Features & Functions

How a Lightweight Telephoto Changes the Game for Wildlife Photography For wildlife photographers, mobility is everything. Get some professional insight into the benefits of finding useful telephoto coverage in a compact design, in lenses like FUJINON XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR

Stay Light, Stay Ready

One of the biggest advantages of a lightweight telephoto lens is the ability to stay open to unplanned opportunities. As Hughes puts it, having a portable long lens means you can be ‘more spontaneous’, moving quickly and adapting to shifting conditions.

“Because of its weight, it’s the kind of lens that opens up fleeting opportunities since you might otherwise have thought twice about packing a lens with that reach.”

Whether spotting a bird in flight or photographing an unexpected moment of wildlife interaction, mobility can mean the difference between getting a photo or missing it entirely.

Photo 2021 © Seth Hughes
Photo 2021 © Seth Hughes | FUJIFILM X-T4 and FUJINON XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR, 1/450 sec at F5.6, ISO 160

Telling a More Complete Story

Great photography is about storytelling, and this lens helps Hughes do just that. Its versatile focal range allows him to seamlessly transition between wide, environmental photos and detailed close-ups, giving his work depth and perspective.

As he explains: “A long lens like this helps tell a more complete story,” offering the ability to frame subjects in different ways without constantly changing gear.

Photo 2021 © Seth Hughes
Photo 2021 © Seth Hughes | FUJIFILM X-T4 and FUJINON XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR

Be Ready for the Unexpected

Wildlife photography often demands patience and adaptability. A compact, high-quality long lens allows photographers to explore freely, react quickly, and be fully present in the moment. Seth also saw the benefits of the lens’s Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) that, combined with FUJIFILM X-T4’s in-body image stabilization, enables a 6.5-stop advantage.

“Often, lighter lenses feel less stable than heavier ones, but XF70-300mmF4-5.6 wasn’t like that. We also used it with FUJINON XF2X TC WR Teleconverter, which creates a huge 140-600mm range (210-900mm equivalent). That gave us some great images – and was where image stabilization became even more important.”