Showcase Olympus 300mm f/4 PRO

[Bristolero]

Bristolero that's very well captured.
Curious what camera is that on, thanks ?

Richard, used the E-M1 ii, but the Mk 1 would have done as well.

 

[Bristolero]

Great capture. I need to get down your way...…………………..

Ronnie,
I'm off to NZ and a couple other stops, but I'll be back in late March. April is my favorite month for eagles and waterfowl down here, so let's plan to get together then.

 

[Phocal]

Ronnie,
I'm off to NZ and a couple other stops, but I'll be back in late March. April is my favorite month for eagles and waterfowl down here, so let's plan to get together then.

Enjoy your trip and I will start planning something in March for April. When do the Puffins come in?

 

[Bristolero]

Enjoy your trip and I will start planning something in March for April. When do the Puffins come in?

The puffins usually arrive in mid-May.

 

[KTi]

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Purple Heron

 

[Bristolero]

I'm outta' here!

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[Bristolero]

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[neelsd]

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Colusa National Reserve, CA by DreyerPictures, on Flickr

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Colusa National Reserve, CA by DreyerPictures, on Flickr

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Colusa National Reserve, CA by DreyerPictures, on Flickr

 

[Tifoso]

E-M1x handheld Hi-Res shot with 300mm + MC-20

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Mond by Giuseppe Terrazzino, auf Flickr

 

[KTi]

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A Honey Buzzard flyby ...

 

[JayZay87]

So I recently decided to upgrade from the 40-150 Pro to the 300mm f4 Pro. As much as I would have loved to have both, financially it wasn't an option for me. Most of the stuff I shoot consists of either small birds or distant wildlife, and I tried the 40-150 Pro with the 1.4x tele with decent results (really an exceptional lens for that particular zoom range), but really wanted the extra reach since I was almost always using it at the long end of the zoom range.

Thanks to the rain easing off this afternoon I was able to get outside and test the new lens out. I have to say I am very impressed with the image stabilization considering the effective focal distance of 600mm, and blown away by how sharp this lens is. I did as much research as I could on this lens as I do for all equipment purchases, but I am even more impressed than I thought I would be after using it. I just find myself staring at this lens a lot, it's just an impressive piece of engineering in design and function.
This may be my only M4/3 lens now, and deep down I do wish I had the flexibility of a zoom, but I have no regrets and perhaps I'll be able to acquire a 40-150 Pro again down the road which would make an excellent all-round wildlife kit.

Below are some sample images, cropped a little and with minor edits. It was relatively dark and overcast and I shot mostly wide open.
Thanks for looking!

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Mule deer​

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Black oystercatcher​

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Killdeer​

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Belted kingfisher​

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Belted kingfisher​

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Double-crested cormorant​

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Barrow's goldeneye​

 

[PeHa]

Still impressed with the 300mm & MC-20 combo, also by the stabilisation system at the relative 1200mm (shutter speed 1/160s with this one)

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[Harvey Melvin Richards]

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EM128162-1 by Harvey Richards, on Flickr

 

[woollyback]

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[JayZay87]

A few shots taken today at the bird feeder. It was pretty dark out and so I was shooting wide open and at low shutter speeds between 1/100 - 1/160 to keep the ISO down ~ISO1000. Luckily the birds were sitting pretty still and was able to snap some decent shots. Here are some of my favorite below, cropped and with minor adjustments. I still can't get over how sharp this lens is!

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Female Downy woodpecker

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Red-breasted nuthatch

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Chestnut-backed chickadee

 

[Hendrik]

I experienced quite a bit of variety with the local hawks this weekend. Saturday was gloomy so, I reasoned, there would be no thermals and I'd be more likely to encounter perched birds than otherwise. Since it was gloomy, I used the MC-14 for the extra light and hoped that I would be able to approach close enough to make up for reach.

Hallelujah. Cropped to 12 Mp before resizing.

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Sunday was bright, so I figured that the birds would be in the air. Accordingly, I used the MC-20. If I had known what I would encounter, I might have used the MC-14 or the 40-150 + MC-20.

First off, standing close to a screen of trees, I saw a hawk being mobbed by several crows. A bit more than half the time they were obscured by the branches. This made following them difficult. There was no way I could get the whole scene in one frame. Having AF set for all targets was the only thing that allowed this capture - the center of the frame was empty. Cropped to 12Mp before downsizing.

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They made one or two circles over me and disappeared to the other side of the trees. About twenty minutes later a single hawk appeared overhead for a pass or two.

Cropped to ~9Mp

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No crop.

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[Tifoso]

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P1251678a by Giuseppe Terrazzino, auf Flickr

 

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

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EM128879-1 by Harvey Richards, on Flickr

 

[WhidbeyLVR]

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Monarch 2

 

[PeHa]

A Wren from today's bird walkabout

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