(Last Updated On: November 24, 2023)
Birds are photogenic and fascinating subjects to photograph. It is therefore not surprising if you want to shift the focus from watching to photographing birds. It is a bold step because photographing is not exactly easy. We have compiled some of the best Olympus lens for bird photography in the article. We advise you keep digging and have a look at them.
With nature photography, you often have to compensate for the exposure. For example, take a group of flying geese. With most metering methods, the exposure the camera chooses depends primarily on the sky. As a result, it produces very dark geese. Therefore, you have to adjust your camera to let light hit the sensor. You can read your camera’s manual for exposure compensation on how to do this.
A decent tripod or a rice bag is necessary if you shoot with a telephoto. The number of successful photos will be a lot larger than unsuccessful.
The biggest challenge for photographers is getting close enough to photograph a subject recognizably. Birds are usually used to cars, allowing you to get surprisingly close.
Nowadays, you have all kinds of photo huts that you can rent for a part of the day. They can then come up to a few meters, giving you an extraordinary experience. Incidentally, it is a misconception that a subject has to be prominent in the picture. Usually, a photo is more beautiful if the environment also plays a role.
Additionally, you can only take photos of with a bit of patience if subjects are not shy, for example, because they have been used to feeding on people. However, since this only applies to very few photo situations, you need anoptic with a long focal length (the more extensive the focal length, the greater the magnification). You should always start below 300 mm.
Photographing is a great experience for many photographers – but also a challenge. In addition to the particular requirements for equipment and camera settings in photography, there is also the difficult-to-control element of nature.
Bird photography places the highest demands on equipment. Both the camera and the lens must be robust and superbly processed to work reliably even under the most adverse conditions.
Rain, dust, sand, wind, and snow are part of the everyday life of a nature photographer. Although, nevertheless, the external quality and robustness is an essential component, the technology built into the housing is just as important.
The requirements for nature photography vary. The camera must have accurate and fast autofocus to take pictures of subjects in flight or wild animals at full speed. In addition, the camera should have a high series frame rate so that you do not miss the perfect moment. These two requirements alone are the cream of the crop in photography.
Moreover, it would help if you had a camera with an interchangeable optic to deal with nature photography. Finally, of course, there are automatic cameras on the market that can provide a broader range. However, such all-in-one solutions always come at the expense of image quality, which always comes at the cost of enjoyment in the medium term.
The lens is arguably the most critical part of your equipment if you want to photograph birds. It should therefore come first when considering the right equipment – then the right camera comes downstream.
Their performances of depend upon their focal length. The focal length is specified for interchangeable with the analog 35mm format or digital “full format” (36 x 24 mm). A uniform reference value results because of different sensor sizes. The angle of view of anopticis linked to the focal length; for a 50 mm standard, a rise of view of 45 degrees applies; a smaller angle of view stands for a telephoto, a larger one for a wide-angle.
To be able to photograph the wild subjects in full format, a long focal length is required. Unfortunately, a long focal length usually means more glass, which means more expensive. In general, photography is a costly hobby. However, many manufacturers have a wide variety of cameras and optics, ranging from entry-level to professional.
Best Olympus Lens for Bird Photography (Comparison)
| Name | Dimensions | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm | 3.39 x 2.52 x 2.52 inches | 6.7 Ounces | |
| M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm | 4.17 x 3.11 x 3.11 inches | 1.18 Ounces | Check Price |
| M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm F1.2 Pro | 3.4 x 2.7 x 2.7 inches | 14.4 Ounces | Check Price |
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R
The M.Zuiko Digital 40-150mm has high-quality housing with splash protection. The aperture consists of nine slats for an almost circular opening. For the first time, it has a focusing system in which dual linear motors drive two optic elements.
As a result, it should ensure fast and quiet focusing. Moreover, the zoom mechanism works almost noiselessly, so that this lens should be universally suitable for a wide variety of motive situations, from sporting events to animal photography.
The “R” in the product name stands for Redesign, which includes an optical improvement and a new overall design. The ED 40-150mm 1: 4.0-5.6 R, available in black and matt silver.
A good light intensity of F4.0 in the wide-angle also supports the telephoto range, with F5.6 as the start aperture. You can use focal lengths of 80 millimeters to 300 millimeters following the 35 mm format.
Furthermore, inside there are 13 optics that are arranged in 10 groups, one of which belongs to the ED category (extra-low dispersion). The near limit to the motif is 90 centimeters.
It means that you can take perfect close-ups with the telephoto. The quick inner focusing helps with the immediate focus on the photo and video alike. Due to the quiet operation of the autofocus, there should be no interference with the sound recording.
The seven aperture blades create a circular aperture and a harmonious background. A lens hood is optionally available as the LH-61D.
The image quality of the zoom is consistently excellent, and sharp shots are possible even with the open aperture constantly used. Since the Olympus cameras internally remove vignetting and distortion from the recordings, there is little to contend with image errors. Even the recordings in RAW format would not burden with it.
The manual focus mechanism and the sliding sun visor are also included in the scope of delivery. In addition, Olympus offers a specially designed teleconverter to match, which also has splash protection and is made of metal.
