Telephoto Lens for Wildlife
For years and especially the past few weeks, I've been agonizing over getting my hands on the best telephoto lens I can afford on a very limited budget. Our time at the lake house is quickly approaching and this is where I use both my widest lenses and my longest lenses... wide for full-view landscapes and long for zooming into wildlife. I have the wide end covered but the long end has always been a problem.
There are great lenses out there but spending as much for a lens as I would need to spend to purchase a good car is not an option. That leaves me with only a few low cost options...
Rather than spend more money I don't have to spend, I decided to do a quick and very unscientific test this morning with four camera bodies using the best lens paired for that body. I have to say that the results were a bit surprising in some areas.
This unscientific test was shot in quite poor light as it was snowing. My target was the little airplane on a mileage sign in our driveway which I estimate to be about 40 feet from where I was shooting. This would be the closest range which I could get to wildlife... and even this distance would be a bit unrealistically close and require a lot of patience. Shooting in poor light and poor visibility for this test was a good idea because this would make any weaknesses stand out even more.
Below, are my first two shots showing the location and test target side-by-side... This will give an idea of just how much I am zooming to get these test shots... the red box is where I focused for each shot...
This first one (below) was my camera that has been giving me the biggest problems for the past few years. It is my Olympus e-620 paired with a sharp medium zoom lens. No matter what I try to do, I just cannot get good results from this camera body. I've been struggling with it for years. This also explains why I have had such difficulty in getting good wildlife shots while at the lake each summer... this body is not the body to be using. Truth be told... I am so disgusted with Olympus for so many reasons that I really should not be surprised that this camera was the worst of the bunch, by far. I've always had problems with this camera blowing out highlights and today, even in flat lighting, was no different. This camera has always lacked sharpness and clarity which has also always frustrated me...
This next camera (below) is, by far, my best camera. Whenever I grab this camera I actually say, "Woowww!" When I press softly on the shutter release button, I involuntarily say, "Wow", again! This Sony a7 really is an amazing camera but I am limited by available lenses only reaching to 200mm... fortunately, however, I do have this 70-200mm zoom lens. The image quality produced by this little camera is simply amazing and it is a dream to shoot...
This same Sony a7 camera body, that I used above, has a feature called "Clear Zoom" which enables me to double my zooming ability to 400mm through the use of software algorithms (see image below compared to image above). It seems to work quite well so this might actually be a viable option to try at the lake while shooting wildlife...
This next camera, below, is one of my oldest but still one of my favorites! It has the smallest sensor of all my cameras and it has a single zoom lens attached permanently but it really holds up well when put up against the big boys with much larger sensors. This image, shown below, is from the Fujifilm s100fs shot at 400mm. Back in early 2008, Fuji created a winner with this camera... a definite oldie but a goodie!
This old Fuji camera also sports a software enabled zoom (similar to the Sony mentioned previously) called an 'Intelligent Zoom'. I have to say that this zoom works incredibly well and impressively well! Below is a shot with the Fuji using this Intelligent Zoom for a focal length of 800mm... pretty nice....
This last camera may have provided the biggest surprise. I almost did not include it in this quick test because I didn't think it could compete. Why didn't I think it could compete? It lacks any sort of image stabilization and it is an exceptionally old camera in the digital world... over 10 years old. This is another Olympus camera but unlike the previous Olympus camera I tested, this Olympus camera uses a Kodak sensor which may be my all time favorite sensor manufacturer. This Kodak sensor produces simply beautiful, silky smooth, crisp images with beautiful tonal qualities. Even though this 10 year old body does not provide any image stabilization, it paired nicely with a very long lens I have which provides a 600mm focal length... Below is the Olympus e-500 at 600mm... very impressive, indeed!
For the past few years, I've been struggling with that Olympus e-620 and it produced the worst image in this quick, unscientific test. Now I know why I have been struggling so much and been so unhappy with my wildlife photos. After shooting today's test, I actually said to myself, "Uhggg... No wonder most of my wildlife photos at the lake have looked so terrible..." I am now feeling as though I wasted three or four years trying to make this camera work for me. What a waste of time and effort.
So, for the longest focal length (getting me the closest to wildlife) while still providing acceptable sharpness, amazing clarity and beautiful tonal qualities... the old Olympus e-500 paired with my 140-600mm lens. I almost did not even consider this combination of lens and body but now wish I tried it years ago!
I would also be comfortable using my amazing Sony a7 with its incredibly sharp 70-200mm lens. This combo also provides some nice detail even when using the Sony "Clear Zoom" giving me a 400mm reach.
Lastly, that old Fujifilm camera... all I can say is, "nice..." with a smile on my face. It is not as silky smooth and sharp as the others because of its tiny 2/3" sensor but it did surprisingly well here. It certainly did a lot better than my Olympus e-620 dSLR!
My conclusion: Whenever I head out in my kayak to capture some wildlife photos, I will make sure I have my Sony a7 and that old Olympus e-500 sitting under the front deck of my kayak between my legs... ready to be grabbed in an instant, as necessary.
There are great lenses out there but spending as much for a lens as I would need to spend to purchase a good car is not an option. That leaves me with only a few low cost options...
Rather than spend more money I don't have to spend, I decided to do a quick and very unscientific test this morning with four camera bodies using the best lens paired for that body. I have to say that the results were a bit surprising in some areas.
