It's All Happening At The Zoo (1 Viewer)

[Cees Alons]

You moved correctly to make both eyes visible.
I agree that the limits often imposed to the photographer's position are part of the problem. Trying to get the lens through one of those openings isn't a viable solution with these cats.

Those animals are caged, that's how it is, and your shot catches that perfectly.


Cees

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Here are a few from our trip today to the Detroit Zoo. I wanted to try out my new Canon 5D3.

This one was taken with an ISO of 12,800! I was too lazy to switch lenses, plus wanted to see how a really high ISO would turn out. This was shot through glass.

 

[dmiller68]

Great shots!! I really like the eagle shot!

 

[Cees Alons]

Beau-ti-ful!

(And I like the bears too.)


Cees

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Cees, the bears were a new addition to the zoo this spring, and a pleasant surprise. They are three male grizzly cubs rescued from Alaska after their mother was shot. The Detroit Zoo already has a couple of adult grizzlies, so these three are being kept in a separate area to keep them away from the adults. Two of the cubs were being very playful while we were there.
The file sizes for these shots were quite large -- the high ISO shot of the meerkat was over 31MB after converting to JPEG! I had to process the RAW files a second time to fit them under Smugmug's 12MB per file size limit. I have not compared the shots yet with the versions at the highest JPEG quality setting to see if I am losing much quality. I had to do this occasionally with high ISO shots on my 7D, but not to this extent.

 

[Carlo_M]

Congrats on the 5DIII Scott, great looking pics! Amazing what the high ISO shot looks like!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Here a a few more. It was unfortunate that the tigers and lions were both laying down, so I couldn't get any decent shots of them this trip. Every time we visit we end up seeing something a little different.

The Australian Outback exhibit is really cool -- you actually walk through the exhibit and the kangaroos and wallabies roam freely. Most were laying down this time, and this one was in very bright sunlight, making the shot a challenge to make look decent in post processing.

 

[Cees Alons]

Great shots. And the colours are really magnificent and natural.

Fantastic camera (and excellent photographer )!


Cees

 

[Carlo_M]

Scott - what lens were you using?

 

[dmiller68]

More great shots! Now that the weather is getting really nice here I may need to hit the zoo more often.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Scott - what lens were you using?

Carlo, all the shots I posted were with the 100-400mm L. I also took a few indoor shots at the amphibian and penguin exhibits with the 135mm f/2 L. I normally would use that lens at the meerkat exhibit, too, but wanted to see how a really high ISO worked with the 5D3. The penguin shots never turn out well, as the penguin house is quite old. Lighting is not very good, and the glass is very cloudy / dirty, which just kills the contrast in the shots.
Here is one from the amphibian exhibit using the 135mm f/2 L (still shot through glass, where I was battling reflections from other visitors):

This is probably the best of the penguin shots:

More great shots! Now that the weather is getting really nice here I may need to hit the zoo more often.

The place was getting crowded when we left (we always get there early to beat the crowds), so lots of people are thinking that way around here. I just sent in the renewal for our membership, so we will be making a few more visits this year. It's a great way to spend 2-3 hours and get some exercise.

 

[Sam Posten]

I love the bazooka! The 100-400L beats the pants off the 80-400VR but isn't up to the sharpness of the 70-300VR tho obviously it has 100mm more reach. If I was Canon full time tho the 100-400 would definitely be in my stable.... Heavy bugger tho!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Sam,
I've had the 100-400L for a couple of years now, and it really is an excellent lens for the price. I like the versatility of the zoom over the 400mm f/5.6 prime, since I shoot a lot of different types of wildlife. It's image stabilization could use an update, but I just need to pay attention to my shutter speed. I tried to keep it at 1/1000sec on my 7D for sharp images, although I will go slower if necessary. I expect I can go a little slower as a starting point on the 5D3 -- maybe 1/800sec.
Canon now makes a 70-300L IS that gets great reviews and is around the same price. However, I really want the extra 100mm of reach. I can always put a 1.4x TC on my 70-200mm f/4 L IS to get close to 300mm and not lose much quality or AF performance. That lens ends up being my lighter weight option when I do not need the extra reach, since the 100-400L can be heavy to lug around, as you said.

 

[dmiller68]

I have been pretty happy with my Sigma 100-400. Doesn't go down to as low an F stop as the Canon though.

 

[dmiller68]

I went to the zoo today... Here are some shots from todays vist that I'm happy with for the most part. I will say I don't have the post processing talent you guys have.

If you want to see some of the other shot you can check out my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmiller68/sets/72157629804741980/

 

[Sam Posten]

BADASS, Nice work!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Beautiful shots, David! I assume these were taken with your Sigma 120-400mm telephoto? If so, that lens looks like a keeper.

 

[dmiller68]

Yes, all the shots where taken with the Sigma. I took the following shot with the Sigma 2x tele-macro converter.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I strongly considered the Sigma 120-400mm before buying the Canon 100-400L. I didn't like the larger size/weight of the Siggy 150-500mm, but the 120-400mm was very attractive. A Canon double rebate pushed me to the 100-400L, as is dropped the price by over $200. By the look of your photos, I wouldn't have made a bad choice if I'd picked the Sigma.

 

[Carlo_M]

Just had to post, my friend is getting married tomorrow and so I went to my local camera shop and rented the EF 70-200 L IS USM II. Been taking some shots around the apartment, practicing for indoor use both with and without flash (580EX II) and within the 70-200mm focal range there isn't a thing that this lens can't do! Since I rented it at the end of the day, and they're closed Sunday, I get the lens until Monday for $35. Not bad for a $2500 lens. Attached to my 7D the limiting factor at the wedding tomorrow will definitely be the skill of the photographer.
It is a heavy mo-fo. I put the lens, flash and camera on the kitchen scale and got 7.2 lbs. Time to go charge the 7D batteries and Eneloops (for the flash).