Safari advice: Oly 40-150 Pro, Pany 100-400 or Oly 50-200?

anupamkatkar wrote:

James Pilcher wrote:

I've been on safari in southern Africa. Lens speed is important, as I believe you already understand. Having a lens limited to f/5.6 or f/6.3 at the long end relegates it to mid-day sunny shooting or embarrassingly high ISO. Having f/2.8 lets you shoot earlier and later in the day, and more easily into the woods at the edges of the clearings. I would even consider taking along the M.Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 to gain another 1-1/3 stop of speed, which is up to a whopping 3-2/3 stops advantage over some of the slower zooms! In low light, a sharp 150mm equiv at f/1.8, possibly needing to crop, is far better than a blurry 300mm equiv @ f/5.6, due to too slow a shutter speed.

I've strongly considered the 75mm as well! When I was new to photography, I went on a few safaris with the 14-42 kit lens. The 75mm would have made a huge difference then. But on the flip side, there's a huge FL gap between 75mm and my 300mm, and 3 bodies seems a bit much to juggle.
For the past couple days, I've been researching the Olympus 150mm f2 as well. Sure, it lacks the versatility of the 40-150 or 50-200, but it's the only one that matches (or surpasses) the 'feel' of the 75mm. And by feel, I mean brightness, sharpness, bokeh, pop ... the whole deal.
I'm going to sound pretty stupid to some when I say this, but as much as I've been craving the 40-150 Pro, it seems to lack the sharpness of the 75mm or 300mm Pro, at least based on samples on Pixel Peeper. Sure, the old 50-200mm isn't much better, but then again, it doesn't cost $1200.

Well, if you can find a good 150mm f/2 (affectionately known to 4/3 old timers as the Little Tuna), it’s an astounding lens. I did not mention it because of it being a 4/3 lens, and because of its size; a bit of a monster. I have lusted after that lens  since the day was introduced. I’d have to spring for a OM-D E-M1 Mk II right now to get decent AF with it.

I hope your safaris are wonderful. Post your photos here!

Jim Pilcher
Summit County, Colorado, USA
Life is good in the woods