FJR1
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dwalk wrote:
Considering a move to micro 4/3 from a D500 + Sigma 100-400mm for bird photography. It would be an OM-1 coupled with either a 100-400mm or 300mm + 1.4TC. For those that have these combinations how do you rate them in terms of IQ, focus speed and acquisition? I like the zoom facility but wonder how well it performs for BIF.
I have both lenses and find the 300mm lens, even with the 1.4x TC, to be slightly sharper and quicker to focus than the 100-400mm lens, but only when making a conscious effort to discern the difference. What the 100-400mm lens has in its favor is the versatility in focal lengths.
Each lens has its own strengths, but the overall IQ and focus speed are so similar that one has to weigh a fixed focal length of 600mm against one that has a 600mm range of 200-800 (in 35mm equivalency). Acquisition of BIF, for me, is much better with the 100-400mm lens, especially with fast, multi-directional flying birds like swallows. With herons, egrets, birds of prey, and even with most ducks and geese, acquisition isn't so bad with the 300mm lens, although I sometimes find those birds filling the frame quickly with no option to zoom out.
In planning for an outing with emphasis on large birds and relatively stationary wildlife, I'd take the 300mm lens. For small birds in flight or for an outing that involved more eclectic subject matter, I'd opt for the 100-400mm lens. Of course, another important factor is the amount of light available, and the obvious difference in the lenses that one should consider is that the 300mm lens is a full stop to a stop and a third faster/brighter than the 100-400mm lens, although that evens out a bit when you slap a 1.4x TC on the 300mm lens..
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