Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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Panasonic has just announced the Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 Leica DG Vario-Elmar lens for its LUMIX G range of Micro Four Thirds System cameras. We’ve gone hands-on with the high-end, super-telephoto zoom that sports the longest focal length available for the MFT system.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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With a whopping 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 200-800mm, the Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm affords the longest focal length available for the MFT system. This should make it a boon for photographing birds, wildlife, and landscapes – without breaking your back due to weight and size.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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In fact, as you can see here, the 100-400mm Leica lens is quite hand-holdable, which is remarkable for the 800mm equivalent reach the lens provides. Naturally, the small size and weight do come at a cost: with an equivalent maximum aperture of F8 and F12.6 on the 200mm and 800mm equivalent ends, respectively, subject isolation and noise performance on a MFT camera won’t be the same as what you might get with a full-frame 800mm F5.6 lens. Which, by the way, would run you $ 13k and weigh your pack down an extra 10 pounds. This lens weighs a modest 985g, or ~2.2 lbs in ‘Merican.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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Can you spot the difference from the last image? It’s subtle, but in this shot we’ve extended the integrated shift-away lens hood that reduces sun glare. The hood just snaps back and forth, which makes it quite convenient – no need to take the hood off, flip it around, and reattach it.
Additionally pictured here is the Unlock <–> Lock ring which allows you to lock the zoom, so the barrel doesn’t extend inadvertently.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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Here’s the lens at its shortest, zoomed out to 100mm. Focal length demarcations are provided for 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400mm.
There’s a focus range limiter which allows you to limit focus to subjects only beyond 5m. A direct AF/MF switch allows you to shut off AF, and a Power O.I.S. switch allows you to engage or disengage the the image stabilization system. If you’re using a DMC-GX8 you can use both the optical image stabilization in the lens and the built-in sensor-shift stabilization to provide incredibly effective vibration reduction.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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Here we’ve extended the lens to its maximum telephoto setting: 400mm. While the lens extends quite a bit at this setting, it still remains very hand-holdable. Impressively, the lens sports a durable, gapless construction so unwanted dust or light rain shouldn’t damage it. As such, the lens is described as weather sealed.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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A convenient, two-part tripod mount is integrated into the lens. It’s a rotatable mount that allows for quick and easy swapping between landscape and portrait orientations. Unlock the tripod mount screw with your left hand and…
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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… speedily turn the mount 90º for portrait orientation shooting.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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Under the hood, this lens packs some impressive features. Among them: a 9-blade aperture for smooth out-of-focus highlights, and a 240 fps drive AF linear motor with high speed and precision for fast focus. With the correct lens profiles, we hope Panasonic cameras with Depth from Defocus (DFD) technology will be able to focus this lens quickly for fast-paced shooting.
Focus is also silent, which means you can use autofocus during filming without the focus drive ruining your soundtrack.
Hands-on with the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 lens
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And that’s not all. The lens is constructed of 20 elements in 13 groups, with one aspherical and a number of extra low dispersion elements to ensure minimal flaring and other optical artifacts. The lens also boasts an impressive minimum focus distance of 1.3m, yielding 0.25x magnification (0.5x equivalent).
The lens, which is made in Japan, will be available in mid-April for $ 1799.99.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)