A Birding Day Out: Tom Stirr, ProCapture and the M.Zuiko 150-600mm lens

This week, I met up with Tom Stirr of SmallSensorPhotography.com to spend a few hours photographing in two locations around Burlington, Ontario. It gave Tom and I an opportunity to catch up, while we worked towards capturing some bird photos. Tom is the resident expert on ProCapture, so that was one of my goals. The other was to try out his M.Zuiko 150-600mm ƒ5-6.3 IS zoom lens.

The light was terrible—flat without direction and seemingly colourless with no hint of warmth or sparkle. Both of us remarked that we wouldn’t normally be going out in weather like this, but to be shooting together was worth it. The day was cool for May (10°C) with a cool breeze off Lake Ontario, complete with the threat of rain. About an hour in, there was a brief shower, but we kept shooting, remarking on the advantage of the excellent IP rating of our OM gear. Tom, who has been to this same location regularly, recounted watching the SoNiCan crowd disperse with the first bit of rain.

One thing that surprised me about the day was how approachable the birds were in both locations: Grindstone Marsh and the La Salle Trail along Burlington Bay. At Grindstone, the Tree Swallows and Red-winged Blackbirds were all around us and the Great Blue Heron did not fly off at our first movement, like they do around where I live. At La Salle, it wasn’t just that the chickadees and nuthatches, who are accustomed to being hand-fed, but also the cardinals, wrens, even a Red-tailed Hawk that seemed to lack the skittishness found almost anywhere else. The warblers were more evasive, but that’s to be expected as they are just passing through.

Grindstone Marsh is a fairly small area, but with pathways that allow photographers to move around the marsh to capture different angles. The diversity is good, with many of the common waterbirds moving in an outl: Common Terns, Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Cormorants, plus a number of tree birds and, on better days, Ospreys feeding. Tom told me how this is quite a draw for the long lens crowd, with up to four osprey feeding at once, particularly when teaching the youngsters how to feed. Even under the dreadful conditions we had, we were both surprised at how quickly two hours passed, especially as we patiently waited for tree swallows to do something more than just perch.

ProCapture is a fascinating, if not slightly frustrating computational mode. It is ingenious in taking and spooling images prior to releasing the shutter, then saving the last 25 or so (how ever many are programmed) plus the number programmed after release. Given our naturally slow reaction times, it allows users to capture the moment a bird takes flight. Mid-air shots are far more interesting than static perching. For me, however, it will take some getting used to.

The theory of ProCapture is brilliant; it’s my practice, or lack of it, that generates the frustration. I end up taking a gazillion frames which I must then wade through, checking the sharpness of each. I’m also very poor at throwing frames in the bin, which I’ve had to learn to do en masse. My biggest faux pas is forgetting ProCapture is set, then wondering why dozens of frames are being saved to my card. As I become more proficient with ProCapture, I’m sure these teething problems will diminish. ProCapture is a technique Tom has mastered, so if you want to see how it is really done or have any questions about it, I direct you to the various articles he’s written at SmallSensorPhotography.com.

As far as the 150-600mm lens goes . . . I’ve been following the various online discussions around it and can now confidently say, what you read about the 150-600 simply being a re-branded Sigma lens is mostly hogwash. Yes, it’s made by Sigma, but to OM System’s specs. I noticed the additional weight right away, and though it is at the upper end of what I’m willing to carry around, it truly is an M.Zuiko lens through and through, given its excellent sharpness, its IPX1 water resistance and 5-axis IS that works with the camera’s own IBIS system for unparalleled stability.

The Wren below was photographed at 1/100th at 600mm (1200mm efov), which is unheard of. Tom has shots as low at 1/13. And the higher quality glass throughout means not only sharper photos, but snappy contrast as well. It is definitely a step up from my M.Zuiko 100-400mm. Having the extra reach of 600mm (more than adding a 1.4x teleconverter) at the same ƒ5-6.3 aperture, makes it a compelling lens, and is plenty fast enough with the OM’s excellent high ISO performance.

Ergonomically, the lens feels good in hand. It is solid and well-balanced. One very helpful feature is the push-pull zoom. While it has a rotating zoom collar, a switch on the side converts the lens to push-pull zooming, ideal for following birds and acquiring focus at lower magnifications, then zooming in to full magnification. The magnification level is high enough that this becomes the preferred shooting method, at least until one becomes more precise at raising the lens to the exact position of the bird—something which definitely requires practice.

To assist with the extra weight of the lens, Tom uses a Cotton Carrier Hyker Slingbag which integrates the Cotton Carrier slide holster for hands-free carrying. It also keeps the camera and lens ready-to-go. Without the Cotton Carrier, the lens itself has a strap and attachments which makes for much easier carrying than using an on-camera strap. Having now been bitten by the bug, it becomes difficult to argue against purchasing this lens, though the CAD $3600 price tag is nothing to sneeze at (currently on sale from OM System for CAD $2900 until 1 June 2025). I switched away from my Nikkor 200-500mm zoom specifically because it was a heavy lens—do I really want to be using a lens nearly that heavy again? Hmmm. Food for thought.

What are your thoughts? Do you have experience using ProCapture and/or the M.Zuiko 150-600mm zoom? Engage in the conversation by adding a COMMENT or a question below.