Panasonic extends the reach of its legendary Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm ll lens with teleconverter compatibility

The mark ll version of the popular 100-400mm lens is optically the same as the previous model, but now it allows teleconverters to be used

The original Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6.3 ASPH/Power OIS is one of the most popular lenses for Lumix G system users. Its out-standing focal reach and stunning optical image stabilization system, combined with its compact design and modest weight for the focal lengths on offer, make it a favourite for sport and wildlife photographers in particular. Paired with the Lumix G9ll or any of the G system bodies it makes a fantastic back-saving alternative to the huge DSLRs and bulky lenses many of us have suffered in the past.

At first glance the mark l and mark ll lenses look the same, and for the most part they are

This old favourite though has had an update that retains the optical quality of the original lens, but which brings a new feature that will make it even more useful than before.

A new design for the rear of the lens allows teleconverters to be added to the mark ll version, as shown on the right

One of the key differences between this new lens and the previous model is that we can now add a teleconverter to the lens to extend its reach. Panasonic has released two teleconverters for the Lumix G system that previously were compatible only with the Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f/2.8 and Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 50-200mm f/2.8-4 lenses, but which are now compatible with this new lens. Panasonic has altered the design of the rear of the lens to allow the converters to fit, and has introduced a locking Zoom Limit mechanism to prevent the rear element of the lens clashing with the forward elements of the converter. Most users will fit a teleconverter to use with the longer focal lengths of the lens, so restricting the shorter focal lengths to the 210mm mark with the Zoom Limit switch won’t disappoint anyone.

You can see that the new lens on the left has a wider opening to the mount, and the rear baffle of the original model (right) has been removed

Panasonic’s teleconverters extend the longest focal lengths by 1.4x (DMW-TC14) or 2x (DMW-TC20), making the longest focal length either 560mm or 800mm. With the 2x magnification of the Micro Four Thirds system this makes for effective focal lengths of 1120mm or 1600mm depending on which converter you are using.

The distinguishing feature of the mark ll lens is the new Zoom Limit switch that ensures the rear element of the lens doesn’t collide with the front of the teleconverters

A safety switch is mounted on the zoom ring itself, just beyond the 100mm mark, and is activated/deactivated by pressing a lock button and sliding the switch backwards or forwards. You can activate the switch in any zoom position, but once the zoom goes beyond the 210mm mark it won’t come back to 100mm without the switch being deactivated. You really should activate the switch before mounting the lens on the teleconverter just to avoid accidents. The rear element of the lens doesn’t quite meet the forward element of the 1.4x converter, but the elements of the 2x converter extend a little further forward and will go into the mount of the 100-400mm.

If you try to use the lens at focal lengths shorter than 210mm with a teleconverter fitted the camera will post a warning on the screen. This is the warning in the G9ll. Other cameras will use the ‘Please extend the lens…’ warning that is used for the 14-42mm collapsible kit lens

Either way, the camera won’t allow you to take a picture if the zoom position is shorter than 210mm. A warning signal appears on the screen, blacking-out the image and the shutter won’t fire.

Shot at the maximum focal length with the 1.4x DMC-TC14 fitted, giving an effective focal length of 1120mm. I used an aperture of f/16 and ISO 3200 to get a shutter speed of 1/400sec. Shot at the closest focus distance

The Leica DG 100-400mm Vario-Elmar has always been surprisingly good for close-up photography, allowing us to fill the frame from a distance with pretty small objects. It has a maximum magnification of 0.25x so can achieve 1:4 macro with its closest focus distance of 1.3m/4.27ft. The newer version achieves the same close focus, however with the introduction of a teleconverter the closest focus might remain the same but the degree of magnification increases according to the teleconverter in use. So, with the 2x teleconverter the maximum macro effect is 1:2 or half macro. With the 1.4x teleconverter the maximum macro effect is about 1:3 or 1/3^rd macro. So, while this isn’t a 1:1 macro lens it does get very close and it will allow us to fill the frame with very small objects.

The macro capabilities of the lens are remarkable, allowing us to fill the frame with very small objects. Shot with the DMW-TC14

Remembering the Micro Four Thirds frame is smaller than that of a frame in a full frame camera, we can fill the frame with objects that are half the size - making us appear twice as ‘close’. A 70mm object can fill the width of the frame without any teleconverters, but with the 1.4x teleconverter on that drops to 50mm, and with the 2x converter that drops to just 35mm – which is extremely impressive by any measure, let alone for a telephoto zoom lens. And you get all that with optical image stabilisation.

When shooting at close distances remember to switch the focus limiter to Full so the lens can find objects closer than 5m. Setting it to 5m-infinity saves the camera searching at close distances when your subject is distant

These images demonstrate the potential reach of the lens. The top shot shows the view as recorded with a standard lens for the Micro Four Thirds format (25mm). The arrow indicates where the subject is. With the 25mm replaced by the 100-400mm lens you can see how much larger the castle tower appears in the frame. The lower shot shows the tower recorded with the DMW-TC14 1.4x teleconverter fitted between the lens and the camera

While the marked focal lengths on the lens go from 100-400mm, the smaller size of the Micro Four Thirds sensor of the Lumix G and GH series cameras means that the angle of view of these focal lengths is effectively halved in comparison to the same focal lengths on a full frame body. So, you double the focal length written on the lens to understand the reach. This means a 400mm focal length on a Lumix G Micro Four Thirds camera has the same reach as an 800mm lens on a full frame body. And full frame lenses that take in an 800mm focal length tend to be enormous.

