Long Telephoto Frustrations
Back a few months ago, I picked up an older used camera to use for my long telephoto needs. The camera was dirt cheap so I figured it was worth taking a chance in the hope that I could improve my long telephoto photography... capturing photographs of birds, loons, ducks, and all wildlife. I even use long telephoto gear for shooting photos of the sailboat and kayaks when they are across the lake.
I have to admit that the telephoto range is impressive... the camera and lens is relatively small (compared to dSLR's with monstrous lenses)... but I am still left feeling disappointed. I did manage to capture my best loon and duck photos to date but it really was a 'hit or miss' proposition. Many of my photos were lacking the clarity and crispness I had hoped to capture. Perhaps the lens was the problem... perhaps the tiny body made it difficult to hold steady enough. I don't know. Maybe it was a combination of both problems.
This Panasonic camera in the Micro Four Thirds format is tiny. This camera is so small that I have difficulty seeing through the tiny viewfinder. For instance, I could not see any of my settings through the viewfinder. I was able to see the scene I was shooting but I could not see any of the settings around the perimeter of the viewfinder. This is a problem... it is a very frustrating problem! At times, I feel as though I am shooting blind because that viewfinder is so tiny.
To make matters worse, the camera is so light that I have difficulty keeping the camera steady. The sad thing is that 'small and lightweight' can really be a tremendous advantage but not if I cannot see what I'm doing nor able to keep the camera steady.
So... even though I managed to come away from some time at the lake with a few really nice photos, I'm left feeling disappointed. My expectations and hopes were higher than what I experienced in real life use. Also, it simply seemed far too difficult to get the few nice images I managed to capture.
Now I am asking myself... "Where do I go from here?"
Do I simply try a newer generation camera body in the Micro Four Thirds format that might be a bit larger, a bit heavier (extra stability), and faster to focus? This might be my best option but I am really unsure at this point. Common sense is telling me this is the wisest option... we'll see...
Or, do I try to find an old used crop dSLR with an APS-C sized sensor? If I go this route I will need to find a good used long telephoto lens also.
Or, do I find an adapter for my Sony camera body so I can use a good long telephoto lens with it? The problem with this option is cost and size. A good long telephoto lens for this camera would be large. The cost of this option would be well beyond my budget since I am disabled trying to live on a insultingly small fixed income so this is probably not even a feasible solution.
On the positive side, my photos shot after two weeks of daily practice were better than my photos shot in the first few days. This means I was learning, adapting and at least trying to overcome my problems. I suppose this is an indication that there may be hope for this tiny Micro Four Thirds format. I really would prefer a larger, slightly heavier body though to add some stability and ease in handling when shooting long telephoto photos.
There is the newly released Panasonic G7 which could possibly minimize my current frustrations... or, maybe I should try to find a good used Panasonic G6? Any Panasonic gear (but still used) which is a newer generation than what I am currently using would be a viable option.
Some photographers are raving about the Olympus EM1 or even the EM10 which can be found used at fair prices, but... I truly despise Olympus. It would turn my stomach to constantly pick up, hold and use an Olympus camera... the same holds true for Nikon. I just don't think I can support either of these camera manufacturers. Even Canon would be undesirable to me but not nearly as undesirable as Olympus or Nikon. If I stick with these smaller format sensors, I will probably stick with Panasonic gear.
Shooting wildlife is tough even when putting aside problems in finding the right gear. Wildlife can be very elusive (as has been the case this year thus far) which makes wildlife photography extremely difficult. Weather conditions can be poor... lighting conditions could be poor... light could be coming from the wrong direction... a photo opportunity could present itself and then be gone within a second or two never to be seen again for the remainder of the season. Wildlife photography is tough no matter how you look at it.
Right now I'm feeling a bit disappointed.
POST EDIT: I forgot to add some info about another realization in that first two weeks of frustration while at the lake...
I started this two week learning period using my longest lens... the Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm (140-600mm full frame field of view equivalent). I was using this old lens with an auto-focus adapter. This lens worked surprisingly well with the adapter but I found that this lens is a rather poor lens when it comes to clarity and crispness.
I tried to stop it down to f8, knowing that this was the lens' best aperture... It was still pretty lousy. No matter what I tried, I just couldn't seem to get any sharp, crisp photos when using this lens.
After a few days of use, I decided to forego the Olympus lens and use my Panasonic 45-200mm lens instead. This made a tremendous difference! The clarity and crispness of my images improved dramatically. The trade-off, however, was reach. This lens only reaches to a full frame field of view equivalency of 400mm. So, I was now using a 400mm lens instead of a 600mm lens but I was getting much sharper, crisper photos.
I ended up mounting that Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens on my old Olympus body that sports a beautiful Kodak sensor and used it for sporadic shots of the sailboat in the distance as well as for shots of the moon.
In the end, I couldn't be bothered using the Olympus lens nor the Olympus body. I'm very frustrated by all the years I wasted trying to get the most out of Olympus gear... it is all crapola.
My long telephoto images improved dramatically when I just used my secondhand Panasonic gear.
