These tests were performed using an Olympus E-510 that has a 2x crop factor. This effectively doubles the focal lengths listed, allowing a 800mm F5.6 equivilent FOV normally, an 1120mm F8 equivilent FOV with a 1.4x teleconverter attached, or a 1600mm F11 equivilent FOV with a 2x teleconverter attached. This particular lens has an Olympus OM mount, and was attached using a OM to Four-thirds adapter. This is a mint copy of this lens, functioning perfectly. The slide-out hood was extended for these tests. This lens seems well balanced with the E-510, and it's easy to hold (very lightweight). Let's see how it peforms...
400mm lens mounted alone. Focused using live view, then shot with the optical viewfinder. Target for this test is an Intel D845HV motherboard placed in front of a shrub on my lawn, perhaps about 40-50 feet from the camera (unmeasured). Camera in (A) Aperture priority mode. Shot in RAW, all processed identically. No sharpening or other correction applied. Any differences in exposure are due to camera's metering. Camera was tripod mounted, stabilization off, anti-shock enabled, and self-timer used.
| Exposure | Full image scaled | 100% crop |
| ISO100F5.61/160th | | |
| ISO100F81/60th | | |
| ISO100F111/30th | | |
| ISO100F161/13th | | |
There is a little more CA than I expected, but nothing that would be seen in a non-cropped image. Even wide open this lens does quite well, and is quite sharp. You have to remember that this motherboard is a very high-contrast subject with reflective metal surfaces, encouraging more CA than most subjects. Stopping the lens down does not seem to help CA, and diffraction starts to occur at F11, however one click down at F8 seems to be a slight sharpness and contrast increase over wide open. Either F5.6 or F8 will give nice results. A little EV compensation might aid in getting proper exposure, add a little for wide open, subtract a little if you stop down significantly. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the results.
This test was performed with the 400mm Lens, plus the Olympus EC-14 1.4x tele-converter attached for a 560mm (1120 equivilent) length. Focused using live view, then shot with the optical viewfinder. Target for this test is an Intel D845HV motherboard placed in front of a shrub on my lawn, perhaps about 40-50 feet from the camera (unmeasured). Camera in (A) Aperture priority mode. Shot in RAW, all processed identically. No sharpening or other correction applied. Any differences in exposure are due to camera's metering. Camera was tripod mounted, stabilization off, anti-shock enabled, and self-timer used. APERTURE SETTINGS LISTED ARE PRIOR TO LIGHT REDUCTION VIA EC-14. F-STOP IN PARENTHESIS () INCLUDES EC-14.
| Exposure | Full image scaled | 100% crop |
| ISO100F5.6 (F8)1/60th |  |  |
| ISO100F8 (F11)1/30th |  |  |
| ISO100F11 (F16)1/15th |  |  |
I appologize for the piece of grass shown in this photo. Sadly the CA remains even with the EC-14 attatched, but it does seem to be reduced slightly, as my review of the Tokina AT-X SD 100-300mm F4 lens showed. There does not seem to be much difference in quality when stopping down. Diffraction starts to occur at these apertures, so you're best off keeping the lens wide open. Considering the new focal length, and adding the crop factor of the camera, these results are quite good. Have no worries attaching an EC-14, and keep the aperture bright!
This test was performed with the 400mm lens plus Vivitar 2x tele-converter attached for a 800mm (1600mm equivilent) length. Focused using live view, then shot with the optical viewfinder. Target for this test is an Intel D845HV motherboard placed in front of a shrub on my lawn, perhaps about 40-50 feet from the camera (unmeasured). Camera in (A) Aperture priority mode. Shot in RAW, all processed identically. No sharpening or other correction applied. Any differences in exposure are due to camera's metering. Camera was tripod mounted, stabilization off, anti-shock enabled, and self-timer used. APERTURE SETTINGS LISTED ARE PRIOR TO LIGHT REDUCTION VIA 2X CONVERTER. F-STOP IN PARENTHESIS () INCLUDES 2X CONVERTER.
| Exposure | Full image scaled | 100% crop |
| ISO100F5.6 (F11)1/40th |  |  |
| ISO100F8 (F16)1/20th |  |  |
| ISO100F11 (F22)1/10th |  |  |
| ISO100F16 (F32)1/8th |  |  |
Keep in mind that I moved the crop over a bit to the left of previous crops. This area of the motherboard has more metal bits, making the material look lighter and less contrasty, but it's just an illusion. You have to remember that this vivitar 2x converter is famous for sucking the contrast out of things. That said, these results are better than I expected. On other lenses, the image will be quite foggy once this converter is attached, but this lens seems to pack enough contrast to overcome it (see full image scaled on left). CA has gotten worse, but not by much. I'd recommend keeping the lens at F5.6 or at most F8. Diffraction becomes too much at this point. F16 seems to eliminate CA, but the image is quite soft, and very dim (F32). The good things are that the images still have good contrast, and provide better quality than cropping without a TC. For this reason, go ahead an attach a TC, keep the aperture open, and avoid contrasty/bright subjects, if needed, reduce CA in post and your images will be fine.
400mm F8 ISO800 1/1250th Hand-held
400mm F8 ISO800 1/1250th Hand-held
400mm (additional 2x crop) F5.6 ISO400 1/2000th Hand-held
400mm F8 ISO800 1/250th Hand-held
800mm (additional 2x crop) F5.6 (F11 w/TC) ISO800 1/125th w/tripod
400mm (additional 1.4x crop) F8 ISO400 1/500th handheld
400mm (additional 1.4x crop) F8 ISO400 1/640th handheld
THIS WAS SHOT THROUGH A CHAIN FENCE, THAT EXPLAINS THE SUBTLE DIAMOND PATTERN OVERLAYING THIS IMAGE
100% CROP OF PREVIOUS, SLIGHT PP, SEE ABOVE NOTES
I cannot describe enough how easy this lens is to hand-hold. It's smaller than it looks, and very easy to maneuver. It fits nicely on both the E-510 and OM-2n bodies I have. The tripod mount does work nicely on a tripod, but it's also nice to rest it in your palm to stabilize the lens while hand-holding. The lens is easy to focus, images seem to "snap" into sharpness before your eye. The reach and brightness comming from a lens this size is amazing. The quality is consistent and you can count on it. Without cropping, images look great, even with a TC attached. A little cropping is also acceptable, with the limiting factor being my camera sensor, not this lens. To sum it up, it's a joy to use, and will probably be used more than any other tele lens I have.
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