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Panasonic 70-200 on the CL (and SL) - experiences anyone?


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Apart for being quite unbalanced. It works flawlessly with CL. OIS works also. 

It also has a nice pop down  focusing ring. 

Arca Swiss tripod collar is also a nice touch. 

AF is  fast, but not as fast as with a proper LUMIX S1 body. 

 

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Build quality is nowhere near Leica SL zoom lenses one. 

But for half the price of APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm, you can get both f/4 Lumix S 24-105mm and S Pro 70-200mm. 

Both lens will be lighter than the sole APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm

S Pro 70-200mm is certified by Leica. Whatever that means for you. Anyway IQ is very nice. 

Edited by nicci78
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On 6/24/2019 at 1:09 PM, jaapv said:

The main problem with the 70-200 is the overlap with the TL 55-135.

@jaapvHad I had a 55-135 I would agree. Unfortunately there is nothing from Leica in the longer range (100-300) so I guess it will be the Pana. Thanks @nicci78 For the insight. I'll live with the imbalance and the power usage.

Edited by cbretteville
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On 6/25/2019 at 4:18 PM, cbretteville said:

@jaapvHad I had a 55-135 I would agree. Unfortunately there is nothing from Leica in the longer range (100-300) so I guess it will be the Pana. Thanks @nicci78 For the insight. I'll live with the imbalance and the power usage.

I'm going to tanzania next month and am debating getting one of these two lenses for my TL2 (the 55-135 or the 70-200).  I haven't yet decided which, but let me know what you think of the 70-200

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Very simple - both are short for Safari work. The 70-200 might just give you enough reach in quite a few situations, but don't expect to get birds and tightly-framed shots. I would advise getting either a DSLR with a really long zoom+extender ( The Canon 100-400 (2nd version) + 1.4x converter for instance, or a Canon APS with the 100-400, or - and that is my preference- a used Panasonic GX8 (they are out of production and the GX9 lacks size and weight) with the Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400. It has given me brilliant results. Forget about the 55-135. Last year in Botswana I used it for no more than 10% of my Safari shots.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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200 x 1.5x crop x 2.0 extender = 600mm 😉

Honestly though, for the Safari, you'd be better off renting a RX10 IV.  Weather-sealed, excellent AF and video in a small package. You might even get animal eye-AF to track the running cheetah's LOL

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Have you ever been on safari? I have - yearly for over 30 years.

Normally tourists go in the dry season. Weathersealing is moot: there is no rain. It is dusty, but it has never posed a problem to me. IMO the most practical package is a Panasonic/Olympus MFT camera with the DG Vario Elmar 100-400, provided the  image quality is satisfactory to you (it is more than that for 95% of non-professional users) For animals 400 mm  equ.is fine. Longer lenses will get you blurred images, even with IS. Heated air distortion will spoil the image. Unless you rent a private vehicle, forget about tripods. Even in a private vehicle, a bean bag is far better. Actually, forget about tripods altogether. Useless weight, which counts with a 15 kg luggage limit in small planes (hand luggage and camera gear included)

The really long lenses are needed for birds, closeups and small stuff, like mice and shrews. That is where the long end of the VE comes in.

As I said in my previous post, The 300 mm equ. you'll get with the Panasonic lens on the CL is rather on the short side, but will normally suffice for a first-timer. Your guide will get you quite close to the game when in a vehicle, whereas on foot you will not like dragging a full-frame 600 mm along in 40º, let alone use it hand-held. For Elephants you will need a 28 from time to time :lol:

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From experience, I fear that I do not agree. It would probably do a decent job, but I see no advantage. AF is of limited use, for instance. As it cannot handle fur, it is too slow to select  the proper focus point compared to manual focus. You'll still be tapping the LCD whilst the animal has gone. There will often be grass or branches in front of your subject that it will pick up.

On top of that, who wants to be seen using a Sony? :lol::lol:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have read in this thread, that the lens does work together with the CL. I am interested to know, if the lens plus the new 2 ply Panasonic converter is can  be used together with the CL too - apart from ergonomic problems. If it is possible, this would result in a angle of a 600 mm tele equ. FF and a aperture of 8.0  but with OIS. With the 90/280 which I have - only 420 mm are possible. And with the coming Panasonic 70- 200 2.8 the result would be 600 mm with aperture 5,6 - which is not bad. Therfore my question - does anyone know for sure - if the Pana 70 - 200 4.0 plus the 2 ply extender does work together with the CL and what about the performance ? Information would be highly appreciated. I have no further hope that Leica would bring up a converter for the 90/280 although many would like to have such one. Obviously the prefer to make add. lenses in focal lengths, where already a number of them exist.

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I received the STC2 on Thursday evening.  It will work with the S Lumix 70-200 on the CL.

A couple of notes:  1) when I first attached this gear to the CL the camera would not auto focus, in fact, would not focus at all .  I removed the lens and teleconverter and put them on the SL where they worked fine.  I then reattached them to the CL and they worked fine and have ever since.  (I am wondering if in the first use on the CL I confused the camera by attaching the STC2 and then mounting the lens on it??  Or perhaps the lens was being updated??)  2) The manual focus is quite fiddly, at least at full zoom, going in and out of focus quickly.

I've posted a couple of images from this combination:  here and here

Here is another of a different sort.  A tour bus at the gates to San Francisco's Chinatown.

 

 

 

 

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