In June 2024, thanks to Dickson Wong, I was invited to join a boat tour to photograph seabirds, sponsored by OM System. Luckily for me, this gave me a chance to test the M.Zuiko 150–400mm F4.5 TC 1.25x IS PRO zoom lens. [This is a micro four thirds lens for mirrorless camera; equivalent to 300-800mm lens on an SLR, with option for an additional 1.25x power, and with outstanding image stabilisation built in.]
Already, I knew that the lens is superb; and expensive. And of course, intrigued to try one.
I swapped out my 300mm lens; and put the zoom on my OM1 Mk2 body, and took photos, including as we arrived off a rocky islet with nesting terns, and halted near a White-bellied Sea-Eagle perched in a tree above an island’s shoreline.
I greatly enjoyed using the lens. Heavier and larger than the 300mm [usually with 1.4x] I’m used to; but the trade off is ability to zoom and to considerably more telephoto power. The switch to enable a further 1.25x magnification, using the built-in teleconverter, was easy to use, too. Rapid autofocusing [I had target for autofocus set as bird], with a good proportion of “keepers”.
I’ve dilly dallied since then, before posting – maybe with ideas about a longer, fancier review. This is still my only experience with the lens. One key thing, rather obviously, is price: even though I sell some photos, sometimes along with articles, I’d find it very very hard to recoup the cost. And even if I had the money and bought this zoom, I might still use the 300mm more often – as it’s more compact, lighter, easier to use as a lens while walking around birding. Quite different for extended spells in one place, like in a hide or two, or a vantage watching for visible migration, perhaps.
Well, here are photos I took; you might also notice Pacific Swifts, at a nest site. Cropped from the originals, but otherwise full size pixel-wise, optimised for web viewing so file sizes not too massive. All handheld, taking advantage of the superlative combination of image stabilisation in the camera body and lens combined.
See also my post Bird photography with Olympus / OM System OM1 and M.Zuiko 300mm f4 PRO.
