[Leica] Re: Long lens selection

[Doug Herr <71247.3542@compuserve.com>]

On Mon, 7 Dec 1998, James Harrison wrote:

> Great story about coyotes!!  They will always be around.  I wish to buy a
>long lens for my R7.  For birds and coyotes.  Which lens?? 180  f2.8 , or
>the 250 f4?   What are the differences in weight?  Thanks in advance..Red
>dots in the woods..  jh

There's no simple answer 'cuz there are lots of ways to get wildlife
photos.  Some people like using the biggest, baadest lens they can find on
an equally imposing tripod, stacking converters when nessesary to get a
good-sized image.  Current theory is that a 600 f/4 AF is the way to go.

I prefer the mobility of a hand-held camera so shorter lenses are more
useful to me.  For wildlife photos over the last 30 years I've used lenses
from 55mm to 1000mm and the most useful focal length has been 400mm,
followed by 560 and 280.  Success with "shorter" lenses like the 400
involves knowledge of the critters' habits and behavior, and sometimes a
bit of luck.  With active subjects the sliding focus of the 400 is much
more useful than a traditional twisting-ring focus control and with a
viewfinder like the SL's I've never felt the need for AF.

If wildlife photography is what makes your pulse quicken a 400 is ideal. 
If you want a lens that can be used for occasional wildlife but is supposed
to be a more general-purpose lens the 250 is probably a better bet.

I hope this helps.

Doug Herr
Sacramento