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This review is now out-of-date following Panasonic's January 2017 lens renewals. The 100-300mm H-FS100300 with Mega OIS reviewed here has been discontinued. It has been replaced by the H-FSA100300 with Power OIS and weather-sealing (dust and splashproof). This is to enable it to operate with dual stabilisation using Panasonic's latest cameras with in-body stabilisation. The new lens is more expensive of course! The old lens is now difficult to find at dealers but can be found cheaply second-hand.

Constantly, your videos are the best reviews!!. Thanks ( and for the model’s patience and contributions)

Still relevant after two years. Good comparison without the waffle. Many thanks, Mathieu!

Nice review, Mathieu. Of course Panasonic has released an updated version of the 100-300mm since this video was made. At about $600 vs $1600 currently, I would expect more performance from the 400mm. The relative small size and weight of the 300mm does have a lot of appeal for the handheld shooter, price and performance considerations aside.

great review. came from a canon shooter looking for something lighter for day to day and now addicted to panasoni m43 system. these reviews helps alot. thanks

I have watched this video presentation a number of times and keeps helping me learn more and more about the 100-400mm Leica Limix lens.

Very informative and comprehensive comparison of both mega zoom lenses, wonderfully done.Thanks, victorT

Super useful video, thanks for sharing.

thanks Mathieu, a definite help with a purchase decision. In Australia this is a AU$800 vs AU$2,000 buying decision. Your in-depth video allows an informed decision

If I'm looking for lens reviews, I always check your channel first: This is by far the best!

I know it’s a bit old knowledge now, but I’ve seen a few comparisons of the mki and mkii 1-300mm, and depending on your sample, there’s basically no optical difference. However, as the new mkii is weather sealed, has Dual IS compatible power OIS and a faster AF motor, it’s a much closer call. I think the IQ is so close between the Pl 1-400 and P1-300, it’s just really about if you need that extra reach

Thanks so much for including the shots of the lens in your hands. It's so hard to get a feel for the size of M43 gear on youtube as they're almost always just sitting on tables.

Really helpful thanks just purchased the 100-400mm

Very helpful video. I use the 100 - 300mm lens with Panasonic Lumix G85 and am pleased with the results.

I've just bought a GX8 and the 14-140mm lens but hope to buy a longer zoom later for wildlife photography. How do the Sigma Canon fit zooms compare to the 100-300mm? They are a lot cheaper than the Leica lens - I don't mind shooting in manual mode and don't really worry about I.S as will be using a tripod, just curious about the difference in optics. Thanks for sharing your expertise with us all Mathieu a real blessing.

Thanks for that - it's time to review the Mk II 100-300!

great review, thanks so much. i used the Lumix 100-300mm and was so impressed by its sharpness and the OIS. not sure not sure now, weather i should get the Olympus 300 mm prime, or the Lumix 100-400 mm, i was really upset when the Lumix 100-300mm stopped working only after 2 and a half year.

What do you think of the 100-400 for video shooting ? (e.g. shooting airshows where you want to zoom on the jets and shoot their maneuvers and the cockpit)

I agree about the manual focus ring being very stiff on the 100-300 lens - also the zoom ring is too. I find it impossible to get it moving or zooming (harder the first time) without shaking the entire image while video recording. The Canon L series lenses are much better in this regard.

Thanks for this nice comparison. Great work as usual! But have you tried the new version of the 100/300?

Nice just found your channel. I have the GH3 and 100-300mm hoping to get a 100-400 going to wait until fall and pray for a black friday deal like they had with the 42.5mm a year or so ago. Quick question, when you're shooting birds in flight do you turn off OIS, leave it on, or change it to vertical stabilization only? I get mixed opinions when googling whether or not I should turn it on or off or switch to panning mode (i'm guessing thats the same as vertical stabilization). What are your opinions? Thanks.

Would be like to get the same comparaison with the MKII version that has better IS/AF.

Great review - thank you so much, Mathieu!

I'm a true novice to photography and my micro four thirds Olympus...I actually purchased a 100-300 lens shortly after purchasing the em10 for birding..... Your video is very helpful, so MERCI....

