Took the 100-400L to the Zoo today!

[nicksan]

So I've had this lens for a week. I just couldn't stand not going to the zoo, so I took a day off from work, and went all by myself. Even bought an annual membership that entitles me to hit the other 4 zoos in the area!

Earlier today, I picked up a 30D, specifically purchased for the 1.6x CF and zoo shooting. I took it with me and towards the end of the day used it.

There were number of occasions where I felt I missed the f2.8 on my 70-200 f2.8 IS, which I left at home, but all in all, the 100-400 performed like a champ. (There was another fellow with this exact lens...why do we white lens owners have to always do the "staring game"? :D )

Anyways, it was a pleasure being able to shoot at 400mm. Last month, I had the 70-200 and the 1.4x TC with me...wasn't so bad...but not quite enough!

400mm f5.6 1/60 through the glass. (Oops...this one was actually with the 1.4x TC. Hard to remember b/c I taped the pins and it doesn't report back to the camera!)
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p1041119552-4.jpg

100mm f4.5 1/50 through the glass.
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p853490594-4.jpg

400mm f5.6 /320
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p1027243423-4.jpg

100mm f4.5 1/50 Through the dirty glass they have up...
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p850675595-4.jpg

[nicksan]

Just for those curious about IQ with the 1.4TC, took a few...only a few. 400mm was long enough.

400mm + 1.4x TC = 560mm f5.6 1/250 AF
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p900530515-4.jpg

400mm + 1.4x TC = 560mm f5.6 1/320 AF
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p860425761-4.jpg

400mm + 1.4x TC = 560mm f5.6 1/250 AF (Through the glass)
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p842438674-4.jpg

[PaCiFiSt]

Congrats on the purchase, I wish I had one!

[nicksan]

And finally, I used the 30D + 100-400L for the last few shots.

One thing I noticed when I switched to the 30D was of course the VF got darker and the AF isn't as fast as the 5D. (Dunno about the AF...should be similar to the 5D no? Oh well..it felt like it was "dragging")


400mm f5.6 1/250
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p997701851-4.jpg

400mm f5.6 1/640
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p804494443-4.jpg

400mm f5.6 1/160
http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p959691572-4.jpg

[nicksan]

Oh....and here's a little parting shot. (Blurry...I was in a rush to take this pic...;) )

http://nicksan.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p716142915-4.jpg

[ed rader]

nicksan -- those all look very good. which were taken with the 30d? the 5d focusses faster. it's interesting that you noticed the difference :D !

ed rader

[tsw910]

hey Nick .. were these all hand held ? if so .. nice stuff !

[TMR Design]

Wow Nick!! Now I really do have to get to the zoo. I'm jealous.
Very nice shots and I looking back on your 70-200 shots I can see why you needed the added reach and what it offers.

Beautiful stuff. I have been toying with the idea of either the 300mm f/4 L IS or the 100-400mm you have. Any thoughts in terms of a comparison. Do you feel that for this kind of shooting have a prime could be too limiting?

[gooble]

Those were very good looking. I really want that lens and your pictures aren't making it any easier to hold on to my money.

Right now I'm taking a lot of pictures with my EF 70-200 f/4L non IS and the sharpness is outstanding, as well as CA, contrast etc. I'm probably being spoiled and wonder how the 100-400 will compare. Any thoughts on that? How much PP sharpening did you have to do on these shots?

[ed rader]

Those were very good looking. I really want that lens and your pictures aren't making it any easier to hold on to my money.

Right now I'm taking a lot of pictures with my EF 70-200 f/4L non IS and the sharpness is outstanding, as well as CA, contrast etc. I'm probably being spoiled and wonder how the 100-400 will compare. Any thoughts on that? How much PP sharpening did you have to do on these shots?

i also own the 70-200L f4 IS. and i own the the 300L f4 IS and i recently rented the 100-400L.

you're right in saying that the shorter zoom is spoiling you because it's the sharpest. i'd say the 300L f4 IS without a TC is close.

ed rader

[nicksan]

nicksan -- those all look very good. which were taken with the 30d? the 5d focusses faster. it's interesting that you noticed the difference :D !

ed rader

The 3 pics in Post #4 (The set that includes the peacock) were taken with the 30D.

I think the only reason why I felt it was I had both bodies with me. So the "feel" of the 5D was still fresh. Took 2 minutes to dismount the lens from 5D and mount in on the 30D.

I was welcomed with an obvious smaller/darker VF and slower AF! Definitely has more of a tendency to hunt than the 5D. I'm not saying it's bad...

But the 30D delivers the good just the same...needed to watch that ISO though... On the 5D I don't even think about it.

Interesting that the 30D makes me appreciate the 5D that much more.

I regret that I never got to do a A-B shot of the same scene with the 30D and the 5D to see what kind of results I would get with the 1.6x CF...

[nicksan]

hey Nick .. were these all hand held ? if so .. nice stuff !

Yes, most were handheld.
For the through-the-glass shots, I took off the hood, and pressed the lens (don't worry...I've got an UV filter on:D ) directly on the glass. That provided me with a steady enough base where I could get decent shots.

The one thing I noticed was that I had a good amount of non-keepers due to user error. I am still familiarizing myself with this lens.

The problem seems to be: 1) Remembering to use fast enough shutter speed at the longer FL's 2) Remembering that the IS is 2-stops, not 3-stops.

The f4.5-f5.6 has a little to do with this I suppose! Last time I went to the zoo I barely had any non-keepers (well, any due to blur) with my 70-200 f2.8 IS.

[nicksan]

Wow Nick!! Now I really do have to get to the zoo. I'm jealous.
Very nice shots and I looking back on your 70-200 shots I can see why you needed the added reach and what it offers.