POST POST EDIT: After thinking about these long telephoto issues some more over the past week or two, I think I may have figured out the problem I was having with my adapted Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens...
When I have used this lens on my Olympus E-500 camera body, I have managed to get some reasonable images. And this is especially true when what I am trying to get in focus is in the center of the frame... ie, a bird, a sailboat, a lone diver, etc. I've managed to get some nice results at times and sometimes rather poor results at other times... averaging out to a "reasonable" rating. So, as you can probably tell by now, I'm really not overly critical of my gear if I can accept that half of my shots will be rather poor!
Then, when I put that lens on my recently acquired Panasonic G3 body, I just couldn't seem to eke out any "good" or "sharp" images. Something was not right here...
Using other lenses, I can capture stunningly beautiful images on that Olympus E-500... sharp, crisp, lush tonal qualities, beautiful color... When using the Olympus 70-300mm, my images were "good" especially when the aperture was stopped down. So, the camera body is just fine and it can produce good to excellent results depending upon the lens used.
I think the difference in results between the two cameras is the pixel sizes! The Panasonic G3 has a 16 megapixel sensor while the Olympus E-500 has a sensor with only 8 megapixels. I'm thinking that this Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens simply cannot resolve the detail in the sensor with the small pixels (higher megapixel count).
I'm not even going to talk about the quality of images I've captured using the Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens on my Olympus E-620 camera... that camera is absolutely miserable... it is frustrating... it is quirky... it is inconsistent... it is always difficult to capture a perfectly focused and crisp shot. That camera belongs on the burn pile (and will probably end up there soon).
So... when I mounted the Panasonic 45-200mm lens on my Panasonic G3, I managed to capture some really beautiful photos. This instills some confidence in Panasonic gear so I may try to pick up a used Panasonic 100-300mm lens... give it a whirl... if I like it as much as the 45-200, I will consider selling some gear to buy a newer camera body. This just might be a viable solution.
This newer camera body, however, must have a larger viewfinder than what the Panasonic G3 sports. I find the viewfinder on the G3 to be tiny and difficult to use. It is still better than trying to use the LCD for framing shots, but it is quite difficult and frustrating to use effectively because it is so small.
So, now it is a toss up... I either trade in gear (my Olympus crap) to get all Panasonic gear (which might be a good idea)... Or, I trade in my gear (again, the Olympus crap) to buy a Sony dSLR body and an older long telephoto lens.
Or, I can simply give up on trying to get consistently "good" results when shooting with a long telephoto...
Time will tell... and, I'm sure I'll keep you posted...
I have to admit that the telephoto range is impressive... the camera and lens is relatively small (compared to dSLR's with monstrous lenses)... but I am still left feeling disappointed. I did manage to capture my best loon and duck photos to date but it really was a 'hit or miss' proposition. Many of my photos were lacking the clarity and crispness I had hoped to capture. Perhaps the lens was the problem... perhaps the tiny body made it difficult to hold steady enough. I don't know. Maybe it was a combination of both problems.
This Panasonic camera in the Micro Four Thirds format is tiny. This camera is so small that I have difficulty seeing through the tiny viewfinder. For instance, I could not see any of my settings through the viewfinder. I was able to see the scene I was shooting but I could not see any of the settings around the perimeter of the viewfinder. This is a problem... it is a very frustrating problem! At times, I feel as though I am shooting blind because that viewfinder is so tiny.
To make matters worse, the camera is so light that I have difficulty keeping the camera steady. The sad thing is that 'small and lightweight' can really be a tremendous advantage but not if I cannot see what I'm doing nor able to keep the camera steady.
So... even though I managed to come away from some time at the lake with a few really nice photos, I'm left feeling disappointed. My expectations and hopes were higher than what I experienced in real life use. Also, it simply seemed far too difficult to get the few nice images I managed to capture.
Now I am asking myself... "Where do I go from here?"
Do I simply try a newer generation camera body in the Micro Four Thirds format that might be a bit larger, a bit heavier (extra stability), and faster to focus? This might be my best option but I am really unsure at this point. Common sense is telling me this is the wisest option... we'll see...
Or, do I try to find an old used crop dSLR with an APS-C sized sensor? If I go this route I will need to find a good used long telephoto lens also.
Or, do I find an adapter for my Sony camera body so I can use a good long telephoto lens with it? The problem with this option is cost and size. A good long telephoto lens for this camera would be large. The cost of this option would be well beyond my budget since I am disabled trying to live on a insultingly small fixed income so this is probably not even a feasible solution.
 |
| I captured this photo after two weeks of frustrating practice... constant evaluation and adjustments were needed to improve. My biggest obstacle in shooting this lucky capture was having a fidgety toddler in the kayak with me... rocking the boat and making it cumbersome to handle the boat while trying to shoot. |
On the positive side, my photos shot after two weeks of daily practice were better than my photos shot in the first few days. This means I was learning, adapting and at least trying to overcome my problems. I suppose this is an indication that there may be hope for this tiny Micro Four Thirds format. I really would prefer a larger, slightly heavier body though to add some stability and ease in handling when shooting long telephoto photos.
