Goose aggression is quite common during most times of the year and can be heightened during the mating season. Last week I was out getting in some practice with my M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS at Forty Mile Creek, when an unexpected burst of goose aggression occurred.
I was in my ‘test’ mode with the 150-600 and photographing pretty much anything that was flying in order to orient my eye/hand coordination to a longer focal length lens. I was capturing some short bursts of a Canada goose flying away from me and towards the lighthouse at the point. As it neared the lighthouse it veered sharply to its left and suddenly another goose emerged from behind some rocks and a chase erupted.
Fortunately I was using Pro Capture L at the time and I was able to capture a reasonable run of action images. Without the extra reach of the M.Zuiko 150-600 I wouldn’t have even bothered photographing these birds with my M.Zuiko 100-400 as they were about 125 metres (~410 feet) away from my shooting position.
The next 10 images are from the same Pro Capture L image run.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.
I know there are some readers out there who have been wondering if the M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS has enough reach to photograph distant birds-in-flight without having to use a teleconverter.
These images help demonstrate that when fully extended to 600 mm (efov 1200 mm) the 150-600 can successfully capture birds-in-flight that are about 125 metres (~410 feet) away. Using the M.Zuiko 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 IS with the M.Zuiko MC-14 teleconverter in this situation would have provided a maximum reach of 560 mm (efov 1120 mm), and would have cost one stop of light (i.e. f/6.3 to f/9).
Technical Note
Photographs were captured handheld with the camera equipment noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process. This is the 1,369 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.
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Thank you for all your great input Tom, I have the question about the weather sealing of 150-600. Do you know whether it is the same quality of sealing as in Sigma 150-600mm? OM System ranks weather sealing of 150-600mm at IPX1 while original Sigma has no certificate, but it may be a simple marketing trick. I am asking because I have been previously used Sigma’s 60-600 and this thing accumulated enormous amount of dust and other debris under its front element despite its claims to be robustly weather-sealed. Just after one month it looked worse than my old Canon 100-400mkI after 5 years of use (and Canon did not even claim any water resistance).
I love robustness and resistance of OM/Olympus gear and I am considering trying OM and getting this 150-600mm. However, if the weather sealing is the same as in Sigma, then sorry. I don’t want to spend so much money for a gear that will get dusty just after few weeks of use. It’s not why you choose Olympus in the end. So if you could share any information about that I would be tremendously grateful.
Hi Marcin,
The Sigma website indicates that the Sigma for Sony 150-600 weatherproofing is appropriate for ‘light rain’. To me this is not a statement about ‘robust’ weather sealing. The M.Zuiko 150-600 is certified to IPX1 standards. My assumption therefore is that the level of weather sealing between the two lenses is different. My other assumption is that if a company had a product that met IPX1 standard it would certify it as such.
This link https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2020/03/13/how-to-really-weather-seal-a-camera-olympus-behind-the-scenes will take you to an extensive article, along with a YouTube video, done by Imaging Resource that details the approach that Olympus uses for its weather sealing. My assumption is that OM Systems has maintained this approach.
Tom
Thank you very much, Tom, that was a very helpful and uplifting article. Officially, IPX1 rating is described as “resistant to dripping water at 1mm/min” which in normal life is equivalent to a light rain. This is why I got concerned that they just chose to go with original Sigma’s sealings that from my experience are definitely far from optimal. From your own experience with 100-400 which is also rebranded Sigma and has also IPX1 weather sealings, have you noticed any problems with dust? I am pretty positive that they modified 150-600mm similarly to 100-400mm so if 100-400 has no problems, 150-600mm should not have as well.
Best,
Marcin
Hi Marcin,
I’ve not had any issues at all with my M.Zuiko 100-400 with dust… in the same way that I’ve not had any dust issues with any of my M.Zuiko lenses. My 100-400 lens has certainly been exposed to a lot more than just a light rain, as I’ve been out in reasonably heavy rain. I’ve had gallons of water pour down on my camera/lens from overhead (i.e. water that collected on a tarp then blew down on me and my gear) as well as being soaked by spray from waves on a shoreline a few times. The Sigma website states that their 150-600 has “special sealing at the mount connection, manual focus ring, zoom ring and cover connection.” This is a different level of weather sealing than is detailed in the article/link that my last comment provided.
If you check the Sigma website you’ll see that the optical formulation in terms of special elements is quite different to the 100-400 and 150-600 Olympus/OM products.
Tom