[blues_hawk]

Pileated woodpecker, with the Oly 100-400:

Wow! I've tried to get good woody shots but he's always managed to ruin it.

[blues_hawk]

I was very surprised when, about 30 minutes after the fox split the scene, a coyote appeared.

By then it was very dim outside, and I happened to glance out the window and saw this nearly shapeless dun splotch moving across the field. It took me several seconds to ascertain that it was indeed a coyote. I could just barely make it out, and when I grabbed my camera I didn't have much hope of getting anything. I set the ISO to 6400 and the camera informed me that the shutter speed was 1/4s. I opened the window, knelt, guessed at focus, and fired away. I could see the coyote a bit better through the EVF than with my own eyes, but it was still too dim and grainy to feel confident in my focusing. Fortunately, unlike the skittish fox, the coyote was calm and confident and moved rather leisurely.

Still, I had scant hope that my 300/2.8, which doesn't perform all that well wide open on the small m4/3 sensor, coupled with the ludicrously slow 1/4s shutter and ISO 6400, would produce anything useful.

A "record shot", at least. I had to increase the exposure by another 1 1/3 stops in PP, but thanks to the magic of DXO DeepPrime and super-impressive IBIS of the Panny G9, I did, in fact, get something useful.

Also, is this eastern coyote simply well-fed, or in a "family way"?

More wow! I've seen one of each while deer hunting but have never gotten a photo. I haven't seen a fox in a while now. Coyotes can be a problem locally, and are often really freaky to listen to way out in the woods in the dark.

I did some tracking when there was snow on the ground and know where the local crossing point is. Staking it out is the hard part. I put a game camera out to see what's around..guess I should go thaw it out and see if it survived. :P

[pbancr]

Panasonic GX8 + TTartisan 23/1.4. Hit Explore. For a photo challenge I’m in..theme: reference books.

[pepperberry farm]

Panasonic GX8 + TTartisan 23/1.4. Hit Explore. For a photo challenge I’m in..theme: reference books.

congratulations on explore!

[blues_hawk]

Having a different brand camera for a lens of course complicates things --- although I've seen some great images taken with Pany-body and Oly 100-400. I just have no idea if you're taking any kind of AF hit. I do occasionally have AF hunting issues with the E-M5ii. I've often wondered if it would be better or worse with a Pany body.

You might also compare image stabilization(IS) capabilities. I noticed my em5ii has a menu option to use in lens stability when the lens has it but because the oly has in body image stabilization(IBIS) some of its lenses do not. Not sure this is a factor for the 100-400mm but thought I'd mention it anyway jic.

[luftfluss]

More wow! I've seen one of each while deer hunting but have never gotten a photo. I haven't seen a fox in a while now. Coyotes can be a problem locally, and are often really freaky to listen to way out in the woods in the dark.

I did some tracking when there was snow on the ground and know where the local crossing point is. Staking it out is the hard part. I put a game camera out to see what's around..guess I should go thaw it out and see if it survived. :P

Foxes I see on a regular basis, but almost only at dusk or later. This is the 4th time in my life I've ever seen a coyote, and 2nd time successfully photographed.

I think I'm going to have to suspend my "wellfare for wildlife" program, because encouraging coyotes around here would lead to a real problem.

[pepperberry farm]

[luftfluss]

This kind of looks like a roadway cutting through farmland, shot with a tilt-shift lens.

Very cool.

[pepperberry farm]

This kind of looks like a roadway cutting through farmland, shot with a tilt-shift lens.

Very cool.

thank you - it's the rusty tin roof on my garage....

[simon_199]

With the announcement of the new EM-1 I am getting curious about the micro 4/3 system. When travelling or not doing anything specific my personal preference has settled on a two lens kit on apsc, one general purpose zoom (18-135WR) and a wide angle zoom (10-17, might get the 11-18).
In the mft system there are two very interesting lenses that would fit the bill namely the 12-100 f4 pro and the 8-25 f4. Both very versatile, supposedly sharp enough even wide open.

I was wondering if anybody has compared either of those lenses on a recent mft body with the latest IBIS etc with some current Pentax apsc offering, or other apsc systems in the same range (18-135 class lenses, that cover roughly the same FOV).

