i'm going on a trip in June where i stand a somewhat decent chance of seeing wildlife, and i'm trying to decide if i need a longer lens... i will be taking my Oly micro 4/3 and i have a lens that reaches to 150mm... do i need a longer lens?
I have the Canon 70-300. Depending on how far away the wildlife is, and how big they are, it is much too short. The only way it looks ok, is by severely cropping it in Topaz Gigapixel I would love a longer lens but they are too big and heavy.
for sure you need a longer one than that i cant even get seagulls at 300mm.because they move away! ... i think i have suggested this before but for travel i use my canon sx50. the reach on the lens is unbelievable really although i do get a bit of colour aberration at full length, for your black and white kind of processing i dont think it would matter. its a fixed lens and does everything from macro to 1200,mm zoom i am not kidding. you could probably pick one up, or the next model sx60 , for peanuts second hand and give it a try.
If you don't have a longer lens you may wanna rent one to try out. That is what I did when I went on vacation. ( I loved it so much I bought one afterwards, I also found out that the 200 was still not zooming the distance I wanted, so I ended up buying the 100-400 zoom.)
The zoom lenses are heavy, I have a back pack to store and carry them around.
I’m guessing you mean you have a micro 4/3 150mm, so equivalent to 300mm on a full frame. Depending on what kind of wildlife and from how far away, you probably still want something longer. I also have a micro 4/3 (Panasonic Lumix) and got a 100-300mm zoom (200 - 600 equivalent) that I love. Olympus makes the same model. It’s not overly bulky and it’s quite comfortable to use handheld. Part of the reason I bought it is it was recommended as a good choice for travel.
You probably do, but I say that with a caveat. Pretty much every nature photographer wants more zoom, regardless of how much they already have. We could have our cameras attached to the Hubble Space Telescope and would still be thinking, "I wonder if I can hook up my 2x teleconverter on this?" So go ahead and get more zoom (I encourage it) but beware...as others have already pointed out, you sacrifice ease of portability for longer reach.
@timerskine hahaaaha! you are so right! @kali66 i might have to check this out... although i imagine that others on the trip will have those ridiculously humongous lenses that i refer to as howitzers... i think i'd end up with gear-envy!!!!
thanks everyone... i think i will invest in a 100 - 400... but we shall see...
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It is very much a balancing act, in my opinion. The longer the lens, generally the bigger, heavier and more inconvenient it is.
The zoom lenses are heavy, I have a back pack to store and carry them around.
thanks everyone... i think i will invest in a 100 - 400... but we shall see...
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