With an IP53, the optic is tested to withstand most dust, as well as jets of water up to a 60-degree angle. x 83mm – which shorter than a soda can –and weighs a mere 190g –which is just over half the weight of a can of soda. So a fairer comparison in terms of what you can actually achieve in terms of reach and depth-of-field may be something like Canon’s EF 70-300mm f4. It’s actually a pretty fun effect, though the flare doesn’t look that way if the sun is partially blocked by the subject.

Whatever system you use, don’t be afraid of cranking the ISO, there’s no way around that in anything other than perfect light, and in my opinion people are far too fussy about a small sprinkling of noise (which is rarely noticeable in print). Attempting nature photography at a very wide aperture can be risky and would generally be reserved for certain subjects in more predictable or creative conditions. But, while many manufacturers will label a lens as weather-sealed but not say exactly how much weather is too much, OM System has added an official IP rating to this lens. OM Systems have paid close attention to this aspect of lens use, employing a 7-segment diaphragm with rounded blades for some pleasing bokeh.

Of course when you use slower apertures, the sharpness slightly increases but I haven’t noticed a big difference overall. It can be adjusted to any position by loosening the locking screw with your fingers, rotating the collar, then re-tightening it. It's not the most friendly of manual focus designs, but the 100% magnification on the LCD really helps nail an accurate focus.

It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread.This time set to S-AF mode with the light fading, but still bright enough to shoot wide open at 200 ISO with the stabilisation enabled. As many of you will know over the last couple of years I’ve turned exclusively to Micro 4/3 cameras and lenses which I now use for all of my professional and personal work (bar the very rare occasions when I’m part of an event with Canon).