This unscientific test was shot in quite poor light as it was snowing. My target was the little airplane on a mileage sign in our driveway which I estimate to be about 40 feet from where I was shooting. This would be the closest range which I could get to wildlife... and even this distance would be a bit unrealistically close and require a lot of patience. Shooting in poor light and poor visibility for this test was a good idea because this would make any weaknesses stand out even more.
Below, are my first two shots showing the location and test target side-by-side... This will give an idea of just how much I am zooming to get these test shots... the red box is where I focused for each shot...
 |
| Full view on the left with the red box showing the focus area for every shot... 400mm zoom x2 'Intelligent Zoom' on right... (These were shot using my Fuji s100fs... impressive!) |
This first one (below) was my camera that has been giving me the biggest problems for the past few years. It is my Olympus e-620 paired with a sharp medium zoom lens. No matter what I try to do, I just cannot get good results from this camera body. I've been struggling with it for years. This also explains why I have had such difficulty in getting good wildlife shots while at the lake each summer... this body is not the body to be using. Truth be told... I am so disgusted with Olympus for so many reasons that I really should not be surprised that this camera was the worst of the bunch, by far. I've always had problems with this camera blowing out highlights and today, even in flat lighting, was no different. This camera has always lacked sharpness and clarity which has also always frustrated me...
 |
| Olympus e-620 at 300mm... lacking detail and some highlights blown out which is always a problem when using this camera... |
This next camera (below) is, by far, my best camera. Whenever I grab this camera I actually say, "Woowww!" When I press softly on the shutter release button, I involuntarily say, "Wow", again! This Sony a7 really is an amazing camera but I am limited by available lenses only reaching to 200mm... fortunately, however, I do have this 70-200mm zoom lens. The image quality produced by this little camera is simply amazing and it is a dream to shoot...
 |
| Sony a7 at 200mm... crystal clear crispness... |
This same Sony a7 camera body, that I used above, has a feature called "Clear Zoom" which enables me to double my zooming ability to 400mm through the use of software algorithms (see image below compared to image above). It seems to work quite well so this might actually be a viable option to try at the lake while shooting wildlife...
 |
| Sony a7 at 200mm x2 (Clear Zoom) for a 400mm view... also quite crisp! |
This next camera, below, is one of my oldest but still one of my favorites! It has the smallest sensor of all my cameras and it has a single zoom lens attached permanently but it really holds up well when put up against the big boys with much larger sensors. This image, shown below, is from the Fujifilm s100fs shot at 400mm. Back in early 2008, Fuji created a winner with this camera... a definite oldie but a goodie!
 |
| Fujifilm s100fs at 400mm... surprisingly sharp and contrasty image at this long focal length! |
This old Fuji camera also sports a software enabled zoom (similar to the Sony mentioned previously) called an 'Intelligent Zoom'. I have to say that this zoom works incredibly well and impressively well! Below is a shot with the Fuji using this Intelligent Zoom for a focal length of 800mm... pretty nice....
 |
| Fujifilm s100fs at 800mm using their 'Intelligent Zoom'... an old camera from 2008 using a very small sensor but, clearly, a high quality camera... impressive! |
This last camera may have provided the biggest surprise. I almost did not include it in this quick test because I didn't think it could compete. Why didn't I think it could compete? It lacks any sort of image stabilization and it is an exceptionally old camera in the digital world... over 10 years old. This is another Olympus camera but unlike the previous Olympus camera I tested, this Olympus camera uses a Kodak sensor which may be my all time favorite sensor manufacturer. This Kodak sensor produces simply beautiful, silky smooth, crisp images with beautiful tonal qualities. Even though this 10 year old body does not provide any image stabilization, it paired nicely with a very long lens I have which provides a 600mm focal length... Below is the Olympus e-500 at 600mm... very impressive, indeed!
 |
| This image was shot with the Olympus e-500 at 600mm... a beautiful image shot in rather poor conditions... I love the clarity and tonal qualities this camera produces... that old Kodak sensor really produces beautiful images. |
For the past few years, I've been struggling with that Olympus e-620 and it produced the worst image in this quick, unscientific test. Now I know why I have been struggling so much and been so unhappy with my wildlife photos. After shooting today's test, I actually said to myself, "Uhggg... No wonder most of my wildlife photos at the lake have looked so terrible..." I am now feeling as though I wasted three or four years trying to make this camera work for me. What a waste of time and effort.
So, for the longest focal length (getting me the closest to wildlife) while still providing acceptable sharpness, amazing clarity and beautiful tonal qualities... the old Olympus e-500 paired with my 140-600mm lens. I almost did not even consider this combination of lens and body but now wish I tried it years ago!
I would also be comfortable using my amazing Sony a7 with its incredibly sharp 70-200mm lens. This combo also provides some nice detail even when using the Sony "Clear Zoom" giving me a 400mm reach.
Lastly, that old Fujifilm camera... all I can say is, "nice..." with a smile on my face. It is not as silky smooth and sharp as the others because of its tiny 2/3" sensor but it did surprisingly well here. It certainly did a lot better than my Olympus e-620 dSLR!
My conclusion: Whenever I head out in my kayak to capture some wildlife photos, I will make sure I have my Sony a7 and that old Olympus e-500 sitting under the front deck of my kayak between my legs... ready to be grabbed in an instant, as necessary.
 |
| My Sony a7 with 'Clear Zoom' to 400mm on left... My Olympus e-500 at 600mm on right... both quite impressive! |
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