35-100F2 Zuiko First Impressions

harjtt

I finally bit the bullet and ordered the Oly 35-100F2 (70-200 in 35mm equiv) and it arrived this morning. Originally had hoped to get the new 50-200SWD 2.8-3.5 but it's not available until Dec 2007, price of the new lens is just £200-300 less than the F2 and sizewise the new lens isn't that much smaller than the F2.

First impressions with the E1:

1. Its smaller in the flesh and initially doesn't feel too heavy (1.6kg) but after a wee while handholding you do notice the weight. I would have liked it to have been a wee bit smaller and lighter.Where's my sherpa ??
2. The lens hood is big and makes the lens look a lot bigger than it is, and I'm wondering why it needs to be that size.
3. That 77mm front glass looks pretty :thumb
4. Internal zoom which is nice as the 50-200SWD extends when zooming.
5. A wee bit noisier than I had hoped when zooming in or out.
6. Focusing seems to be good although with the E1's AF it did hunt a wee bit in low light in doors.
7. At F2 seems a wee bit soft, although as soon as you stop down to f2.2 there's a definite improvement and I know the slow shutter speed didn't help.
8. Bokeh from initial shots seems to be good.
9. Definitely not a street shooters lens - just way to attention attracting.
10. Build quality - its made like a tank and noticably in a different class to the pro-mid lenses, although the two new pro 12-60SWD and 50-200SWD looks as if they're made from the same material.
11. Wish it was £500 cheaper than it is in the UK!35

I'll post some shots as soon as I'm comfortable with the beastie. The weaklink now is the AF and the 5MP on the E1, so at some point next year I'll look at upgrading.

Cheers

HarjTT

:thumb

swintonphoto

I'm excited to see some shots! I have always wanted to get my hands on one of those lenses to try it out. Keep us posted!

ziggy53

f2 zoom lenses! You gotta love it! The lenses are the components that would draw me into the "Four-Thirds" systems.

Good stuff.

marlof

That's one lens that I'd really like to have. I'd love to see some shots, what I've seen so far from this lens is really impressive.

harjtt

Hi Guys

Didn't take anything worthwhile today but tomorrow should be different as I'm taking "the beastie" out for a test run. I've been trying to get used to size and weight of the lens today and this is definitely something that will take time to get used too. The E1's build quality is very good but seems to be toy like compared to the 35-100 and I'm wondering if Oly could or should have gone for a similar "not soo bomb proof" design and material choice. I'm sure that would have saved a wee bit of weight and make it more comfortable. In the meantime I've removed the tripod collar to reduce the weight a wee bit more and that has helped. I won't be replacing the 14-54Zd after today.

I'll be working on modifying my hand holding technique as I'm not 100% comfortable holding the lens and then will see how slow you can shoot and still get a sharp image handheld. Alternatively I may just have to join a gym and start trainning again.

Hopefully, I'll get some kids portraits tomorrow and I'll do a wee comparison with the 14-54ZD at 35mm (70mm)@2.8 -> 54mm(108mm)@3.5.


Cheers

Harj

harjtt

A few shots from yesterday, again nothing challenging or excitign either -0 got out too late on a Sunday morning. These are just the RAW files converted to jpeg

1. Swan - ISO200 F2 @1/3200s 83mm(35mm equiv.166mm)



100% crop -



2. ISo 100 F2@ 83mm (35mm equiv.166mm)





3. ISO100 F2.8@1/500s at 100mm (35mm equiv.200mm)





4. ISO 200 f8@1/320s 100mm (35mm equiv = 200mm)





5. ISO100. f2@1/4000s 100mm (35mm equiv 200mm)





6. Friends little girl - this where the new 4/3rd cams are bound to be a lot better, eps with IS and the new sensors:

ISO 400, F2@ 1/20s






Cheers

Harj