Bird photography is an exceptional genre that allows one to see the beauty and rigor of avian creatures around the world. Some photographers prefer to document these winged creatures in flight, while others wait to showcase their close-ups, helping us appreciate what makes them so different. If you are someone who has always been enamored by birds and their habitat, then you have come to the right place. These five lenses offer you a chance to get closer to birds and capture their magnificence in a myriad of ways.
Olympus 150-400mm f4.5 Pro
The Olympus 150-400mm is a perfect option for MFT users into bird photography. The lens features a built-in 1.25x teleconverter, 9 aperture blades, and a magnification from 0.12 to 0.29x. The 4.1-lb lens has a close focusing distance of 4.3 feet and is weather resistant. The lens is good at focusing, has really sharp and beautiful image quality, and features an internal zooming system. The bokeh and colors are some added benefits.
NIKKOR Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S
Nikon offers bird photographers an ideal solution, the Nikkor Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S has nine rounded blades, a 77mm filter thread, a 0.38x maximum magnification, and a 2.5 feet close focusing distance. It measures 3.9 × 8.7 inches and weighs 1435g. The 100-40mm is weather sealed, offers minimal focus breathing, and has great colors. “The lens delivers the sharpness and color that I’ve come to expect from the S series,” we said in our review. “Yet, it’s pretty portable considering the long reach and doesn’t need a tripod. It doesn’t skip out weather-sealing or durability either.”
Canon 100-500mm f4.5-7.1 L IS USM
Canon 100-500mm is a great lens for bird photography. It offers 5 stops of image stabilization, 9 aperture blades for soft, gorgeous bokeh, and weighs only 3 lbs. The lens has a 3ft focusing distance, is weather-sealed, and is really lightweight. Users also get good colors, sharpness, and also provides a fast focusing mechanism. As we said in our review, “For what this lens is, it’s exemplary, and I think that any serious birding photographer will really enjoy it as long as you’re not hiking with it for a while.”
Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 Di III
The 150-500mm from Tamron is huge but manageable, weighing 1,725g and measuring 8.3 inches in length. It has an 82mm filter, a minimum object distance of 0.6m at 150mm and 1.8m at the telephoto end, and 7 circular aperture blades. The 150-500mm offers great colors and image quality, and it is good for both Sony and Fujifilm mounts. As we said in the review, “Despite making a big zoom compact, the lens does a good job of managing distortion and aberration.”
Sony 600mm F4 G Master OSS
The Sony 600mm is ideal for bird photography. The lens features 11 aperture blades, a 0.14x maximum magnification, and a close focusing distance of 4.5m. The 600mm has a filter diameter of 40.5mm, it measures 163.6×449mm, and weighs 3,040g. The lens is designed for professionals, as it has a hefty price tag, but it is fast at autofocusing and offers an exceptional image quality. “It’s also able to use Sony’s fantastic autofocus system to capture subjects moving quickly,” as we said in our review. “While doing that, it’s capable of resolving a heck of a lot of detail. By all means, the Sony 600mm f4 G Master OSS is a no-compromise lens.”