Images comparing a view recorded with a 25mm lens (left) and with the 100-400mm set to 400mm with the 1.4x teleconverter (right)

This lens weighs 985g, is only 250mm long when extended to the 400mm mark, and is a compact 172mm when closed to the 100mm position. When you compare this to the massive length, weight and cost of other brand’s lenses for full frame cameras it’s very easy to see why this Lumix 100-400mm has been so popular since it was first launched. And remarkably, the lens has a 72mm filter thread, so lower cost filters and attachments, of the type users are likely to already have for their other Lumix lenses, can be used.

The Lecia DG 100-400mm f/4-6.3 features Panasonic’s excellent Power O.I.S Optical Image Stabilisation system, that compensates for the shakes that inevitably occur when handholding a very long focal length lens

It’s one thing to have an incredible focal length like 800mm but quite another being able to use it. Anyone who has put binoculars to their eyes will know that even when we think we are holding them dead still the view will wobble up and down making detail hard to see properly.

This Jay was photographed handheld using an effective focal length of 1120mm and a shutter speed of just 1/320sec

Thankfully this lens has Panasonic’s class-leading optical image stabilisation (OIS) system built in, that works with the camera to dramatically reduce the effects of camera shake, and to deliver a clear and stable image in the viewfinder. The system is really remarkable, and is amazingly effective at steadying still images allowing us to use longer shutter speeds and/or lower ISO settings than we would otherwise. In video the system creates a stable image that is easy for the viewer to watch, and gives us the chance to shoot handheld where usually we might need a tripod. Ultimately, this means we can produce images of better quality and work in lighting conditions that would be impossible without the use of some extra support.

There is plenty of detail in this image recorded handheld at 1/80sec using the long end of the lens with the 1.4x converter added. The detail is exceptional thanks to the remarkable OIS system

The OIS system can be switched on and off using a switch on the lens, but the way it behaves is controlled via the camera’s menu system. The camera will allow priority to be given to shake in certain directions to allow intentional camera movement, such as when we are panning. Different modes correct for a range of situations. By default the system will compensate for shake in all directions, but we can inform the camera we intend to move the lens in a left/right direction so it should ignore shake in those directions but still correct up/down shakes.

Recorded at the 100mm end of the lens, you can see that telephoto lenses can be very effective for landscape work, as they neatly compress our sense of distance and appear to bring parts of the scene that are far apart much closer together

We can also set the camera/lens combination for up/down movements with left/right shakes corrected, to take in every eventuality. These additional instructions and customisations make the image in the viewfinder smoother for stills shooters, but crucially allow very smooth camera movements for videographers in both the landscape and portrait orientations.

Panasonic has made improvements to the rotation of the zoom ring in the new lens, which make zoom actions smoother to perform

The zoom functionality in the new lens is the same as that in the original model, with a twist lock to allow us to adjust the resistance of the zoom ring as well as to lock it in place at any given setting. The motion of the zoom ring is slightly smoother than in the original lens, especially in the 100-200mm region. It becomes a little more resistant as the focal lengths increase, and allows a much better zooming experience when changing focal lengths during filming.

With the Zoom Limiter switch activated the zoom ring stops at the 210mm mark

Not so much a feature of the lens but of the camera, some Lumix bodies have received new firmware recently that improves the system’s ability to retain focus while zooming, so objects remain sharp when focal lengths are being adjusted.

Other than the compatibility with teleconverters and the smoother zoom ring rotation the mark l and ll lenses are the same

As with all lenses, best optical performance comes when the Leica DG 100-400mm f/4-6.3 is stopped down a little. Its wide-open resolution is very good, but for the best detail it pays to close the aperture by a couple of stops – to f/8 at the short end and to f/11 at the long end. This is particularly important when using the teleconverters, as these really test the resolution of a lens by magnifying the image to make it larger on the sensor. You will find the maximum available aperture becomes smaller when the converters are used, so find the widest aperture and close the lens a bit – to around f/11-16 for the 1.4x and f/16-22 with the 2x converter when the lens is at its longest. These are obviously very small apertures, so we will need to compensate with higher ISO settings to retain short shutter speeds or by using a tripod when shutter speed doesn’t matter.

This is a 3840-pixel wide crop of a shot taken using the High Resolution mode of the Lumix G9ll. I used the 100-400mm with the 1.4x converter - as I did for the images at the beginning of the Small Lens, Huge Appeal paragraph. With the extra pixels in a 100MP High Resolution mode image we can to look at the subject in much more detail

To make the most of the available resolution you might like to try using your camera’s High Resolution mode, if it has one. You will be restricted to apertures of f/11 and below, so there’s not much wriggle room, but the results can be fantastic. Use a tripod for this, and set the shutter delay to at least eight seconds to allow the camera and lens to come to a complete rest before the exposure is made.

The tripod foot of the lens is removeable for when you need to save space, but it marks the centre of balance for the lens when it is on a camera such as the Lumix G9. Make sure you use it when mounting the lens to a tripod, and don’t mount the camera itself as the system will become front-heavy

The centre of balance when the lens is mounted on a camera like the Lumix G9 is directly under the tripod foot of the lens, so always attach the lens to the tripod rather than attaching the camera. This will allow more comfortable movement, and will place less pressure on the tripod head to keep the set-up still and in place once the head is locked.

Although the Leica DG 100-400mm f/4-6.3 Vario-Elmar is a large lens for the Micro Four Thirds system, it is remarkably small for the reach it offers – even when extended to the longest focal length setting