Panasonic Lumix S 100-500mm f/5-7.1 O.I.S.

The Panasonic Lumix S 100–500mm f/5-7.1 O.I.S. is a super-telephoto zoom for the Leica L mount. It covers full frame, arrived in 2025 and remains in production.

A 100–500mm range suits wildlife, safaris and outdoor sport, where subjects stay distant and often move. The main trade-off is the slow variable aperture. At full zoom the widest setting is f/7.1, which limits shooting in dull light.

Bird photographers will live at the long end. The 100mm setting still covers habitat and wider scenes.

Handling starts with weight. At 2 lb 13.3 oz (1285 g), this is a heavy lens for handheld work. A monopod helps on long outings.

The body measures 3.62 in (92 mm) across and 7.72 in (196.1 mm) long. A screw-in filter must match the 82mm front thread.

The 100–500mm range drives how you use this lens. At 500mm you can fill the frame with a distant bird or a player far down the field. Zooming back to 100mm widens the view when the action moves closer, so you keep shooting instead of swapping lenses.

The aperture runs from f/5 at 100mm to f/7.1 at 500mm, so zooming can shift your exposure as you recompose. Daylight shooting is comfortable, but the long end needs higher ISO once light fades. That keeps shutter speeds quick enough for moving animals. Depth of field stays shallow at 500mm, so distant subjects still separate from busy backgrounds at f/7.1. At the 100mm end, f/5 admits more light and gives extra depth of field for wider scenes.

Close focusing at 2.6 ft (80 cm) helps when a subject comes near, such as a perched bird or a resting deer. Maximum magnification is 0.36x, useful for tight frames of stationary subjects. The two figures may not occur at the same focal setting. Eleven aperture blades keep the opening round as it stops down.

These specifications score 54 of 100 on our Optics measure.

Optical image stabilisation is built in. It helps counter camera shake, which matters at 500mm, where small hand movements show clearly. This helps when you shoot handheld in dim woodland or at dawn.

Weather sealing and a fluorine coating support outdoor work. Sealing helps keep dust and moisture out of the lens in field conditions. The fluorine coating on the front glass repels water and oil, so rain droplets and fingerprints wipe away easily. Rain on a boat safari or dust on a touchline matters less as a result.

No zoom lock is fitted, so you cannot fix the zoom position for carrying.

The optical design uses 19 elements in 12 groups. Four of those are ED glass and two are Super ED. Low-dispersion glass helps reduce chromatic aberration, where colours focus differently and leave coloured fringes along high-contrast edges.

Fringes of that kind can appear on branches or feathers against a bright sky. Focusing is internal, so the lens keeps a constant length as focus changes.