Out in doom, gloom, and intermittent rain both morning and afternoon, the new copy of the RF 100-400mm has been thoroughly initiated into its environment. Comparing shots the previous copy took on the same target, it looks as though this one is maybe even a little better.
On targets, such as those at a distance with varying type sizes, it’s damn near as high-resolving as either of the R options. It is far less spectacular with bird feathers, though still amazing for its market position. On weather days like today, when rain might wipe out any opportunities. it’s easier to head out the door with a setup that weighs less than 1.3kg.
One thing I noticed yesterday with the Lumix zoom and SL2 was that high ISO shots looked WAY better than when R glass is mounted. Not just that, but my picture profile is applied to raw files with the alliance lens, but not with R glass. Even a consumer lens like the RF zoom gets a boost on the R7, while—of course—R glass does not.
It raises the question of how much residual value legacy glass has im the context of modern software corrections. Sure, the R lenses are optically superior, but what matters is what the image looks like SOOC and what can be done with it during processing. Sure, software like Lightroom can apply some corrections to R glass, but processing is easier when the camera gives the lens a “head start” of sorts.
With this in mind, the 180 APO can hold its own in any context. But the 280 APO, which has other niggles noted in previous entries, might be better swapped out for glass that can benefit from camera corrections. But…swapped out for what?
