One problem I have with a photographing urban wildlife is that a lot of these critters are remarkably skittish. They're best stalked with a long lens.
Thing is, most long lenses... let's go with a full-frame focal length equivalent of 300mm-400mm ...are really big and expensive, or fairly big and have slow maximum apertures at the longer focal lengths. Even with "Image Stabilization" or "Vibration Reduction" or whatever the manufacturer calls it making camera shake less of a concern, you're going to want fast shutter speeds to keep these twitchy little critters from being motion blurs.
That's what's cool about the Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 lens for the Four Thirds system. It's the equivalent of a 100-400mm zoom on a full-frame, yet even out at the maximum focal length, it's still capable of a fairly fast f/3.5 aperture.
Here it is compared to the classic older Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D VR:
Don't let the relative sizes fool you! The Oly is from their high-grade line, and is dust- and splash-resistant. Since most Olympus 4/3 DSLR's have in-body image stabilization, the Oly lens doesn't need any of that built into the lens. Therefore despite being a full 1⅓ stop or more brighter across the entire focal length range, it weighs ten ounces less than the Nikon (a bit over 37 ounces for the Zuiko versus 47 for the Nikkor).
When you factor in the size and weight difference of an Olympus 4/3 DSLR versus a full-frame Nikon, that difference gets felt in the neck muscles during a day of roaming the zoo or wandering up and down the Monon Trail.
Even on the fairly archaic 12MP sensor of the Olympus E-600, it gets results. Look at the little droplets of melted snow gleaming in the squirrel's tummy fur! This image isn't even cropped at all.
Sadly, the 4/3rds DSLRs are a dead system, and the newest bodies are a decade old, with 12MP sensors. The lenses will work with an adaptor on Micro Four Thirds mirrorless bodies, but in order to autofocus, the cameras need to be capable of phase-detection autofocus. This means the pro-grade OM-D E-M1 series, the oldest of which would go for a bit under $300 used with some careful shopping and which would park a 16MP sensor behind this glass.
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| Red-bellied woodpecker in a tree across the street. |
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