, even older e-m1 models. The bidding gets pretty hot and heavy, and the selling pricese are getting higher. That leads me to believe that their is enough interest in the format to grab the attension of the after market manufactorers. But it doesn't appear so. Canon ,Nikon ,sony. these users have access to focal leangths that we don't have access to.You going to tell me that their aren't enough m43 users out there to make it worthwhile for the likes of Sigm,or Tamron,or Tokina to start offering us some serious far reaching glass? I don't get it. The so called BIG guys (Canikon) users have an unimaginable collection of lenses to choose from. Us m43, and Pentax users are all but ignored by the aftrmarket guys.

mikewalker1961

fosis wrote:

I've looked this over - thoroughly, I think - but ... (show quote)

I have the Panasonic 100-400 and I believe it pushes the envelope for a long telephoto zoom for any format. It is very unlikely that anyone will release a cheaper solution with comparable quality. The IQ and sharpness are impeccable and the auto-focus quick and accurate. While it would be nice for the lens to be faster, that would result in a much larger lens, and the lens currently pushes the limit of what is hand holdable for long periods. The zoom ring is a bit stiff, but you get used to it.

https://pbase.com/lmwalker/travel_tanzania_2018_predators

I also have the Tamron 150-600 mounted on a Canon 5D Mark IV and I consider the Panasonic 100-400 on my OMD-EM1 Mark II the superior super telephoto combo for low action telephoto photography. The 5D Mark IV's auto-focus does tip the scale for action photography such as sports, but I have not yet tested the EM1 Mark II and the 100-400 with the latest firmware update that brings some of the EM1X auto-focus capabilities back to the Mark II.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

papaluv4gd wrote:

I saw the announcement on the 150-400. seems to me... (show quote)

Actually it is built to go to 500 without anything thing additional being bought. There is a built-in 1.25X teleconverter that would make the upper end of the zoom 500 f5 (1000 f5 angle of view in 35mm terms). With the new 2X teleconverter, the lense would become 1000 f10 (2000 f10 angle of view in 35mm terms). From what I discern, it appears to be under 15" long and about 4.5" in diameter. With the 2X teleconverter on it it may get out to 16.5". It is supposedly handholdable so I would have to guess that it is under 5 pounds and more likely under 4. The Panasonic 100-400 is not going to come close to these specs. Everyone is hoping that it will come in under $3500 but I doubt. If you think that is expensive, think what it would cost in 35mm terms. Maybe $50K or $60K?

PierreD

papaluv4gd wrote:

I saw the announcement on the 150-400. seems to me... (show quote)

Well, this could all be true, but don't forget that we already have the outstanding Olympus 300 mm lens, equivalent to 600 mm FF. With the new Olympus 2x TC (I don't have it, but hear it from multiple users that it works really well), you get the equivalent of a 1200 mm FF lens. Also consider that this package retains dual stabilization (IBIS and ILIS) and comes at a fraction of the cost of an equivalent Canikon rig. The question becomes: How much more real super zoom fun do you need?

PierreD

wdross wrote:

Actually it is built to go to 500 without anything... (show quote)

Interesting comment... The new Oly 400 mm lens will likely be an outstanding glass, but definitely out of my reach if I want to stay in good terms with my banker and my wife... Having seen pictures of it online, I also have some doubt regarding its handholdability...

davidb1879

Re: papaluv4good. My suggestion is that you sell your gear and used the proceeds towards the purchase of a used Nikon D500 and a used Tamron 150-600 lens. If you buy on Ebay make certain that the seller has a thirty day "no questions asked" return policy. B & H, Adorama and MPB are the most reliable sellers of used products. Good luck! Davidb1879