Gary later posted that he believes, based on subsequent experience, that
the super long Zuikos are better than shown in his tests, in fact very
sharp when vibration is eliminated. The big caveat is the great
difficulty of vibration control, which may have been the down fall of
the original tests. Wish I could find the exact post, but no luck.
The Schnozz posted back in May:
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I babysat a 600/6.5 while it's owner spent a few months on an
island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I got to spend lots
of quality time with this lens.
When you get a sharp picture, it is VERY sharp. The resolution
is fantastic. However, it is nearly impossible to keep this
lens still enough to prevent vibration blurring. It's so big
that if there is the slightest zephyr it will start to move and
shake on you. You can't crank down the tripod enough for this
lens. I'm thinking a concrete block with tripod screw would be
about right.
The second problem with this lens is the hokey rack/pinion focus
mechanism. A few minutes trying to track moving vehicles or
birds will have you dreaming of an autofocus system.
When photographing birds on a perch I found the "sweet-spot" for
this lens. Set the camera up and focus it on the perch. Hang
the camera bag from the lens. The strap hoops over the lens at
the tripod mount. This weights things down enough that the
vibration from the shutter and winder/md is eliminated.
I found a couple other ways to get around the vibration, but
this has to be one of the toughest lenses to shoot that I've
ever come across. When the pictures are sharp, they are
world-class sharp. But you'll pull your hair out getting there.
Always shoot MANY dups with this lens. I was getting about a
1/6 success ratio. Not quite sure, but I was going broke buying
film for it.
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I assume the 1000/11 would be much the same, only more so.
Moose
James N. McBride wrote:
Does anyone on the list have first-hand experience with the Oly 1000mm
telephoto? Gary's test and comments weren't all that glowing. It's a long
beast but I've never talked to anyone who has used one. /jim
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