Bees with 150-600

This article features a selection of images of bees captured handheld with the M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom lens.

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OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 948 mm, efov 1896 mm, f/13, 1/640, -0.7 EV, ISO-5000, cropped to 3727 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.8 metres

A couple of days ago I decided to use my M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom lens to photograph bees in my yard.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 785 mm, efov 1570 mm, f/13, -0.3 EV, 1/500, ISO-2000, cropped to 4070 pixels on the width, subject distance 2 metres

And… just for some added fun… I used my M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter for a good number of my image captures.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 629 mm, efov 1258 mm, f/12, -0.3 EV, 1/500, ISO-2000, cropped to 3625 pixels on the width, subject distance 1.9 metres

On the surface this choice of lens/teleconverter combination may seem a bit odd since the M.Zuiko 150-600 is fairly large and comparatively heavy.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 658 mm, efov 1316 mm, f/12, -0.7 EV, 1/640, ISO-1000, cropped to 3775 pixels on the width, subject distance 1.9 metres

The reality is that this combination is well suited to this particular subject matter… as long as a photographer has a sufficient amount of light.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 749 mm, efov 1498 mm, f/13, -0.3 EV, 1/500, ISO-1000, cropped to 4314 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.4 metres

On the wide end of the zoom range, the M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 has a minimum focusing distance of only 59 centimetres (~22.2 inches) when the M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter is used. This makes the M.Zuiko 150-600 very flexible for close-up photography when in the field.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 718 mm, efov 1436 mm, f/12, -0.7 EV, 1/640, ISO-3200, cropped to 4166 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.6 metres

For the majority of the images in this article I was sitting on a short stool in my backyard, and photographing bees as they came in to gather pollen from a large grouping of echinacea  plants.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 800 mm, efov 1600 mm, f/13, -0.3 EV, 1/500, ISO-3200, cropped to 4152 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.7 metres

As I spotted suitable subject bees, I could quickly adjust my focal length by using the very smooth push/pull action of the M.Zuiko 150-600 zoom lens.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 525 mm, efov 1050 mm, f/13, -0.3 EV, 1/500, ISO-4000, cropped to 4105 pixels on the width, subject distance 1.6 metres

Using the MC-20 teleconverter does cause a loss of 2 stops of light, as well as 2 stops of image stabilization. Fortunately the Sync-IS in the M.Zuiko 150-600 is excellent, adding to the in-field flexibility of this lens.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 948 mm, efov 1896 mm, f/13, -0.7 EV, 1/640, ISO-2000, cropped to 4107 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.8 metres

Sync-IS enabled me to use a shutter speed of 1/640 when using an equivalent field-of-view of 1898 mm for the image above. I could have shot at a slower shutter speed, but I needed to allow for subject movement. If you check the EXIF data you’ll see that I was 2.8 metres away (~9.2 feet) from the subject bee and was still able to capture the bee at a reasonable size in my composition.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 600 mm, efov 1200 mm, f/13, -0.3 EV, 1/500, ISO-1600, cropped to 4287 pixels on the width, subject distance 1.5 metres

Using a longer focal length also helps to soften details in the background, as you can see on the right hand side in the image above.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 948 mm, efov 1896 mm, f/13, -0.7 EV, 1/640, ISO-3200, cropped to 4028 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.8 metres

From my seated position I was able to identify a number of individual blossoms that provided shooting angles that gave me smooth, monochromatic backgrounds for my compositions.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 300 mm, efov 600 mm, f/10, 1/2500, ISO-6400, Pro Capture H, cropped to 4418 pixels on the width, subject distance 1.8 metres

After capturing a sufficient number of bees perched on blossoms, I decided to photograph bees in-flight using Pro Capture H.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 359 mm, efov 718 mm, f/11, 1/2500, ISO-6400, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3744 pixels on the width, subject distance 2 metres

Since I was getting some useable images of bees in-flight, I initially kept shooting with the M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter in place.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter @ 359 mm, efov 718 mm, f/11, 1/2500, ISO-6400, Pro Capture H, cropped to 4157 pixels on the width, subject distance 1.8 metres

With a shutter speed of 1/2500, using this 2X teleconverter was often pushing my ISO up to ISO-6400,  with some images being underexposed at that ISO value.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 373 mm, efov 746 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-5000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3907 pixels on the width, subject distance 2 metres

So I decided to remove the MC-20 to save some light. This allowed me to shoot at a maximum of f/6.3.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 358 mm, efov 716 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 4124 pixels on the width, subject distance 2 metres

When possible I always prefer capturing a subject in-flight. I love the feeling of movement and anticipation that these action images can convey.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 429 mm, efov 858 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-6400, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3996 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.2 metres

I find that compositions of bees in-flight that include flower buds can add some interesting environmental context to an image.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 429 mm, efov 858 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-6400, Pro Capture H, cropped to 2916 pixels on the width, subject distance 2.2 metres

Sometimes we can habitually grab a specific piece of kit like a macro lens, for subjects like bees.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 251 mm, efov 502 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-2000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3420 pixels on the width, subject distance 1.4 metres

There are times when a longer focal length zoom lens provides us with more in-field flexibility. Especially if that lens has a comparatively short minimum focusing distance.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera equipment  noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,473 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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2 thoughts on “Bees with 150-600”

  1. Nice work Thomas I especially liked the bees in flight, that lens does give nice rendering and a decent level of sharpness.
    It’s useful out in the wild to have a lens that gives close up photography, it saves going out with just macro lenses

    Lovely work as usual

    Mark

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