Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>Jeff mentions a 400/4 Tamron, a lens I'm not familiar with. What's the
>best deal in an OM mount 300 or 400mm f/4 or similar fast glass? 2.8 is
>probably too fast meaning expensive and heavy.
>
You've already heard about some of the big, fast, heavy and relatively
expensive options.
The Zuiko 300/ 4.5 is an excellent lens. Only 1 stop slower than the big
guns and significantly smaller, lighter and cheaper.
One of my favorite lenses is the Tamron SP (adaptall) 60-300/3.8-5.6. It
is smaller and lighter than any of the primes mentioned so far and nice
and sharp even at 300mm. The best example I have on the web is soemthing
I've posted before for other reasons
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/tech/PrintvsScan/ScanvsPrint.htm>.
Wide open at 1/60, resting on a car window (engine off!) on Kodak Royal
Gold 400. This was scanned on the FS2710 at 2720 dpi. I don't know if
there is any more detail to be pulled out, but I'm impressed as it is.
Downsides are speed, 2 stops down from the big gun f2/8s and one down
from the Zuiko, and the lack of a tripod mount. It's not heavy enough to
challange an OM lens mount, but can make the lens/body combo unwieldy
for really small, light tripods. But even there, I've had good results
with care. Great for use with a monopod.
Upsides besides size, weight and cost? It's sharp wide open, which is an
advantage over some other long lenses. Sure, it's a little better at f8,
but awfully good wide open. I wouldn't be surprised to find that it's
better than some of the slow 300mm lenses many folks made back in those
days.
Although all 300mm and up lenses take real care to get good hand held
results, it's relative light weight helps. I think it's as easy to hand
hold at 300mm as the 80-200/2.8 at 200mm, but others with stronger arms
and more stamina may feel differently. Pair it with a nice wide to mid
zoom and cover pretty much everything. With the 19-35 and a 50/1.4, you
really cover everything.
It does killer macro. And as a mid to long zoom, it means I have the
longer reach available more often. I don't have to decide to take the
big gun along and then have the time and patience to take it out and
mount it. I just push the zoom ring, find something to lean myself
and/or the lens against, if possible, and shoot away. Here are some more
shots with it.
http://galleries.moosemystic.net/Yosemite/pages/02043031.htm
http://galleries.moosemystic.net/Yosemite/pages/02043A21.htm and the one
following
http://galleries.moosemystic.net/Yosemite/pages/02050102.htm and the one
following
The other thing for me about long lenses is that about all extra speed
buys in many circumstances is a brighter viewfinder. DOF gets so shallow
at long fls that shooting above f8 or so often doesn't give enough DOF
anyway. I found myself wanting the stop down ring on the Sigma 600/8 for
just that reason recently. It was nice and bright, and f16 would have
been better for the shot.
Moose
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|