The handling makes an excellent impression. The focus and zoom rings are a bit stiff initially, but over time, they become more balanced. It is also essential to know that the tube extends to double its length at full zoom.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Solid sharpness performance | Plastic body |
| Hardly any image errors | |
| Good service |
Conclusion:
The success of the mirrorless system cameras is exceptional, and the equipment with suitable lenses is steadily increasing with every manufacturer.
Olympus is now offering an excellent addition to the essential equipment of a pen camera for little money. It will be your best companion during bird photography.
OLYMPUS M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F2.8 Pro
With the M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO, you will get a bright, super wide-angle zoom for Micro-Four-Thirds cameras. It offers a focal length range of 7-14 millimeters, which corresponds to 14-28 millimeters in 35mm format. The light intensity is F2.8 over the entire focal length range.
The concise focal length is excellent due to the strong curvature of the front lens. A filter no longer fits over here. Accordingly, the hood is permanent to protect this excellent product.
The optics contain 14 elements, which are divided into 11 groups. These include two spherical ED, three Super ED, and one ED. The combination provides options to minimize chromatic aberrations and distortion.
Moreover, due to its speed of F2.8, it invites you to press the shutter release even in poor lighting conditions. It does not have an image stabilizer; At Olympus, however, it is usually in the camera. It means that you can shoot with your free hand for longer without using a tripod.
Whoever uses the Olympus lens on their Lumix G camera has to get along without image stabilization. It is due to the compatible Micro-Four-Thirds connection –
Like the other optics in the Pro series, the 7-14mm has protection against splash water, dust, and frost. It is one of the best as a companion in nature. The fixed sun visor, however, provides good protection for the front optic.
In addition, instead of a sliding metal cap to protect the front one, a new plastic cover also clicks into place – but only in precisely two positions, so you have to put it correctly.
The closest focusing distance is 20 centimeters, which means that the object can move up to 7.5 centimeters in front of the lens. In combination with the short focal length, this creates opportunities for unusual image compositions.
According to Olympus, the autofocus works particularly quietly and should therefore be particularly suitable for filming. If you like to switch between manual and automatic focus, you can pull the focus ring forwards or backward.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Focal length range of 7-14 millimeters | Fixed sun visor |
| Super wide-angle zoom | |
| It has three Super ED and one ED optic |
Conclusion:
The manufacturer combines a super wide-angle zoom with high light intensity and thus creates a lens that you can still use for landscape shots even at dusk. Further, at the same time, it offers more flexibility than a prime optic.
It is one of the best products for bird photography on the market. The housing, which is protected against weather influences, qualifies the it for use under adverse conditions.
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm F1.2 PRO
The Olympus 17 mm 1.2 Pro is a real knockout: the fixed focal length is almost nine centimeters long and nearly seven centimeters in diameter. It works in a similar size and weight class as its sister models.
Anyone who already owns one of the other F1.2 series should be happy about the duplicate filter thread with a diameter of 62 millimeters.
For example, you only need to buy a polarizing filter and use it on all three lenses. It has a seal against dust and splash water and is therefore wonderfully suited to an OM-D of the E-M5 or E-M1 series.
In addition, the focus is purely internal in it, with no outwards movement. The autofocus is whisper-quiet and extremely fast. It is equally suitable for photo and video recordings.
The closest focusing distance is 20 centimeters, which corresponds to a minimum distance to the subject of just nine centimeters.
Still, the large image angle of around 55 degrees diagonally produces a 1: 6.7 ratio. It is also much more suitable as a classic reportage or landscape shots and, due to the high light intensity, for cutout effects and available light photography in the theater or at concerts.
You can do the manual focus in two ways: you either activate the manual focus in the camera and then use the electronic focus ring on it with the help of the focus peaking and the focus magnifier of the camera, or you pull the focus ring backward.
Then a focus scale including depth of field display is exposed, and the focus ring works mechanically with a fixed adjustment range of a quarter turn.
However, adjusting movements pass on electronically to the focus motor, only that each set corresponds to a fixed distance than in the first-mentioned method. By the way, if you are bothered by the fact that it switches to manual focus when the focus ring is accidentally withdrawn, you can deactivate this in the camera menu.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Filter thread with 62 millimeters | Manual focus is hard when brand new |
| ED-DSA element | |
| Suitable for photo and video recordings |
Conclusion:
The 17 mm 1.2 ED Pro has a highly complex optical construction, with 15 lenses in eleven groups. These include spherical elements and a new type of ED-DSA element by Olympus as the first camera manufacturer to mass-produce and install.
Final Verdict:
The lens is the eye of your camera; it creates an optical image of an object or – in more photographic terms – your subject. It was a long way from the single converging lens of the first telescopes (around 1600) to modern ones made up of several lenses.
For many cameras, especially for DSLR and system cameras, there are various interchangeable optics. Interchangeable optics for system cameras are available with fixed and variable focal lengths, different initial openings (light intensity), with or without a built-in image stabilizer.
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