Hi Bob & Welcome,
You have received some excellent advise already so I'll just add a few tid
bits since my first love is wildlife and nature photography.
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert D. Harter
Subject: RE: [OM] Need advice on long tele-lens for OM4
I have always been interested in trying my hand at bird and wildlife
photography, but have never had time.
Having retired, I would now like to pursue that ambition.
Snip!
If I may, I would suggest a visit to a good camera store and pick up a
couple of books on the subject. My favorites are from John Shaw "Nature
Photographer's guide to Professional Field Techniques" and Leonard Lee Rue
"How I Photograph Wildlife and Nature"
-----------------
May I solicit advice on a good long lens for use on my Olympus OM4?
I assume I should look for something in the range of 1000 to 2000 mm.
Snip,
Most professionals consider 500mm or 600mm as a realistic maximum, 300mm is
probably the most popular and useful, 400mm is probably next. The smaller
the subject, the more you need the longer lenses and the closer you must
get. I personally think that birds and small mammals are the toughest to
get a good sharp photo of.
-----------------
I realize there is a price/quality tradeoff, but not being a professional
photographer,
I would prefer staying under $500 if at all possible.
Snip,
While it would be nice to have the fastest tele on the market, and the extra
stop of speed would come in handy. You can get some very good photos form
less expensive and slower glass.
I will second the vote for the Olympus 300mm f4.5. I think this is one of
the best value for the buck lenses Olympus sells at $699.00 new. You can
find them used for around $300 -$400.
If you can find one of the aftermarket 400mm f5.6 lenses by Tokina, Sigma,
Vivitar or Tamron, I would jump on it. They are very hard to find used and
they usually sell in the $250 to $350 range.
-----------------------
Current telephoto equipment is a Tokina 80-200 zoom f/4 lens and a Vivitar
2X teleconverter.
Snip,
A very good practical lens, especially for larger wildlife. My guess is you
will abandon the 2x TC.
----------------------
If I interpret all the responses correctly, it sounds like perhaps I should
start with what I have, since I apparently do not need the focal length that
I thought was necessary.
I do know that at minimum I will have to purchase a new tripod, since the
one I have is too light to hold 400 mm rock steady.
Bob Harter
Snip,
Don't give up on your tripod yet, there are a few tricks to help its
stability, that is - if it will hold everything tight.
You can add weight to the pod by hanging something (camera bag) under the
head and you can lean on the camera/lens with your hands. This may take
some practice but it can help. With long lenses that have tripod collars,
some photographers even add sand bags on top of the lens.
One trick to check your stability is to set everything up on your pod.
While looking into the viewfinder at the focus screen, tap on the top of the
camera around the prism and maybe on the sides, not hard, just some light
taps. If your set-up is weak, you will see the focus screen vibrate for a
considerable time. Do whatever you can to eliminate as much of this
vibration as possible.
Hope this helps and keep us posted on your new hobby.
Buddy Walters
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