Very clear and exhaustive review as usual.

Thx , good review . Also I like your Toy bird in the tree ! For sharpness [ the small hairs I saw]

Thank You Mathieu!! I needed that information!!

PHEW! I was nervous watching this video. Just picked up a used 100-300 lens. It seems that it is a solid value and stellar performer given that it is quite old and cheap for the results. Thank you very much for the extensive comparison. Your opinions seemed to match the results very well. Cheers,

Very good comparison which helps me to decide to probably go for the 100-400, thanks :)

Great video and very insightful. Do you think the 100 - 400 mm lens would be good for shooting lectures with the GH5? Would that lens and auto face detect mode work well?

Hello. Nice comparisation. Will you be able to compare the old 100-300 with the newer 100-300 II? If so, I'm really curious if they have fixed that that focus ring, that in many cases almost couldn't be moved on the first version. What else should be fixed / updated on the II - version? Regards!

Great thorough review! How does the 100-300 work on the panasonics with ibis? Does the IS work together or one or the other? I wonder if the Olympus 75-300 is better than this on the newer Panasonics that have stabilization

it's amazing how that bird conveniently stays put for comparison shots, sluuurp

Thanks, a great review, very concise :)

Dear Mathieu, thank you for your video first of all, I was thinking of which one to get for my brand new (old) panasonic g85! Since its a little on the small side I would think the 100-300mm would be a better fit am I right? i want to use this handheld for birding most of the time. Can i also use a teleconverter for the 100-300mm? i understsand there is a mark 2 version of the 100-300mm already which is weather sealed as well. THanks in advance!

I bought the 300mm first but then I decided I also needed the 400mm for shooting birds at a nature reserve where you can't get so close. Bought both second hand for the price of a new 400mm. They are like new and work great There are occasions to use both so I'm happy to own both. I could survive with just the 300mm but it's my hobby and you've got to spend your money on something 😀

Is 100-400mm lens compatibile with lumix g7?

Hello, do you know if the rubber ring on the 100-300mm is subject to becoming sticky years later when a coating wears off? Thanks.

The only strange thing I dont like on 100-400 is the fact you get less zoom precision at 400mm compared to its shorter focal range. I need to be more precise between 200 and 400 instead having huge turn going to 100 to 150. Don't know why, but to me was necessary and better to have more precision at the the long end :/ the longer focal lenghts are so close on the zoom ring! (talking about zoom not the focus) What about 100-400 compared to newer 100-300 II in terms of sharpness? thanks

great review, very useful, many thanks!

is that 100-300 mm the Mark 2? or the first version?

Great work. Comprehensive, Concise, to the point. Bravo

Very good review. Thank you!

Great review. Thanks for sharing

The most affordable supertele at the moment in terms of price is the Olympus 75-300mm. Here in Germany you can buy it for less than 300 Euros. This lens is also the most compact and lightest of the tele zoom. It has less focus distance than competitors and is wider starting at 75mm. Curiously, there are not many test videos on KZfaq. I would love to see an Review done by you. Cordial greetings from the Black Forest!

good comparison thank you

Very good and exhaustive comentary!

Hi!! I have the 45-150mm kit lens that came with my g7. I wanted a even larger zoom and thought of this 100-300 as I am on a thight budget, however if it has worst image quality in terms of sharpness, I wouldn't use it. what do you think? I also saw that there is a 45-200mm too but maybe that wont be too much of a diference with my 45-150mm.

Really, really useful video. Thank you!

Excellent review. Just what I wanted to see. I bought the 100-300mm lens for $340 (new) and am waiting for it to arrive. Not worth spending $1500 on a lens that is only marginally better where I would use it. Thanks

I'm planning on getting the 100-300 mark II this spring, which came out last year. It is a serious upgrade from the older one you review here. It now has Power OIS, is weather sealed, new engine inside, can handle 240fps and is compatible with Dual IS in the latest Pana camera's. I don't have it yet, but spec-wise it is on par with the 100-400 now I think. Except that the 100-400 is Leica (and 100mm longer zoom) and way more expensive. I would be interested how the two hold up optics wise.

