Comparisons

For the past few weekends, DW and I have taken advantage of some of the mild weather to grab our cameras and go looking for bird opportunities.

But for the past two weeks, I've been a bit reluctant. First, I'm trying to sell my Nikkor 200–500mm f/5.6 lens, and I have been keeping it packed up in bubble wrap and its soft case. I don't enjoy having to unpack it each time we decide to head out, and I worry that I risk having an accident with it, even though I've never damaged any lens I've ever owned.

Second—and here's the biggest reluctance—I don't look forward to hefting my Nikon D750 with a 2.3 kg lens. Every time I use the lens, my left elbow and shoulder ache from lifting the camera to my face.

I've been trying to sell my extra gear—a Nikon D7200 and five lenses—without much success, so far. I've had a few people legitimately interested in the big lens but haven't had any nibbles for the other equipment. Perhaps, people are turning away from D-SLRs and, like me, are interested in mirrorless cameras.

I've visited our local camera stores to look closely at some systems that would satisfy my needs. I really like the OM System—in particular, the OM-1 Mark II with the 100–400mm lens—but the price is prohibitive.

I could really use a benefactor.

I compared the OM-1 with the Fujifilm X-T5, and while both were impressive, I preferred the OM System. For birding, the focus system was unbeatable, plus the effective two-times reach of the micro four-thirds was very attractive.

Just not the price.

"Why don't you go with the gear I have?" asked DW. In December, she upgraded her Canon M50 for an R7 body and a 100–400mm lens. While we were in Costa Rica, she captured some outstanding shots of birds, thanks to the focus lock on a bird's eyes.

I didn't relish the idea of having the same system. While being able to save on lenses is efficient and economical, I thought it would be strange that we had two identical 100–400mm lenses. After all, we'd both want to be able to capture wildlife from afar.

She suggested I could get a 600mm lens, but I'm trying to lighten the load of my gear.

"You could try my camera and see if you like it," she suggested.

"Sure, I'll use your camera and you can use mine," I said.

Yesterday, we awoke early and headed out to the Bruce Pit, near Highway 416 and Baseline Road. There's a huge off-leash dog park on the site but there's also wetland that is dog-free. In the winter, part of this park is used for sledding.

As soon as we got out of the car, I heard the call of a cardinal and several red-wing blackbirds. Activating my Merlin app, I detected Canada geese, goldfinches, song sparrows, crows, dark-eyed juncos, and what appeared to be a pied-billed grebe, though we never saw it.

The red-wing blackbirds were in abundance, flittering on bullrushes and bare bushes. DW and I decided that we'd stop and try to capture them from their perches.

DW gave me her Canon camera and told me it was configured for photographing birds. I have some settings that I've used for capturing moving birds, and I made sure they were set up when I handed over my Nikon.

"Oh, my God, this is heavy," DW said as she took my camera.

"Have fun," I said.

We spent almost an hour taking photographs. Here is a shot that DW took with my Nikon gear:

Here's the shot that I took with her Canon camera:

In post processing, I applied the same settings for exposure, fill light, sharpening, and white balance. For cropping, I tried to approximate the same magnification but DW was standing closer to the bird.

Some of our shots were fairly similar but in others, I found the Nikon wasn't as tack-sharp as some of the photos taken with the Canon. As I looked through the viewfinder, I could see the focus system lock onto the bird's eyes and stay locked. The Nikon D750 just isn't that advanced.

But the biggest thing I noticed was that I took more than 100 shots with the Canon, while DW only shot a couple dozen photos with the Nikon.

"When I raised the camera to track and shoot," she said, "I found I couldn't hold the camera up for very long. My arm got tired."

"Welcome to my world," I said. "With my arthritis, it gets downright painful to hold the camera up."

With her Canon, I could hold it up indefinitely. I never got tired. To me, it weighted next to nothing (with the body and lens, it weighs about 1.3 kg).

Back in the car, we started comparing notes, but overall it comes down to the weight of my camera. It's just too heavy. But there was no denying that the focus system of the Canon was unbeatable.

After lunch, we had some errands to run and we decided that we'd make a stop at the Henry's in Kanata, where DW bought her Canon. The sales rep. that she dealt with was there and asked her about our trip to Costa Rica and how her new camera performed.

I wanted to see the OM System again, but our guy said that they only bring them in by order. I had held one at our downtown Vistek, when I compared it with the Fuji camera, so I knew I could go there if I wanted. But I've been pretty loyal to Henry's over the years so I wanted to give this guy my business if I could.

"What about the Sony cameras?" I asked him. I specifically wanted to look at the A6700 but unfortunately, he only had a floor model, and it seemed that one of the staff members had borrowed it.

I asked about other OM cameras, such as the OM-D. Again, he said the OM System cameras were only available through online orders, but he told me there were so many flavours of this camera and I didn't know which one was which.

I told him I'd do some more research into those and wouldn't take up any more of his time. Though, I did learn that if I were to trade in my 200–500mm lens, I'd lose less than $150 off of what I was asking for it through Kijiji.

Something more for me to think about.

Back home, DW and I watched several YouTube videos on the OM-5 and the Sony A6700. I'm impressed with the focus-tracking capabilities of the Sony, and when we looked at the specs, we learned that getting the body with a 75–350mm lens (which gave an effective focal length of 105–525mm versus a full-frame camera) would only weigh about 1.1 kg.

Compelling.

My next step is to take a full inventory of my camera gear, including filters for the lenses (I have some ND and solar filters that might be worth something), and get a trade-in value from our guy at Henry's. I might have some other gear kicking around that I don't use, and I'll put it all toward whatever camera I decide to get.

The only thing to decide is which system I'll end up with.

Stay tuned.