There is the newly released Panasonic G7 which could possibly minimize my current frustrations... or, maybe I should try to find a good used Panasonic G6? Any Panasonic gear (but still used) which is a newer generation than what I am currently using would be a viable option.
Some photographers are raving about the Olympus EM1 or even the EM10 which can be found used at fair prices, but... I truly despise Olympus. It would turn my stomach to constantly pick up, hold and use an Olympus camera... the same holds true for Nikon. I just don't think I can support either of these camera manufacturers. Even Canon would be undesirable to me but not nearly as undesirable as Olympus or Nikon. If I stick with these smaller format sensors, I will probably stick with Panasonic gear.
Shooting wildlife is tough even when putting aside problems in finding the right gear. Wildlife can be very elusive (as has been the case this year thus far) which makes wildlife photography extremely difficult. Weather conditions can be poor... lighting conditions could be poor... light could be coming from the wrong direction... a photo opportunity could present itself and then be gone within a second or two never to be seen again for the remainder of the season. Wildlife photography is tough no matter how you look at it.
Right now I'm feeling a bit disappointed.
POST EDIT: I forgot to add some info about another realization in that first two weeks of frustration while at the lake...
I started this two week learning period using my longest lens... the Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm (140-600mm full frame field of view equivalent). I was using this old lens with an auto-focus adapter. This lens worked surprisingly well with the adapter but I found that this lens is a rather poor lens when it comes to clarity and crispness.
I tried to stop it down to f8, knowing that this was the lens' best aperture... It was still pretty lousy. No matter what I tried, I just couldn't seem to get any sharp, crisp photos when using this lens.
After a few days of use, I decided to forego the Olympus lens and use my Panasonic 45-200mm lens instead. This made a tremendous difference! The clarity and crispness of my images improved dramatically. The trade-off, however, was reach. This lens only reaches to a full frame field of view equivalency of 400mm. So, I was now using a 400mm lens instead of a 600mm lens but I was getting much sharper, crisper photos.
I ended up mounting that Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens on my old Olympus body that sports a beautiful Kodak sensor and used it for sporadic shots of the sailboat in the distance as well as for shots of the moon.
In the end, I couldn't be bothered using the Olympus lens nor the Olympus body. I'm very frustrated by all the years I wasted trying to get the most out of Olympus gear... it is all crapola.
My long telephoto images improved dramatically when I just used my secondhand Panasonic gear.
POST POST EDIT: After thinking about these long telephoto issues some more over the past week or two, I think I may have figured out the problem I was having with my adapted Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens...
When I have used this lens on my Olympus E-500 camera body, I have managed to get some reasonable images. And this is especially true when what I am trying to get in focus is in the center of the frame... ie, a bird, a sailboat, a lone diver, etc. I've managed to get some nice results at times and sometimes rather poor results at other times... averaging out to a "reasonable" rating. So, as you can probably tell by now, I'm really not overly critical of my gear if I can accept that half of my shots will be rather poor!
Then, when I put that lens on my recently acquired Panasonic G3 body, I just couldn't seem to eke out any "good" or "sharp" images. Something was not right here...
Using other lenses, I can capture stunningly beautiful images on that Olympus E-500... sharp, crisp, lush tonal qualities, beautiful color... When using the Olympus 70-300mm, my images were "good" especially when the aperture was stopped down. So, the camera body is just fine and it can produce good to excellent results depending upon the lens used.
I think the difference in results between the two cameras is the pixel sizes! The Panasonic G3 has a 16 megapixel sensor while the Olympus E-500 has a sensor with only 8 megapixels. I'm thinking that this Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens simply cannot resolve the detail in the sensor with the small pixels (higher megapixel count).
I'm not even going to talk about the quality of images I've captured using the Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens on my Olympus E-620 camera... that camera is absolutely miserable... it is frustrating... it is quirky... it is inconsistent... it is always difficult to capture a perfectly focused and crisp shot. That camera belongs on the burn pile (and will probably end up there soon).
So... when I mounted the Panasonic 45-200mm lens on my Panasonic G3, I managed to capture some really beautiful photos. This instills some confidence in Panasonic gear so I may try to pick up a used Panasonic 100-300mm lens... give it a whirl... if I like it as much as the 45-200, I will consider selling some gear to buy a newer camera body. This just might be a viable solution.
This newer camera body, however, must have a larger viewfinder than what the Panasonic G3 sports. I find the viewfinder on the G3 to be tiny and difficult to use. It is still better than trying to use the LCD for framing shots, but it is quite difficult and frustrating to use effectively because it is so small.
So, now it is a toss up... I either trade in gear (my Olympus crap) to get all Panasonic gear (which might be a good idea)... Or, I trade in my gear (again, the Olympus crap) to buy a Sony dSLR body and an older long telephoto lens.
Or, I can simply give up on trying to get consistently "good" results when shooting with a long telephoto...
Time will tell... and, I'm sure I'll keep you posted...
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