Is that a spotted lake loone? Those are hard to shoot, yet you nailed it!

Great review. How do you do those photos flipping sequences it's epic

I've had both the newer 100-300ii for a few years and now I've upgraded to the 100-400. From my test both optically perform equally well with the subject at a close distance however 100-400 is much sharper when the subject is further away. The 100-400 autofocus is also much more noticeably faster and more accurate.

Hi, I wanted to ask you question concerning the new and old Panasonic 100-300mm super zoom lens. Don't know if you have used both but if you have please let me know. Which lens is a sharper, more accurate in acquiring focus and a better stabilized lens, the Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm f/4-5.6 II POWER O.I.S. lens which is the newest version or the older one? I'm planning to buy either version 1 or 2 but want to know if it's worth the almost $200 dollar difference when it comes to sharpness and speed to get focus. At the moment I use a GH4. Any advice or info could help me out on buying one of them. Thanks!

Thank you for comparison

How about the version 2 of the 100-300 with POWER OIS? Have you tried that lens?

good info thanks hopes the lens 100 300 works with Olympus cameras as well

Nice review. I shoot micro 4/3 for recreational use only. The Olympus M series. Don't think the camera is good enough to spend that kind of money on the 100-400. The photo quality of the camera you used looks very good. I may have to look into getting that model.

Superb comprehensive review of two lenses I am considering and wondering if the the price difference was merited! You answered my questions. Thank you!

Thank you for very informative video! Can you help me to select the telephoto lens for my EM5 MarkII? I am considering one of two lenses: Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300 and M. ZUIKO 75-300. How about in lens IS and focus speed of Panasonic on OMD body? Thank you very much!

Do you prefer the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm to the Olympus 300mm Pro for bird photography?

Just an input - Nice video- However, i literally counted 35 times when, you said 100to300 and 100 to 400. That's really repetitive. After the introduction, perhaps its just good to call it as 400 or 300 or even 3 vs 4...

1799 for 400mm and 600 for 300mm choice is clear :)

thank you.

Any idea when they are releasing the 100-400 in the uk.

Great Vid I have just bought this lens and when using it with the 5 mk11 even with the IS in the off position you can hear a whirling noise coming from the lens. It also does exactlly the same when the IS is working..can you explain this as I guess its eating the battery. I wonder if the 100-300mm does the same. I look forward to your expert opinion...regards.

Thanks Mathieu for the nice comparison between the lenses. I own the olympus EM-1, and own most of the Zuiko pro lenses. They are extremely sharp and excellent color rendition. However I also do wildlife and need the zoom versatility. So i did purchase the Panasonic 100-300 zoom over the Zuiko 75-300, thinking it would perform better. I was wrong, I can see the sharpness difference and color distortion, compared to Zuiko pro lenses. So I will purchase the new Panasonic 100-400, I hope I will be satisfied!

Nice comparison but I believe that is the 1st gen 100-300; any plans to do a review comparing the 100-400 with the 2nd 100-300? I have never tried the 100-400 but I used to own the Canon 100-400 L MI and I found the 100-300 MII to be snappy but doesn't always get the focus. I'm using it on a G9. I plan to rent the 100-400 to try it out.

Hello Mathieu, great review! i need your opinion, currently i have GX8 and considering to buy 100-300mm for wildlife/outdoor photography, however comparing to the price there is also option to buy superzoom FZ300 (same price with the lens). it might be an amateur question, but which one is best? Investing in this lens or buy the FZ300 instead? thank you

I think you talked me into buying the 300mm.

great review, obviously the 100-400 is superior but not so sure it's worth 4 times more

Since this video was made, Panasonic has come out with a new version of the 100-300mm lens, which is f/3.5 to f/5.6 I believe. Known as the 100-300 II. It addresses some of the issues with the 5 year old (at that time) 100-300 lens that this video identifies.

