Going to the Zoo in a few hours...

[dsze]

In a few hours I will be taking my parents, my wife's parents, my wife and our 2 little girls to the zoo.... I will need my camera (security blanket syndrome)...maybe I should have made this part of my "addicted & obsessed" thread! :D

Anyway, I don't want to carry my entire bag, but I've never been on a "zoo shoot" so I'm unsure of what to bring...I've also haven't been to a zoo since I was a kid. So what do ya think; 70-200 exclusively or maybe carry the 50 in-pocket? Or maybe try to get by with just the 28-75? ...and what about Flash, should I take the 420EX?

I know these are very general questions, and maybe I should tell you that my primary objective is to get some animal shots for large prints for my daughter's room. My secondary obj. is to shoot my girls having fun! So, I know that I've seen some outstanding zoo photos on here and some of you guys might have some advice for me.

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!
-daniel

[roanjohn]

70-200 f4L!!!! That and the nifty fifty for those indoor zoo stuff with low light.

Okay........and maybe the 28-75 for general stuff.

I don't think the flash is necessary for a nice day. Would be nice though.

RO1

[tommykjensen]

70-200 f4L!!!! That and the nifty fifty for those indoor zoo stuff with low light.


I second that!

My 70-200 f4L have more or less become my walkaround lens :D

[Scottes]

I just spent a day at the zoo yesterday (pictures are in Share here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=41836)) and I used the 100-400 exclusively. So I'd say the 70-200 and maybe the 28-75 just in case, but you may just keep the 70-200 the whole time.

The flash can be useful, but I wasn't too happy with most of my flash shots. Generally the walls behind the animals are so close that you get a lot of reflection and vivid shadows. At least in the zoo I went to. I only posted one of my flash shots (the Double Barred Finch) and you can see what I mean.

[robertwgross]

Use the longest lens you have, and add a teleconverter if necessary.

With a focal length up to 100mm, you get a shot of a cage with an animal in it. With a much longer focal length, you can get a shot of an animal face.

In May, when I was at the zoo, I got some excellent shots of lemurs, but I was using a focal length of around 700x (x1.6 factor).

Tigers also. I kind of hate to crawl into the cage with those kitties to get a face shot.

---Bob Gross---

[Sketcher]

It's nice to have a lens or two in the bag for when a WA shot is needed but in my experience, I'm always wanting for longer glass at the Zoo.

[dsze]

Thanks...wow, that was alot of response in such a short time. I guess thats why we love this forum!

I'll probably just take the 70-200 and maybe the 50 in my pocket. I think the 28-75 in my pocket could look suspicious. :wink:

Thanks for confirming the flash issue...with the glass and the close walls, I was wondering if flash would work at all. One less thing to carry around.

My 70-200 used to be my walk-around too, until I got my 28-75... but for the zoo, as Robert stated, the longer the better it sounds. Wish I had a teleconverter for my 70-200. Oh well.

Scottes, nice shots! We'll see if I can get some of that calibre~

Thanks everyone!
-daniel

[Scottes]

Good luck, and have fun. Remember - "A bad day at the zoo is better than a good day digging a big hole for no reason."

[tommykjensen]

Wish I had a teleconverter for my 70-200. Oh well.


You should get a 1,4x as soon as You can the quality is still amazing. Have a look at this. (http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photohtml.php?n=zootest14x2.jpg)

[drisley]

My last trip to the zoo (http://www.fotop.net/sharpnsmart/zoo) I used the 135F2L exclusively. Initially I used it bare, but half way thru I added the 1.4x tcon. This worked marvelously!
I even had a to shoot a few slow shots indoors and had no problems.
THIS (http://www.fotop.net/sharpnsmart/zoo/CRW_2536) picture was taken at 189mm, F2.8, ISO1600 and it was handheld at 1/50s. It was inside a VERY dark building designed to simulate a cave.
If I had used the Thrifty Fifty, I would not have been able to get so close.
I think it's pretty rare to find any animals that get close enough to you for a tight shot with a 50mm. However, that was just my experience. I'm going back tomorrow and I'm anxious to see if my previous experience helps. :)

[HJMinard]

I concur with the 70-200. On a recent zoo trip that is all I used, and I was very happy with the results. At times I wished for the longer reach that I don't currently possess, but never for shorter or faster.

Have fun :!:

[toddb]

Polarize filter. This is great to slap on to get those nice pictures of the hippos in the water or the glare will just kill the shot. Also if there is enough light, enables you to cut the glare to see through glass. So depending on how much sun light, on those shinier animals, this can really help.

http://www.toddburke.net/images/2004_06/pages/CRW_2730.htm

[abel]

i usually carry a monopod with me on my trips to the zoo. it helps out a ton. i shoot with a 70-200 f2.8

http://www.nitrocross.com/images/pad/2004-08-Aug/21aug04a.jpg

http://www.nitrocross.com/images/pad/2004-08-Aug/21aug04b.jpg

next time i plan to take my flash as well since i see a lot of zoo photographers use them to fill in shadows and give those all important catch lights in the animals eyes...

[dsze]

Well, thanks for all the help. I ended up shooting with the 70-200 all day and yes, I wished I had the 1.4 extender or more! There were only a couple of time when I wanted something wider and that was just to get the family-group shots. When I get them sorted and processed I'll try to post a few of the better ones for you all.

thanks,
daniel

[robertwgross]

... There were only a couple of time when I wanted something wider and that was just to get the family-group shots. ...

Which side of the cage was the family on, inside or outside?

---Bob Gross---

[dsze]

lol..... well, my mother in law was visited at the ...... no, no, no. They were all on my side of the cages. :)

-daniel