We have known an Olympus 300mm F/4 was on the way for quite some time now. I mean heck, the lens is already announced and has its own B&H product page. Many have wondered why there has been such a delay on the availability of the lens, and today a new theory has emerged.
According to a new rumor report, it is now thought that Olympus may have delayed the initial non-IS version of the 300mm F/4 in order to develop and add image stabilization to the lens. The report gives two reasons for this:
- This is partly because IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) is not as effective as lens-based stabilization at longer focal lengths like 300mm.
- Image stabilization would make the lens more attractive to Panasonic shooters who don’t have IBIS like Olympus shooters do.
While it may be irritating for those waiting for the 300mm F/4, I can’t say that this is not a good move from Olympus. Image Stabilization is practically a must have for telephoto shooting these days. Add to that the fact that this will make the lens more appealing to a wider market, and it’s really a no-brainer for Olympus.
The question is, how much longer will it take them to implement it? I believe this would be Olympus’s first lens with image stabilization, so they would have to develop their system from the ground up – which takes time. This could also explain the hold up on the lens.
It will also be interesting to see how Olympus does with their first lens-based IS implementation. Stay tuned and we will keep you updated on any further developments.