Now that Panasonic has released an updated version of the 100-300 with the new 240fps silent AF, DUAL I.S. 2 compatibility, smooth iris transition for video and weather resistance, what do you think? Will you do a new comparison? :)

Could you possibly do a comparison to the new 100-300mm Mark II? It's weather sealed, and it has a faster AF motor.

Thank you for a great job, total pro review!

thank you!

I am very interested in getting the 100-300mm Mark II with Power I.O.S for my EM-5 III. I wonder if you have any opinion on that lens? The main attraction to me is the size and weight. I wonder if the 100-400mm is $1,000 sharper? The added weight and size of 100-400mm would easily persuade me to turn to my trusted Nikon 500/Nikon 200-500mm f5.6 instead for daytime birds-in-flight.

Thank you very much for your great review The big price gap between the both lens is a real big thing ... Double the weight ist the second thing ... I'm using the 100-300 with my E-M1 and I'm quiet happy with it, cause it is not so heavy. I'm carrying the two Oly Pro lenses with me, that's lot of weight. I'm looking forward to the Olympus 2x converter, making my 40-150 a 80-300 at 5,6. If the performance ist like the 100-300 at 200-300 the 100-300 will go.

excellent video!

I've bought the 100-300mm after having seen the Lumix special with Bence Máté. That 100-300mm shots just stood out like crazy. I went and gotten the custom made r-roesch.de lens collar, which is a nice addition. And it's great for those outdoor birds shots and zoo visits especially. Of course, everyone is now comparing this new Panasonic against the new Olympus 300mm f/4 PRO. But I love the fact you have this new Panasonic go head-on against the old 100-300mm! Appreciated! I'd probably prefer the MC-14 1.4x teleconverter with Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO for covenience, range and quality, but it would lack stabilization on most Panasonic cameras unfortunately. That said, the 100-400mm looks like the ultimate flexible telezoom. But... for the money I'd say the 100-300mm is still a very good pick!

you are the rock star! thank you!

Great comparison video on the two lenses. I've considered purchasing the Nikon D500 Camera with the Nikkor 200-500 lens for birding but after watching this think I'll just stick with my Omd eM1.

So glad the cheaper 100-300mm Panasonic was much better then the new and expensive 100-400mm! Thank you Matt!

Any chance of test with the new 100-300mm mk11?

9:32 big difference in detail (sharpness). and 100-400mm a little bit better in O.I.S.

I couldn't differentiate between the 100-300 and 100-400 when you were speaking .wish you'd said 100-300 and Leica lens or 1 to.3 or 1 to 4. sorry

How close are you to test the 100-300 II version? =) All best!

love your video

Excellent video. But I find interesting that, when talking about the older supertelephoto zooms for MFT, almost nobody mention about the great Olympus 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II. Looks like the fact it is slower than Panasonic's 100-300mm f4.0-5.6, make people not even consider it. But it has two advantages: it's cheaper (bought mine brand new for AUD 450.00) and wider (75mm), which makes it more versatile, as 75mm is a great focal lenght for portraits. I understand that the lack of image stablization is an issue for Lumix shooters, but I can take sharp and beautiful images of the Moon, handheld, with my Olympus OM-D E-M5, or even with my Pen E-PM2 (although with the Pen I have to rest my hand on some support to guarantee sharpness, as the 2 axis IBIS is not as effective as the 5 axis IBIS on the E-M5). It is a great, but often overlooked lens.

Your videos are always amazing. I owned Panasonic 100 400 and by far it is the worst lens ever made. Stiff zoom, double hoods and soft shots at 400 mm makes this the worst lens especially considering it's overpriced.

FABULEUX! top top

Does anyone know the bird species at 3:36 ?

Super!

how about 100-300 ii? is it much better than 100-300?

Did I miss something or is the 100 to 300 mega ois and 400 power ois why didn't you compare the 300mm power ois mk11 not a fair comparison

Thumbs up for the amazing bird photography! :p

The color and contrast is better on the 100 - 300 probably because it has less lens elements. Sharpness shouldn't be the only thing to consider when buying a lens

are there 2 versions of the 100-300? ones seems to have dual I.S. and 1 not?