I'm loving the 70-300mm on the X-H2. At 40 megapixel you have the latitude to crop heavily or use the camera's built in digital teleconverter. You can use the lens at 600mm equivalent gaining a 20 megapixel image which is fine for most purposes.
A very useful review, thank you. I use the 100-400mm lens with the XT-2 and they are very heavy for me, an elderly lady with arthritis. There will come a time in the not too distant future when I need to get a lighter lens but don't want to lose too much reach as I like to do wildlife photography. After reading your review I think this lens may well be the one for me. Even with a TC added I am sure it would all still be less weight than the 100-400mm! What I liked about your video was the kind of rapid-fire yet very clear delivery of the facts - no umming and ahing! Excellent!
This was a zero regrets purchase. Great video and review. I’m very surprised you didn’t bring up the issue of this lens where the focus changes as you zoom really significantly, causing it to pulsate in/out of focus and lose subjects in the process. I would say it’s this lens’ only substantial weakness. That aside, this is a magnificent lens that I have zero intention of moving away from with my X-T4 kit.
Good comment Kevin! Yes, its not par focal, which will matter to videographers more so I suppose, but at least it doesn’t really suffer any focus breathing. Take care!
Thank you. I concur totally. Also think is dam sharp throughout focal lenses. Pick it up for the weather sealing focal length and stabilization and I am so far totally happy with it.
Nice overview of a decent looking lens. I currently have the X-S10 & 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens. The 70-300mm would be a good walkabout lens for wildlife when you don't want to break your back! I am impressed that it can take the 1.4x & 2x T.C's too! It looks like Fujifilm have updated their lens roadmap to include a 150-600mm lens in the future; can't wait to see if that appears as I mainly photograph/film wildlife 🦅
Yes I read this could be a good lens. I’ve rented the 100 to 400 and that was a great lens just too big. Shame the lack of stock of the 70 to 300. Good video!
Excellent review! I also own this lens and it goes with me everywhere thanks to its form factor. I have not come across a more versatile lens in the Fuji ecosystem. I especially like that it can be used with TCs and it works great for macro shots. The OIS is simply incredible. Image quality is well beyond acceptable for hobbyists and travelling pros.
Nice review. I loved the line about not noticing the difference between this and a longer telephoto if it's at home. I think that sums it up for the majority of shooters. I certainly went Fuji to cut down on size and weight, I just didn't realise how much I'd love using my little X-T20.
It's impossible to get it, I've been hunting for it for at least 4 months in big USA stores, then when I decided to pay the extra that it usually costs in México (at least 25% more) but it got backordered too :(
Ohhh Googie baby, you shouldn’t be shaking the lens like that. Just lock her down at 70! 😯 😆 Seriously, cracking review and nice footage and stills to go along with the review. Cheers! 👍✌📷
You forgot to mention that this lens has no markings on the lens as of the apertures. A big downside for me, used to have fuji lenses all with their aperture markings.
I bought one of these lenses and really like it. In the shop I had the choice of a new 70-300mm or a used 100-400mm. The 100-400mm didn't seem that heavy when lifting it up, but when it was attached to my X-E3 I realised that it was far too big and heavy. The auto exposure seems to be a bit overconservative with regard to shake with the shutter speed being in the region of the reciprocal of the 35mm equivalent focal length. By doing this, a high ISO is selected with a higher noise level. I will try it with a slower shutter speed and see how it behaves.
Awesome and thorough review! Beautiful captures. The birds in slow motion are a joy to see. Was also surprised to see the the panning stabilization jitter, but as you mentioned, it is a choice of compromise in order to have that kind of stable focus at 300mm.
My biggest issue with this lens is that even at 300mm I don't feel like I have very much reach. I know the 100-400mm is more than twice the price but that extra 100mm really shows what a telephoto lens should be.
I think it’s probably because we are coming at the lens from two different directions, I’m suggesting 100mm more than the 200mm is great, whereas yourself with the 400mm sees 300mm as a compromise! Towards the end I think I talk about how if you’re into telephoto lenses and wildlife/sport then the 400mm is likely the only choice and you wont mind twice the weight as it’s a large part of what you do, whereas for everyone else I think the weight saving and price saving makes sense!
Quite disappointed that when using a VND (off-brand to be noted), it really struggles to lock sharp focus for video - makes subject appear real soft (have done tests with and without, and the 'running ants' are way less using the VND). Curious thing though - that same VND works perfectly with my 16-80, absolute no focus issues. Which VND did you use? Great video!
I know what you mean! So many people struggling to get this lens at the moment, I joined 3 or so waitlists to get mine, and one of them literally came back to me last week!! Nearly 1 year later!
