Canon 100-400 L at Glacier National Park Question!

[ankitj]

Hi everyone,

I am finally heading to GNP. I have rented the 1-4L and will be using it with my XT. I will also be taking along my Tammy 17-50 2.8, for the landscape shots.

I have zero experience with super telephoto lenses and have been doing a lot of reading on the canon 1-4L.

I usually shoot in M and play around with settings a lot. But I am afraid I won't have time to do that when shooting wildlife. On this forum, I read that shooting in Av mode is preferable for wildlife. I played with the lens yesterday evening and found that in Av mode, at F5.6, the shutter speed wants to hang out around 1/50. This speed is fine for still subjects, but wildlife is not always still.

If I want to avoid lugging my tripod on the 5+ mile hikes, are there any recommendations on camera settings, besides increasing the ISO? The ISO on my XT only goes up to 1600.

Any other recommendations on using this lens for wildlife photography will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

AJ

[Scottes]

ISO 400 - 800 is fairly normal when using the 100-400L. I try to keep that lens at f/7.3 or f/8, too, for sharpness.

This thread has a lot of good info on the 100-400L from several bird shooters.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=705691

[Tom Reichner]

What a great choice Glacier is! Up at Logan Pass you should find some worthy subjects, including Mountain Goats, Bighorn SHeep, Columbian and Golden Mantled ground squirrels, and Ptarmigan. You may also see a Hoary Marmot.

One thing that will help with the 100-400 is the close minimum focusing distance. It'll be a big help if you find ground squirrels or Ptarmigan that allow you to come extremely close.

As far as settings go, I would stick to ISO 400-800, and try to shoot at f7.1 or f8 if possible. If you cannot achieve the shutter speeds you need for sharp images at these apertures, then of course stop up to f5.6.

I've used that very lens on several occasions up on Logan Pass, and it's done well by me.

Another thing - don't forget to try to combine "wildlife" and "scenic" shots, if possible. It's so easy to get into a grove photographing wildlife such as sheep or goats, and before you know it they're gone. Then you realize you could have gotten some great scenic images that feature a sheep or goat in the foreground. When shooting sheep or goats, don't forget to zoom out once in a while just to see what images are available that you may not notice if you're peering thru the viewfinder at 400mm the whole time.


Below is an example of the type of image to remember to look for:

[Mike55]

Hi everyone,

I usually shoot in M and play around with settings a lot. But I am afraid I won't have time to do that when shooting wildlife. On this forum, I read that shooting in Av mode is preferable for wildlife. I played with the lens yesterday evening and found that in Av mode, at F5.6, the shutter speed wants to hang out around 1/50. This speed is fine for still subjects, but wildlife is not always still.

If I want to avoid lugging my tripod on the 5+ mile hikes, are there any recommendations on camera settings, besides increasing the ISO? The ISO on my XT only goes up to 1600.


A monopod is a must IMHO. The wildlife will be out in lower light and you need to steady that 1st generation IS. As someone said you will be at 400 ISO and above in lower light, dipping into 1600. Don't be afraid to use noise reuction. It's better to get the shot and reduce noise than to have a big blur.

[ankitj]

Thanks for the insight guys.

I know IS 2 mode should be used when panning with moving subjects, so when taking wildlife pictures should I use IS 2 mode, since the subject will probably be moving back and forth?

[Scottes]

Unless it's running, don't use mode 2. If it's just walking the sideways movement won't make a difference.

[Tom Reichner]

I use IS mode 1 for everything, even birds in flight.

[Duff]

Push the ISO up... (400-1600 not uncommon) you'll need it because you want to shoot at least 1/500 or faster to help with movement. Also, use your tripod as much as possible or shoot from a steadied position.

I just finished up a trip to MT where I hit a couple parks on the way and back. I really enjoyed my 1-4, but I learned quickly that it needed light to work and ISO was your friend. Noise can be cleaned up later, go for the sharp picture!

[ankitj]

Thanks Scottes, Tom & Duff.

Has anyone gone on long (5-15 Mile) hikes with a tripod? Sound like I will have to carry one with me.

[Mtn Breeze]

I use IS mode 1 for everything, even birds in flight.


Hi Tom.

Can you explain why ??

Matt.

[asc]

I took my 100-400L there earlier this year. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
I shot in M the whole time and had my ISO at 400+ all the time and tried to keep the f-stop above f/7.1 and then just messed around with the shutter speed.
Whenever the light changed I'd focus on something around me to get the shutter speed and aperture right so if I saw anything I wouldn't have to spend a lot of time adjusting them and miss the shot.

[sweetlu60]

Mtn Breeze, I leave mine on IS 1 all of the time, regardless of being on a tripod or not (even though Canon says not to). I find you still have a little bit of shake, and the concern has always been that the IS would hunt if totally stable. I have seen it on my 600, but it is on a Gitzo 5541LS tripod and no wind during those times. So leaving it on all of the time helps with any shake that I induce into the tripod and camera.

My two cents worth

[Tom Reichner]

Hi Tom.

Can you explain why ??

Matt.

Because IS1 is the mode that is most often appropriate for the vast majority of my images, so that is the setting the lens is set to most of the time.

In wildlife photography you seldom have time to adjust settings before the subject is gone or the action is over. So most images have been shot with the IS on mode 1.
Well, what have I discovered about these images? That there is no undesirable effect caused from this setting, no matter the situation. When panning, the background is still blurred out wonderfully. When the camera & lens are locked down on a tripod, the images are still tack sharp, despite the fact that the IS was left on.
The only reason I would ever change this practice is if leaving it on IS1 ever caused any problems - and it never has. So I just leave it there.

[pwm2]

Having the IS on while using a tripid, you could get a phenomenon where the IS gets stuck looking a bit sideways. When you turn off the IS, it then jumps back and centers the view.

When the tripod doesn't have too small vibrations, the vibration sensors don't get any feedback so after a couple of seconds the tolerances in the system makes the vertical and horisontal control to wander off until hits the limit. This happens regularly for me, and then I know I have to turn off the IS. I don't know if the sensitivity varies between copies of the lens, or if it just depends on the used tripod and head (and of course how windy it is outside).

I hardly ever switch to mode 2. It's too seldom I need to pan anyway. Just about all photos I take have shake in both horisontal and vertical direction unless I use a tripod.