How do the two options compare in terms of real-word performance ? IBIS performance of 12-100 with sync-is is supposedly top notch, how far behind are modern Pentax bodies? Optically the 12-100 should be superior ? But in practical usage, how superior ? Considering that with apsc sensor there is some more headroom in high-iso performance, so one could stop down if more IQ is needed, or have faster shutter speed to compensate for worse IBIS performance. Thanks in advance.

[WPRESTO]

With the announcement of the new EM-1 I am getting curious about the micro 4/3 system. When travelling or not doing anything specific my personal preference has settled on a two lens kit on apsc, one general purpose zoom (18-135WR) and a wide angle zoom (10-17, might get the 11-18).
In the mft system there are two very interesting lenses that would fit the bill namely the 12-100 f4 pro and the 8-25 f4. Both very versatile, supposedly sharp enough even wide open.

I was wondering if anybody has compared either of those lenses on a recent mft body with the latest IBIS etc with some current Pentax apsc offering, or other apsc systems in the same range (18-135 class lenses, that cover roughly the same FOV).

How do the two options compare in terms of real-word performance ? IBIS performance of 12-100 with sync-is is supposedly top notch, how far behind are modern Pentax bodies? Optically the 12-100 should be superior ? But in practical usage, how superior ? Considering that with apsc sensor there is some more headroom in high-iso performance, so one could stop down if more IQ is needed, or have faster shutter speed to compensate for worse IBIS performance. Thanks in advance.

I've had the 12~100 f4 Oly for some time now. It has never failed to impress me with its IQ. I'm getting images as good or better than I was getting with a 16~85mm Pentax, my former favorite wide to modest tele lens.The only shortfall of the 12~100 IMHO is close-focusing, but I recently found an unsold old stock Sigma achromatic close-up filter that is far more slender and light (= easier to pack & carry) than either Canon or Marumi units and seems to deliver more-than-I-need IQ at longer FL settings.


I've no experience with the Oly 8~25mm f4 because I purchased a Panasonic 7~14mm f4 long before the Oly lens was introduced. The 7~14mm delivers really good images, as good as I could want, with possible complaints about distortion and IQ at the edges and in the corners at 7mm, but even prime UWA lenses have those problems. Would I switch to the Oly 8~25mm? It would be nice to get all the way to normal focal length with an UWA zoom, but the one silly millimeter lost at the wide end will be noticeable, and that's what UWA lenses are purchased to deliver (if you wanted a 14mm rectilinear for a FF camera, would you settle for a 16mm rectilinear?). The hard-headed response is the return to me from switching to the 8~25mm is not worth the cost, but that doesn't prevent me from thinking about it. If I did not own the Pana 7~14mm, I think I would go for the Oly 8~25mm just because getting to 25mm would make the lens far more versatile*..

Synopsis: The 12~100mm is as good a wide-to-modest-tele lens as can be found. The 8~25mm has a really attractive range, but isn't quite as wide as the Panasonic 7~14mm*. Olympus lenses are really nicely made. They feel very solid and precise, but that means they're a bit heavier than Panasonic lenses that have extensive use of plastic. AND, do not purchase less than exactly what you want. If you do, you'll be thinking all the time of what you could have had instead.

* If you need something really wide now-and-then. consider a Samyang 7.5mm fisheye.Yes it's manual focus and manual aperture, but it's tiny well made with IQ that every reviewer praises, and it is take-your-breath-away less expensive than the AF fish-eye lenses from Olympus and Panasonic. I have a Samyang, it's very good, and the lack of automation I do not miss at all. At least in my shooting habits the fish-eye is never used in grab-it-quickly shooting, and even if it were, the inches to infinity DOF at f8 almost makes focusing unnecessary. (PS: I just checked a DOF calculator. The 7.5mm Samyang at f8 and set to 2 feet has a DOF from 9 inches to infinity)

[simon_199]

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I guess that the only way to truly find out if a switch to another system is justified would be to try myself maybe borrowing a recent mft camera from somebody to see if i like the overall shooting experience (never had the opportunity to try a modern mirrorless, my memories of EVFs comes from low-end compact cameras of 10 year ago...).
I would not be able to afford justify having two systems at once therefore a switch would imply selling all my Pentax gear, and I wonder if I would make a more efficient use of my money if I upgrade step by step within the Pentax system where I have already invested in several prime lenses, accessories, batteries, etc.
All in all the new Oly OM-1 will retail for 2000+€ body only. More or less the same price of a K-3iii which seems to be a very nice camera that sadly came too late to the market, at the end of the DSLR era.
In my country to find or resell Pentax gear is becoming ever more difficult as the market is shrinking as a whole and the popularity of the brand (again, in my country) has certainly not increased...