As an older lady, weight is issue for me but I love bird photography. This lens on my Xt2 is perfect, images are sharp and focus works well. I also use 1.4tc if needing more reach and that works too.
Excellent review. I have the 55-200, which has served me well, but the 70-300 has me interested. Can you state what the aperture value is when the 70-300 zoom setting is at 200mm?
It's about a third of a stop darker, but has better stabilisation. I owned both but sold the 55-200 because it had pretty bad IQ at longer ranges, especially at it's brighter aperture. The 70-300 is pin sharp regardless of how far I zoom in or what aperture I use. I only wish it covered more of the short end telephoto range like the 55-200.
I've wanted a lens like this for a while now, seems hard to find at this time, no rush, I'll wait seems to be worht it, and give me time to sell some other gear I'm not using, thanks for such a good review
@@TheStoicPath_ , with the 1.4x converter, the effective aperture will be smaller, meaning a higher f-number. For example, if the original lens has a minimum aperture of f/5.6, with the converter, it may become f/8. However, I haven't noticed a decrease in image quality. Higher focal length so the bokeh is still good, but you may need more light due to the smaller aperture. Overall, I'm enjoying using it without any major issues. I can try to link you my ebird photos if you want some examples.
6:22 isn't this the point of the sports finder mode? I never used it, but I think with it enabled only up and down motion will be stabilized, letting you easily follow a subject side to side.
So far so good with mine, I can’t see any dust. However most zoom lens that zoom external that I’ve owned have had dust sucked inside them, so I imagine it’s only a matter of time! Assuming yours doesn’t actually cause any issues?
@@Goughie okay I see. I thought that since it can keep water out, it much be able to keep bigger particles like dust, out. And no, I’ve not seen any issues yet. Thanks for responding btw :)
One alternative you didn't mention is the 50-230mm. It has very dark aperture, but in daylight makes very nice images and even portraits - it is a little less sharp than the 55-200, but with softer bokeh. I think if you're already looking to save on weight and price and get a wider focal length compared to the 70-300, then I'd step over the 55-200 and get the even smaller one.
ordered this lens today and added the fuji teleconverter 1.4x to my xpro3, since the body of the camera is pretty small i added a metal grip excited to see if it turns out balanced
You did a great choice, as far i am concern i prefer this lens to the tamron 18-300mm. Why ? most people will buy a fuji camera as a combo with 18-55mm or 16-80mm and second reason, you can add a teleconverter 1.4x or 2x something you cant with the Tamron.
I feel like my concern would be are they playing outside where it’s bright, or inside where it’s somewhat dark, it’s not the fastest lens and you might have to lean into your ISO to still maintain good shutter speeds
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I really loved this lens until I decided to use it on a tripod to try and shoot anything at night. It was a totally calm night with no wind at all and even at 'quick' exposures of 2 or 3 secs, using the 10 sec timer, 95% of my shots came with shaken results. That aiming at light streets, non moving objects. Since you cannot turn off the internal stabilization of this lens, it seems it is always trying to compensate for a movement (maybe even the shutter actuating - XT2). I get much better results with this lens hand held, even as low as 1/8 of a second. Is there any way of solving this?
My understanding is that you can switch off both IBIS and OIS in the cameras menu, there’s isn’t a switch on the lens but the camera will let you do it. And for tripod shooting you’ll likely want to turn them both off
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@@Goughie Yeah, you nailed it. I searched into my camera menu and disabled the IS (which my T2 cam. does not have, so it should be for the lens). It worked perfectly now with the tripod! Thanks for the answer!
Can you tell me what focus settings you’re using? I have tried a number of settings and I’ve got mixed results. I’ve been fooling around with a custom made design, but found that general shooting seems to work best.
My general settings are - continuous - the focus patch set the the 2nd smallest - movie AF mode = area - af-C custom settings, tracking sens +2, af speed 0
Hi Goughie, another very interesting video I had on my 'watch later' list. I'm really wondering at the moment if I'm going for this lens or for the Tamron 18-300mm, which is cheaper and a bit slower but still very good, if I understood well everything I've read so far. What do you think about the Tamron vs the Fuji?
If you can you do a video on how much we can push its iso at night? that would be great. I didnt find a single video on youtube of it being used in the evening@@Goughie Would love to know what we can get away with
@@FrancisJMotionDesigner it’ll depend on the ISO performance of your camera more than the lens, take any lens you have currently, set the aperture to one this lens can do and see what it’s like in an evening
I guess the real question is - if one owns the 100-400mm already, is it worth getting the 70-300mm for its smaller size and weight? My head says no, my heart says yes... exactly as they did with every other lens purchase I've made. ;)