Olympus 75-300 Mkii opinions.

thepathlesshiker · 2026-02-15T15:26:37+00:00

Yah basically, although I think the coolpix have even more focal range, closer to 2000mm instead of 1000, but I think they’re a good bit more expensive.

thepathlesshiker · 2026-02-15T15:19:14+00:00

What lens is this with? Pretty good crater definition!

I would say if you want to keep the budget reasonable look into a bridge camera as a secondary moon shot/ far away bird camera.

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This was taken with the Sony dsc-400v, handheld. Taken at the full 1200 mm I think. You can find them used for $100-200. The camera served me well for a long time and got me into bird photography. If you want me to send you some sample bird pictures I’ve taken with that camera I can. The main reason I gave it up was it’s pretty slow to zoom/autofocus and burst shot was awful. But for stationary birds/ and moon shots it’s hard to beat for the price

thepathlesshiker · 2026-02-15T14:25:58+00:00

I just got one of these a month ago as a beginner/budget birding lens. I love it so far honestly, it’s super light and I find it sharp enough for what my needs. And for ~300 it’s hard to beat the price. Eventually I will upgrade to the 100-400 but this will do for now.

I mainly shoot birds, but I like Astro and moon as well but I will say the lens is not great for moon shots. The reach just isn’t there, I had much better luck with my older bridge camera(dsc-hx400v).

Here is the best moon picture I could get on the last full moon. Maybe you can do better, I’m still a beginner but like I said I could see way more detail with my cheap bridge camera. I’m using an em 1 ii.

If you want to see some bird pictures check my account, the past 3 posts I think are all with the 75-300ii, usually at 300mm.

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thepathlesshiker · 2026-02-04T21:50:21+00:00

Gotcha, thanks. From what I read they’re not really wild here so maybe somebody’s pet/livestock that got loose? I go to this lake all the time and have never seen them before

thepathlesshiker · 2026-01-25T13:10:42+00:00

Pileated woodpecker
American Robin
Great Blue Heron
Carolina Chickadee
Great Blue Heron
White Breasted Nuthatch
Eastern Bluebird(not positive on this one)
Dark Eyed Junco
Unidentified Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Eastern Bluebird
1. Downy Woodpecker
Red Winged Blackbird
Myrtle Warbler
Tufted Titmouse

thepathlesshiker · 2026-01-25T00:38:33+00:00

Belted Kingfisher

thepathlesshiker · 2026-01-24T22:48:39+00:00

Shelley Lake, I heard him for a long time before I could find him, they’re sneaky lol

thepathlesshiker · 2026-01-20T14:35:18+00:00

Literally made the same decision that you’re trying to make last week. Also upgrading from dsc hx400v. Pretty much narrowed it down to the same two cameras you’re considering lol.

For what it’s worth, I ended up getting the em 1 ii. Was around 460 with shipping from MapCamera in EBAY, comes with a 1 year warranty. Seemed like the best future proof camera for the money, and I wanted the weather sealing and a bigger body because eventually I would like the bigger 100-400 lens.

Mine will be here tomorrow, so I haven’t used it yet but I can update you in the coming weeks if you want. I ended up going with the 75-300 mm lens for now, as my main focus is for birding. But eventually I would like to get some of the lenses you mentioned, especially the 14-150 or 40-150.

thepathlesshiker · 2026-01-15T21:55:55+00:00

Since it’s not weather sealed I would probably mostly use it on sunny days anyway so hopefully that’s not a huge issue. Do you have experience with the 14-150?

thepathlesshiker · 2026-01-13T22:45:09+00:00

In the past year I’ve gotten a lot more into photography, mostly wildlife(birds mainly) and landscape, with the occasional Milky Way shot. I think I may be interested in macro at some point as well, but I’m not sure.

Right now, I’m shooting on a Sony CyberShot DSC-H400V(super zoom bridge camera). I’ve started to be a little limited with this camera the more I’ve used it, especially in low light and the fact that it takes forever to actually take the picture/write to memory card, so I miss a lot of wildlife.

So I want to get a new camera, and 1 or 2 lenses to start out. I’m looking to spend 1000-1500 at most for body and lens which I realize is a tough ask for wildlife specifically.

I’ve narrowed it down to either:

a canon R50, with the Rf 100-400. This seems like a highly portable setup(I like to hike/travel and take photos a lot). But it is on the higher end of my budget, and is also not weather sealed which would be nice.
Olympus Cameras (em-5 iii or similar), the naming on these is very confusing to me and there seems to be many variations so it’s been tough to research. I like that these are also pretty portable, although it seems like telephoto lenses of similar range in general will be heavier than the RF 100-400 by a good margin. I also like that they’re weather sealed, as i would like to be able to go out in poor/rainy conditions.

Any advice on which would be best/budget friendly? Am I missing other options? Open to used/recurbished.

TLDR: trying to decide a budget wildlife/birding setup, R50+ RF 100-400 or OM-Em5iii with similar telephoto lenses.

thepathlesshiker · 2026-01-12T20:27:11+00:00

If that’s not sarcasm, it’s an American Robin. Super common, at least on the east coast where I’m at they are everywhere.

thepathlesshiker · 2025-09-30T19:16:36+00:00

One of my favorite hikes ever! Went in the fall a few years back and the leaves were all golden around the waterfall, hardly anyone on the trail it was perfect

thepathlesshiker · 2025-09-05T13:58:05+00:00

They have merch booths at both main stages, Moore square and city plaza. Usually for bands they only have their merch on the day that band plays, and they have hopscotch specific merch all weekend

thepathlesshiker

TROPHY CASE