The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 and the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II is the longer of the two lenses at 126mm. The Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 with a length of 100mm, is 26mm shorter. On the other hand, the Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 has a larger diameter of 78mm compared to the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II's 74mm diameter.
Below you can find a scaled side-by-side image of Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 and Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II to get a better idea of how their sizes compare in real life.
Comparison image of the Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 and the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II Size and Weight The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 weighs 455g, which means it is 65g (12%) lighter than the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II which has a weight of 520g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the SuperZoom Lenses in Micro Four Thirds Mount for size comparison purposes.
Super Telephoto Micro Four Thirds Mount
Filter Threads
The Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 has a filter size of 72mm whereas the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II has a 67mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 72mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3:
And these are the 67mm filters that we recommend for the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II:
Lens Mounts
Both the Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 and the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II has the same Micro Four Thirds lens mount . Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Micro Four Thirds lenses are OM System OM-3 Astro , OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 .
Focal Range
Olympus 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 has a focal range of 12-200mm and
16.7X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
24-400mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
On the other hand, the Panasonic 100-300mm F4-5.6 II has a focal range of 100-300mm and 3.0X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 200-600mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
