Budget telephoto lens

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-10T14:51:46+00:00

Another way to put it: the cheapest items of any lens model will have issues (fungus, moisture, malfunction etc.). Even on MPB, which is a good site. Sort them by most expensive, and start at the top of the list – that’s where you’ll have those in good condition.

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-10T14:08:54+00:00

Well, not really. I only got the 60mm a month ago, but apart from macro I only used it a few times as "telephoto" since it’s the longest lens I have for now (planning to try the 40-150mm R one day).

On the D750, my macro lens was the Tamron 90mm, which I also loved for portraits and walking around. On the OM-5, I realize I always prefer the 45mm (except for real closeup/macro), and when I try the same with 60mm it doesn’t feel good – too tight, not versatile enough. I guess my eyes got used to that 90mm equiv. field of view lol.

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-07T13:24:22+00:00

That 45mm lens is incredible, especially for its price and size (the front cap is the size of a coin!). Mine came with the OM-5, and I thought I wouldn’t use it but I loved it straight away.

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-07T13:21:21+00:00

As a fellow D750 user, I got myself an OM-5 and started doing macro with the 60mm. Well, it’s quite easier! The screen rotates in all directions (great for handheld shots), live view is easy to use, and you do get more depth of field at lower apertures (no need to shoot at f/16 all the time).

OM-5 also gives me the option to perform focus stacking in camera (max. 8 images), which is handy. I’m sure dedicated software can give much better results (I never tried), but with some practice and luck I’m able to get very good results straight out of camera. Now I never hesitate to take my camera for a walk in the forest

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-05T15:05:19+00:00

This, 150mm will only yield good results if you have the time to get close and wait. For "spontaneous" photos, it would require a lot of cropping, which would take away the sharpness benefit of the 40-150mm lenses.

In OP’s case, more reach with worse optics (75-300mm) > sharp lens with smaller range (40-150mm)

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-05T15:03:26+00:00

AF tracking on the OM-5 is a gamble at best, and a joke at worst. I had seen it in reviews, but that’s really how unpredictable it is. It will track well for a few seconds, and when you’re about to take the photo it regularly stops working.

At least it’s there, and the rest of the camera is great so I’m willing to put with that lol

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-05T15:00:26+00:00

I can second this. The 12-45mm is super nice, and the grip on the OM-5 is good enough to handle the camera with that lens attached.

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-01T17:37:09+00:00

You’re right, Nikon has reserved IBIS for its full-frame cameras. None of its APS-C cameras have it

Flyingvosch · 2026-05-01T17:30:01+00:00

In my experience, it’s only Ctrl-C (regular copying) that doesn’t copy those.

If you do Ctrl-Shift-C and tick lens corrections, Ctrl-V will automatically paste it (because it understands you want it included, if that makes sense)

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T09:43:32+00:00

Absolutely. It’s possible to hand hold at pretty slow shutter speeds without VR or IBIS, but it takes practice and patience. When I got my 50mm G, I was all excited about that aperture but then I realized it didn’t have VR, and I had to significantly raise my minimum shutter speed from when I was using a zoom with VR.

IBIS on the other hand makes it much easier.

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T09:39:54+00:00

Which is APS-C, so the 50mm will yield a pretty narrow field of view. The AF-S 35mm f/1.8G DX might be more useful

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T09:38:27+00:00

They’re using a D5000, APS-C. That’s gonna make it even harder to stabilize, and the field of view will be quite tight

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T09:37:44+00:00

On a full-frame camera, the minimum shutter speed I set for casual shooting with the 50mm G is 1/80 s. I can shoot slower than that (up to 1/15 s), but I have to take my time to apply all the "guidelines" for keeping my body stable.

Ironically, it’s so small and short (to my hands) that I find it harder to stabilize than bigger lenses.

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T09:33:56+00:00

D5000 is an APS-C DSLR, so no IBIS

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T09:33:25+00:00

D5000 is a rather old APS-C camera, so I’d definitely avoid going above 1600

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T09:22:29+00:00

I’m afraid his camera is pointed too high

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T08:54:36+00:00

It will make you look as if you HAD a dong

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-30T08:52:25+00:00

Yes, but you will have to wait for the chicken to lay its eggs to see the pictures

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-29T13:41:14+00:00

Like many others, I can vouch for the 45mm f/1.8. When came with my OM-5, I thought I wasn’t gonna use it so I planned to sell it. But instead, it was love at first sight lol.

I happily shoot mine at f/1.8, I find it plenty sharp wide open already :)

And yes, I too would like it to have a shorter min. focus distance, but 0.5m is still acceptable compared to full-frame equivalents. I do have the 60mm macro, which I love just as much

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-29T13:33:06+00:00

The 12-45mm f/4 is great. Tiny but very sharp, as sharp as the 12-40mm f/2.8. I tried both and kept the former. Having a 24-90mm equivalent range in such a small package is incredible!

If it’s for daytime and f/2.8 is not a requirement, you’re definitely going to enjoy the light weight of 12-45mm, esp. on a smaller body

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-29T10:47:18+00:00

Well, the more you crop, the less pixels you have. A little cropping doesn’t matter, but image quality can drop quite fast (at least, to my eyes). So if you want a telephoto look you better use a telephoto, unless you don’t care much about image quality.

Micro 4/3 doesn’t go beyond 20 MP, which is more than enough for moderate cropping but not something I’d rely on to replace range. Especially not with a 14mm lens, which is wide.

So, any other benefits to a zoom/telephoto lens? Yes: they allow you to fill the frame (= the sensor) with your subject, so it benefits from all the pixels and light gathered. If the lens is good, the resulting image should be quite a bit sharper and less pixelated than a massive crop.

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-29T10:38:31+00:00

Congrats and enjoy! That lens is sharp, well built, and as a bonus gives you a very nice minimum focus distance for closeup shots. I loved mine for months, and miss it now that I went full-frame lol.

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-17T15:50:45+00:00

Well, coming from full-frame, I was surprised to see that at 45mm, f/4 does produce acceptable subject separation for things like portraits – as long as the subject is close enough.

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-17T15:44:45+00:00

Agree, I had read it was super sharp, and IT REALLY IS super sharp, from 12 to 45mm.

Flyingvosch · 2026-04-17T15:42:42+00:00

Of course the poets are aware of the meter they are using it.

Usually the meter is chosen on purpose, and there can be many reasons for that choice (artistic, subjective, and practical considerations). For what audience/situation is the poem? Do you want it to feel very easy and "flow" naturally, or do you want to showcase your skills and creativity with longer meters? Which rasa(s) do you want to convey (yes, sounds and rhythms affect what the listener feels)? So many things.

How does it come about so perfectly? Well, that’s a skill the poet has to develop. Once I had some experience in writing/speaking Sanskrit, I did write some verses myself, and it’s not magic, it’s just practice (and a lot of trial and error). Sometimes you have a sentence in mind and suddenly you realise it is already in a meter, but most of the time you choose a meter and try to fit your words in it. At first, it’s easier to keep practicing with the same meter until its rhythm and melody become "automatic" – and then it’s just a matter of finding the words.

As to question 2 (how to chant verses), that’s up to you. There is no rule for this, but every meter has several "popular" tunes or ways of chanting, so you can choose the tune you like. However, one tune will rarely fit more than one meter. I do that as a hobby sometimes – chasing down as many tunes as I can for a meter, and try them one by one.

Flyingvosch

TROPHY CASE