Dog show and lens

Thinking of going to the dog show next week at the OC Fairgrounds. What lens would be recommended? I have a 100-400 and a 70-200 f2.8 Mk2.

Why not take them both?

take the 70-200 the 100-400 is too big...you wind up very close to the rings(which are usually small)..also helpful would be a 50mm or a 24-70mm..also make sure you set your white balance the lighting is always terrible..also try shooting from the dogs height (get low)have fun..

Both can come in handy, depending on what you are trying to capture. I use the 70-200 mostly but I have used the 100-400 when the best angle has been from across the ring or when I wanted to get in tight to capture the judge looking over the dog. On large groups I have switched to my 24-70, which is good for that.

If they have them, don't forget to look for other activities, like agility, herding, tracking and obedience.

For agility it's almost always the 70-200 since I don't have time to switch lenses in the time it takes a dog to run the course... although usually with agility I find a spot where I can cover a couple of the prime agility pieces, like the weave poles and jumps and stay put. For herding, it's usually the 100-400 since the herding ring is usually fairly large. It's the same for tracking but for obedience it's usually the 70-200 since there usually aren't any crowds around it and you can get right up to the ring.

Some pointers about shooting at dog shows... don't do anything that will distract the dog, like use flash, stare real hard at them, wave your camera in their face or move real fast when they are looking your way. It's not so critical with conformation, but with agility, herding and obedience it can get you thrown out... or at least yelled out by the handler, judge, owners and those cheering the dog on.

Mike

Depends on what kind of dog show. Confirmation, I'd suggest the 100-400 if you want closeups of the dogs. Rally/Obedience, the 70-200 will probably do nicely. If indoors, you will enjoy your 2.8. You may want to talk to the judge b/f the event starts to see how close he/she will let you get to the ring.