[3by2]

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I guess that the only way to truly find out if a switch to another system is justified would be to try myself maybe borrowing a recent mft camera from somebody to see if i like the overall shooting experience (never had the opportunity to try a modern mirrorless, my memories of EVFs comes from low-end compact cameras of 10 year ago...).
I would not be able to afford justify having two systems at once therefore a switch would imply selling all my Pentax gear, and I wonder if I would make a more efficient use of my money if I upgrade step by step within the Pentax system where I have already invested in several prime lenses, accessories, batteries, etc.
All in all the new Oly OM-1 will retail for 2000+€ body only. More or less the same price of a K-3iii which seems to be a very nice camera that sadly came too late to the market, at the end of the DSLR era.
In my country to find or resell Pentax gear is becoming ever more difficult as the market is shrinking as a whole and the popularity of the brand (again, in my country) has certainly not increased...

I made this decision recently, it was actually very difficult. I felt that my needs were changing after a two year investment in Pentax trying to gather my ideal kit and I craved simpler smaller and lighter. I looked around a few systems, taking advantage of manufacturer trials, culminating in trying Olympus through the, Test and Wow, scheme, which sadly doesn't seem to operate in Italy. Suffice to say I was persuaded. The 20Mp sensor and the OLED EVF were more than good enough for my needs, so then it was just a case of wringing my hands as I contemplated selling my Pentax gear, because like you, I can't afford two systems.

I'm still selling my Pentax gear, you won't get back what you've put in and the market isn't big so it doesn't sell fast but I've sold enough to buy the E m5 III and the 12-40 F2.8, allowing me to put my final Pentax gear on Ebay. The 12-40 F2.8 will be joined by the new 40-150 F4 pro at some point and I have a relatively small two lens system which I can take anywhere. The e M5 III and 12-40 F2.8 also came with a free 45 F1.8 which I wasn't going to keep but put on ebay but it looks like everyone else who bought the offer has done the same thing, so I'll probably keep it for now.

On the day the Olympus stuff arrived I agonised over whether to open the box or just send it back and stick with my KP and 20-40. It took me a few hours to summon up the will to open it.

Changing system is not an easy decision and I think you're wise to try one first if you can to see if it suits, you can't tell that from reading reviews and specificaions.

[simon_199]

Yes indeed that's the hard truth. You can read as many reviews as you want, but there's no substitute for first-hand experience. The only thing you can reasonably asses is sensors performance if you find sets of studio test scenes (RAW) that you can develop with your software of choice. But this purely technical assessment, although important, is rather sterile and tells a small fraction of the story that is actually using a certain system.

Regarding resale value, I got many of my lenses used with pretty good deals, the few samples I see for sale actually go for as much as I paid for the lenses myself or more. But the demand is really small.

Actually the hardest part is to justify the effort and the investment for something that you didn't try. Even my old k-3 is good enough that a new body would be, for my needs and style of photography, a sort of incremental upgrade that is hard to justify spending 2000€ for ....
But on the other hand I'm a bit worried about this ever decreasing availability of Pentax gear. Is it wise to invest big money on star lenses, as good as they are ?

Size and weight are, within reason, of no particular concern for me. My idea is that if I need compact, I need truly pocketable and I'll use my Fuji XF10. If I need to bring any interchangeable lens camera this means a backpack; a few centimeters and a few hundred grams here and there don't make any difference to me. Naturally if one is into long-range nature photography with big tele lenses then the weight advantage of mft vs full frame will be significant, but that's not my case.

If it wasn't for the quest for smaller and lighter, would you have kept the KP ? Is there anything game-changing to motivate the switch ? Assuming lenses of comparable quality on both systems.

[northcoastgreg]

Wow! I've tried to get good woody shots but he's always managed to ruin it.

There's always a bit of luck involved in these things. This particular bird lives in the neighborhood. I hear him all the time. But rarely does he come out where he had be seen.

Another bluejay, shot with same combo from inside the house: