Lenses for wildlife

[Dennis]

Hello All,

We get lots of pictures in this area, but there is very little discussion about what lenses we really use for those images. I think is might be interesting to share our experiences about the lens we shoot with.

My Main lens I shoot with are:

Nikon AF-S VR II 500mm f/4.0 IF-ED

This is my main lens when I shoot wildlife. It is a very heavy beast (8.6 lbs) and really on the expensive side. Very fast focus and very sharp even at wide open. Works very well with the 1.4 TC and not bad with the 1.7 TC and backgrounds are very nicely defocus-ed. It's not a lens to be hand-held, but in a pinch you can do this in short periods and besides the initial costs one will be needing to spend more $ for a camera bag to fit the lens, tripod and head for it.

Taken with the 500mm Lens




Here is another image with the 500mm and the 1.7 TC




The other lens I also have used in the past has been the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED. This is a none expensive lens, but don't be fooled be the low price, this is a tack sharp lens, and had it down south last year in Florida and loved it. Now Lynn is using this as her prime lens for Wildlife

So this is my story on what I use for wildlife images.

So do you have a story to share, come on you can do it.

[Lynn]

As Dennis mentioned I now use the following for my main lens:

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED


I just need to get used to this lens, it's very light and just enough for me to handle, and I can use the 1.4 TC with it to get me closer to the birds. It produces tack sharp images from what I have seen in Dennis's photos, but I'm not yet at that level, but getting better every time out

[peteyv]

Hi Dennis as you know my main lens is the 300mm F4. Sharp even with the 1.4 TC an easy lens to hand hold. Just need more reach for the small wildlife/birds trying to decide between a 500mm or a 300mm F2.8 with the new 2.0 TC, have been told the lens is still sharp and you just lose the two stops. I would prefer this route as the 300 F2.8 would be more versatile and a little less expensive.

[Dennis]

Hi Dennis as you know my main lens is the 300mm F4. Sharp even with the 1.4 TC an easy lens to hand hold. Just need more reach for the small wildlife/birds trying to decide between a 500mm or a 300mm F2.8 with the new 2.0 TC, have been told the lens is still sharp and you just lose the two stops. I would prefer this route as the 300 F2.8 would be more versatile and a little less expensive.

Peter, I can tell you that a couple of members here have the Canon 300mm lens f/2.8 and use this lens with the 1.4 TC on it all the time. I must say as well that when I had Canon gear I myself had the same lens and the results are just amazing. On the Canon lens though the 2.0 TC was soft looking. As for going this route with the Nikon 300mm f/2/.8 may be a very good choice and that new 2.0 TC will be nice with that particular lens. I have tried that 2.0 TC on the 500mm and thought it was a lot slower at locking on, but the results where very well acceptable for me, but decided to save the money and decided to purchase the 1.7 TC instead just in case I need that extra reach. Good luck on your choice but either way you go will be a good one.

[Dennis]

Well, the questions for what lens to use for Nature and Wildlife has always been around for some time, and the best ranges are really around the 70-200mm lens and up. Remember that bigger is not always better for shooting wildlife, and I say this for one reason and that is how you approach your subject is key. For small birds you can get away with getting close to them and the secret for most of them is not to look at them, and approach in a very slow manner, and move your camera gear to your eye the same way, and you`ll get the shot. OK some birds are more skiddish when humans approach them and there is nothing you can do except try and try again.

For black bears, moose, wolves etc; you`ll want to keep a very safe distance and really the longer lens are great in this case.

Then the question what is better a prime lens or a zoom lens. Prime lens will give you sharper images, as for the zoom it tends to be just slightly softer in a certain range for that particular lens.

If weight of the lens is an issue for your trip, try taking a 300mm lens and a TC in case you need that reach.

[Santosh]

Very good thread Dennis. I am thoroughly pleased with my 400mm f5.6L. I got the inspiration from Dennis. My opinion is 400mm f5.6 is an awsome lens. Goods are this is less expensive and easy to carry around. People say you can not use it in low light. But a flash can solve the problem.We can get close to many birds with practice. I have even used this lens with extension tube to get closer and to get frame filling images of birds. The lens is sharp wide open. The main thing in photography is mastering the equipment. If you master the equipment then you are sure to get some great shots. Some examples;

Shot with 30D + 400 5.6, ISO 1200, 500EX flash ( people say not to rise ISO above 400 with 30D. Pure myth)



This one shot with 12mm extension tube to get frame filling image.

[larkspur]

Santosh, did you use a Canon extension tube?

Very good thread Dennis. I am thoroughly pleased with my 400mm f5.6L. I got the inspiration from Dennis. My opinion is 400mm f5.6 is an awsome lens. Goods are this is less expensive and easy to carry around. People say you can not use it in low light. But a flash can solve the problem.We can get close to many birds with practice. I have even used this lens with extension tube to get closer and to get frame filling images of birds. The lens is sharp wide open. The main thing in photography is mastering the equipment. If you master the equipment then you are sure to get some great shots. Some examples;

Shot with 30D + 400 5.6, ISO 1200, 500EX flash ( people say not to rise ISO above 400 with 30D. Pure myth)



This one shot with 12mm extension tube to get frame filling image.

[Dennis]

[QUOTE=Santosh;28218]Very good thread Dennis. I am thoroughly pleased with my 400mm f5.6L. I got the inspiration from Dennis. My opinion is 400mm f5.6 is an awsome lens. Goods are this is less expensive and easy to carry around. People say you can not use it in low light. But a flash can solve the problem.We can get close to many birds with practice. I have even used this lens with extension tube to get closer and to get frame filling images of birds. The lens is sharp wide open. The main thing in photography is mastering the equipment. If you master the equipment then you are sure to get some great shots.

Thanks Santosh, I really thought that this would be an area that will be a work in progress for others that are looking into longer lens for there photography. Glad that I was part of the inspiration, and yes that is the perfect lens for birding along with the 300mm f/2.8 as well, although the 300 is much heavier, and you mentioned the extension tubes this is some thing that I'm starting to look into for Nikon just now, I see the have the 27mm, but I have not seen the smaller 12mm one.

Very good point Sanotsh about mastering your gear, this is so important to get to learn all the camera settings and adjustments, than and only than will you start to get great images.

[Santosh]

Santosh, did you use a Canon extension tube?

No. I used cheaper kenko tubes. My recomentation is cheaper Kenko tubes. Anyways these are plastic hollow tubes. So I they can not change the image quality. I do not like spending lots of money on big lenses and teleconverters when I can easily go near the birds to toget frame filling images. Another good thing about extension tube is you get perfect background blur due to close focusing distance of 400mm and without ANY loss of image quality. Here are some exaples of it. To get such background blur you would need at least a 500f4 + 1.4 TC. All these pictures were taken with 12mm kenko extension tube and 400mm f5.6
There were some bushes at the background.





In this image, there is a huge apartment building on the background. Which could be clearly visible without the tube.

[Bright Eye]

Great Shots By all of You... I have Natural Snaps Treasure Shoot with My K-5 Pentax. Can I share here in this forum.