================================
The 250/2 is one of the best lenses on the planet. Coupled with a 1.4x
it's a 'B+ to A'-level 350/2.8
===============================
no arguments on quality, just it is a little short for wildlife
work. a longer lens can be coupled with a teleconvertor too, by
the way. the 350/2.8 would be a better wildlife lens as you
can couple it with 1.4x or 2x to get 490/4 and 700/5.6. about 500mm
is the shortest lens in the ballpark for small birds, and
that's the longest you can get with 250mm + 2x. when lenses are
this heavy, you can only expect to carry one of them, so you
want to think about the 3 focal lengths you get from lens alone
and lens + 1.4X and lens + 2x. a lens a little longer than 250mm
gets you in good range of both mammals and birds. so I'm not
surprised you sold the 250mm lens and bought the 350mm lens
for wildlife work. I think that makes my original point, that the 250mm lens
is a tad short for wildlife work. that doesn't mean you can't get
a wildlife shot with it, but that it isn't an ideal choice and
at the price, you want to get an ideal choice.
=============
The point is, you don't always need a 600/4
for wildlife.
If you do need something in that range, how about a Zuiko 350/2.8 + 1.4x
= 500/4 ?
======================
Actually, 490mm, but who's counting?
No, you don't need a 600/4 often, that's why lenses in the 300mm to 400mm
range are the most popular focal lengths for wildlife work.
But, try filling the frame of a 35mm slide with an image of a warbler, and
you'll see why 350*1.4 = 490mm (or for that matter 500mm) is too short.
a 350/2.8 is a reasonable wildlife lens with 1.4x and 2x as you get 350mm
for large mammals and 490mm and 700mm for birds. But there are some shots
that need f/4 for shutter speed to freeze action, and 600mm to fill
the frame, and that's why 600/4's exist. A 600/4 isn't a lens I'd
ever buy, but it would be nice to be able to rent one.
Joseph
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|