Lenses for Yellowstone, Grand Teton

I have rented a camper van for the last week of September to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Flying from Anchorage. I have an R6, my 7DM2, EF 100-400II, EF 1.4TC III, and an EF 24-105F4L. I'm thinking about renting another telephoto to be picked up and returned in Jackson Hole and am thinking about the EF600F4LIII. Also thought about the RF 100-500 which would be much cheaper but somewhat redundant and I could use the EF glass on both cameras. I suppose I need to rent a gimbal too for that 600. The other option might be just purchasing an RF800 f11, but I'm not sure how that holds up in the early morning and late evening light. Any thoughts on that? Also thinking about picking up a used 16-35 F4L for landscapes. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks!

It seems like the 100-400 on the 7DII or on the R6 with a 1.4x would be basically the same reach. I guess you could add the 1.4x to the 7DII. With that said, I would maybe look at a RF 800. I continue to be impressed with the photos that folks are getting from the RF600 and RF800

Here's a shot that was taken at 5:47 AM on September 4, 2019 in Yellowstone. I used a 400/2.8 with a 2X TC and the exposure was 1/800 at f5.6 at ISO 25,600. I used a monopod as we were well off the road tracking this bull and his group. Maybe I could have used a slower shutter speed and gotten ISO 12,800 but my general rule is 1/focal length when not on a tripod.

The guy I was with had a 600/4 with a 1.4X TC.

You generally need a lot of lens to bring these guys in. They tend to spook easily. At least for those of us not trained to track.

I'd say to answer your question about early and late in the day you need as big an aperture as you can get and f11 just won't work this early. an hour or two later it might be ok.

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …/BPDX2157-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A

Northroad wrote in post #19253496
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I have rented a camper van for the last week of September to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Flying from Anchorage. I have an R6, my 7DM2, EF 100-400II, EF 1.4TC III, and an EF 24-105F4L. I'm thinking about renting another telephoto to be picked up and returned in Jackson Hole and am thinking about the EF600F4LIII. Also thought about the RF 100-500 which would be much cheaper but somewhat redundant and I could use the EF glass on both cameras. I suppose I need to rent a gimbal too for that 600. The other option might be just purchasing an RF800 f11, but I'm not sure how that holds up in the early morning and late evening light. Any thoughts on that? Also thinking about picking up a used 16-35 F4L for landscapes. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks!
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As a long time supertelephoto user, I would definitely want a very stable tripod and a full gimbal head for that 600mm f4.

Is it possible to handhold and get quality pics? . Yes, it is. . But I believe that you will get far more quality pics if you use a tripod and forget about handholding.

When you have to get the camera into action quickly and fire off a shot real fast, well, honestly those rushed situations never seem to yield truly awesome photos.

The time you get real super high quality stuff is when you have time to set up and think things through and shoot very intentionally and carefully. . And that means there is plenty of time to set up a tripod and compose your images with care and precision.


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Also would like to mention that at f11, that pine tree background would be kinda a mess behind that bull, and you wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near the pleasing subject isolation that you managed to get at f5.6


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Thanks. I rented an RF 800 earlier this spring along with the RF 1.4 TC. It was okay for close birds in good light off the monopod, but felt off balance on the tripod with the body sticking way out to the rear as it does with that lens extended. Also got some annoying background clutter with it. I've been wanting to try a big white for a while and though a week's rental on that 600F4LIII is over half the purchase price of that RF 800, I think a person would have better luck looking into the shadows with it.

Thanks Tom. I rented an RF 800 and RF 1.4 TC back in April for the waterfowl in Fairbanks. While I got a few good shots in good light I had better luck with my EF 100-400 with 1.4 TC on the R6. You're right about the background clutter. It ruined a few otherwise good photos.

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Do you have any interest in outright purchasing a supertelephoto?

If so, I can personally recommend the Sigma 300-800mm, if you don't mind a heavy lens. . That's what I've used as my main lens for the past several years and I think that it gives the best bang for the buck when it comes to true supertelephotos.

I think you can easily find one used for $3,000. . Some folks have gotten them in great condition for $2500, but you have to spend some time looking to find them at that price, as most sellers are trying to get a bit more.