Beautiful stuff. I have been toying with the idea of either the 300mm f/4 L IS or the 100-400mm you have. Any thoughts in terms of a comparison. Do you feel that for this kind of shooting have a prime could be too limiting?

Yeah, Ed did that comparison not too long ago and I think his conclusion was that the 300 was sharper, but they were both very good lenses.

Quite obviously the 100-400 wins in flexibility as far as FL is concerned.

I like my zooms even though I realize that the primes have superior IQ so the 100-400 was a natural choice for me.

I've used the 100mm end quite a lot as well, since when you are the through-the-glass exhibits, the animals can get pretty close up on you.

I've read about soft copies with the 100-400 though. I seemed to have lucked out and got myself a really sharp one.

This certainly is a GREAT zoo lens, that's for sure!

[nicksan]

Those were very good looking. I really want that lens and your pictures aren't making it any easier to hold on to my money.

Right now I'm taking a lot of pictures with my EF 70-200 f/4L non IS and the sharpness is outstanding, as well as CA, contrast etc. I'm probably being spoiled and wonder how the 100-400 will compare. Any thoughts on that? How much PP sharpening did you have to do on these shots?

I would assume that the 70-200 is sharper in that range than the 100-400, especially the f4 IS version. Now that lens has built up a reputation as being really sharp!

I do RAW conversion in ACR, and in PS I apply some light USM. That's my workflow at the moment, whether the image needs it or not. A lot of the images were sharp without USM.

My thinking is that since I decided that I need 400mm, buy a lens that does that "natively"...

[Leorooster]

Very good, Nick! I haven't gone there this year. When I first got the 100-400L, like you I went straight to Bronx Zoo. Did you have a mono with you? I love carrying a mono with me when going there, especially when going indoor for the birds. I will soon pay a visit there to give my new 300 2.8 a hard push :lol: :lol:

Congrats, BTW! I'm sure you will enjoy it in the years to come ;)

[wannabegood]

Outstanding shots! I simply have to get my 5D and 70-200 2.8IS out to the Cameron Park Zoo! Try the 1.4 extender out as well-hmmmm.....

Thanks for sharing!

hmmm....come to think of it, the Fort Worth Zoo has great views with no glass or cages, can hardly wait! I got these awesome tools in Jan. so havent tried the zoo shots out yet, thanks for reminding me.

[Mark_Cohran]

Nice shots, Nick. I guess it didn't storm too bad after all.

Mark

[ed rader]

Nice shots, Nick. I guess it didn't storm too bad after all.

Mark

the light looks exceptional....maybe a little overcast :D ?

ed rader

[Mark_Cohran]

the light looks exceptional....maybe a little overcast :D ?

ed rader

The light is very good, isn't it. In another thread Nick was worried about the weather forecast. :)

Mark

[2005GLI]

handheld or tripod/monopod?

[Mark_Cohran]

I'm betting handheld - he would definitely be wanting to test the IS on the lens.

Mark

[nicksan]

the light looks exceptional....maybe a little overcast :D ?

ed rader

Yep, definitely overcast, which helps in giving everything contrast. (At least in my opinion...)

The sky sure looked like it wanted to push out some heavy rains, but thankfully it remained dry. (Well...the only downpour I saw was by that gorilla...:lol:)

[nicksan]

I'm betting handheld - he would definitely be wanting to test the IS on the lens.

Mark

Yep, handheld. Pressed against the glass at times.
I had to boost the ISO up to 800 at times, but on my 5D, that's not a problem at all.

I should get a mono, but my wife would probably beat me up with it! (as she yells "NO MORE CAMERA GEAR!!!")

[nicksan]

Very good, Nick! I haven't gone there this year. When I first got the 100-400L, like you I went straight to Bronx Zoo. Did you have a mono with you? I love carrying a mono with me when going there, especially when going indoor for the birds. I will soon pay a visit there to give my new 300 2.8 a hard push :lol: :lol:

Congrats, BTW! I'm sure you will enjoy it in the years to come ;)

Thanks Leorooster!
Means a lot coming from you!
Man, a 300 2.8...wow!
I'm sure that'll be something!:D

Next time, I have to remeber to bring the 100mm Macro (thanks for the 1000th time;)) with me...I saw lots of possibilities, especially in the butterfly gardens!

[timbop]

Nick,

Those are all great shots. Do you think you needed 400mm on the 30D, or would 300mm have been enough? I am going to St Louis in august and will definitely be hitting the zoo. I was going to leave my 400 at home and just put a TC on the 70-200/2.8.

[nicksan]

Well, I felt that the 400mm on my 5D was pretty much enough so I would assume, FOV-wise, the 300mm would give you something similar.

I had the 100-400 on my 30D towards the end of the day, but I didn't really notice the 1.6x CF in part because I failed to do an A/B test between the 30D and 5D...Doh!


Nick,

Those are all great shots. Do you think you needed 400mm on the 30D, or would 300mm have been enough? I am going to St Louis in august and will definitely be hitting the zoo. I was going to leave my 400 at home and just put a TC on the 70-200/2.8.

[scraggs]

Very nice shots
I got mine last week and am waiting to get a chance to go to the zoo.
One thing I have noticed with this lens is it takes quite a bit of getting use to weight wise stepping up from the 70-300 IS which I could handhold fairly solid.

[nicksan]

Very nice shots
I got mine last week and am waiting to get a chance to go to the zoo.
One thing I have noticed with this lens is it takes quite a bit of getting use to weight wise stepping up from the 70-300 IS which I could handhold fairly solid.


The push pull style zoom also takes getting used to. Getting the tension right is something I need to figure out.

The weight is similar to that of the 70-200 f2.8 IS.

Also "only" has 2 stops IS...instead of the 3.