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Not Just yet, though I can see that happening in a year or two after I sell some stuff. Thanks for the suggestion, one of those would be very handy to carry around in the car.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19257015
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As a long time supertelephoto user, I would definitely want a very stable tripod and a full gimbal head for that 600mm f4.

Is it possible to handhold and get quality pics? . Yes, it is. . But I believe that you will get far more quality pics if you use a tripod and forget about handholding.

When you have to get the camera into action quickly and fire off a shot real fast, well, honestly those rushed situations never seem to yield truly awesome photos.

The time you get real super high quality stuff is when you have time to set up and think things through and shoot very intentionally and carefully. . And that means there is plenty of time to set up a tripod and compose your images with care and precision.

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Spot on there. If your going there you may as well do I it right, that shot may never come again and you’ll be kicking yourself wishing you had a tripod and got a better shot.

Northroad wrote in post #19253496
I have rented a camper van for the last week of September to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Flying from Anchorage. I have an R6, my 7DM2, EF 100-400II, EF 1.4TC III, and an EF 24-105F4L. I'm thinking about renting another telephoto to be picked up and returned in Jackson Hole and am thinking about the EF600F4LIII. Also thought about the RF 100-500 which would be much cheaper but somewhat redundant and I could use the EF glass on both cameras. I suppose I need to rent a gimbal too for that 600. The other option might be just purchasing an RF800 f11, but I'm not sure how that holds up in the early morning and late evening light. Any thoughts on that? Also thinking about picking up a used 16-35 F4L for landscapes. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks!

Northroad.
I was in Jackson Hole two months ago in mid October.
Since we were on Vacation and making stops and flying to Iowa City, then to Aspen and finally to Jackson Hole and lots of the dreaded CRJ’s, I packed a bit light and took my 16-35 f/4 L IS, 24-70 f/4 L IS and the 70-200 F/4 L IS Mark II, the 1.4 EX-III along with a Pair of Gripped 5D Mark III’s. The CRJ (Commuter Regional Jet) for us we fortunately flew the 700’s which allowed me to pack of the gear in my ThinkTank Street Walker Hard Drive back pack and store it across in the overhead bin. Next time, and there will be, I will add the 100-400 Version II as it would have come in handy for the Grizzly Bear about 100 Meters in the field off the side of the road. Bison were grazing right next to the road and the 70-200 certainly did the job. There was a light snow on the ground and all of the Wildlife just popped of the landscape. Elk, Bison, Grizzly, Bald Eagle, the perfect day. Even our tour guide said it was one of best days ever and has been driving people on tours for years. Knowing my luck, if I had the 100-400, the opportunities would not have been there…..
With a home base with room to spare, the lens collection and the “Rental”, why not.
A friend of mine with the R5 just purchased the 800 f/11. In nice light, it works nicely and very comfortable for Hand Holding. In the “right situation” type of lens.

16-35 would be a must if you want to shoot landscape. It's also an excellent lens to have in your kit.

What you have already should work fine for wildlife but renting the 600 would really be an upgrade to get those long shots. There have been many times in Yellowstone that I wish I had something with more reach. Tripod and gimbal too.

If you rent the super-tele consider Lensrentals.com and ask if you can have it shipped to a UPS Store near the location of your camper van pickup so you don't have to lug it on the plane and pay the extra days. They've been very reasonable to my requests over the years.

Are you considering the super tele for any reason other than the larger aperture? On the R6, the 1-4mk 2 + 1.4 puts you at 560, which is close enough to 600 to not *really* be discernible, but does still put you at f/8. It has the bonus of keeping your kit a little lighter and more manageable, however. While I love my RF800, even on the best of results, it falls well short of the sharpness and clarity that come from 'L' glass, so I just couldn't comfortably recommend it for this type of a trip.

Remember... not all wildlife are way off in the distance.

35mm - These guys were right next to the road at the Mammoth entrance...

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2muJ​sBA

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2mtM​3Mh

And, absolutely yes on including the 16-35. The 24-105 will do you fairly well a lot of the time, but in places like GT you will likely kick yourself not having wider for some of your vistas. You, basically, have or are describing my kit that I've been traveling around with a long time and it all compliments pretty well for outdoor spaces.