Seaworld Photography

I am looking for advice on taking pictures at sea world. I have the following equipment
1) Canon Rebel XT
2) 50mm f/1.8
3) 17-40mm f/4
4) 70-200mm f/4IS
5) 1.4x TC

What would be the ideal lenses to take, let say for photographing the Shamu show? Any info is appreciated

Vinay

4) 70-200mm f/4IS

Bring them all! The f1.8 would be awesome for low light shots of indoor exhibits. The 70-200 will be great for the larger exhibits (i.e the orcas), and the 17-40 for the wide shots.

Both the 17-40mm and the 70-200mm would give you great imagery.

The 17-40mm obviously would be great to show the entire venue which often makes a nice shot. Some shots from the back, showing the crowd around the big Shamu tank.

The 70-200mm would be excellent to get close-ups of the individual performers and Shamu him or herself.

I prefer to sit a bit further back than the front couple of rows and use a longer focal length lens because persons in the front rows often get splashed when Shamu does a jump. This is of no problem when the day is warm or hot AND IF YOU HAVE NO CAMERA GEAR. Naturally, Shamu's tank is filed with saltwater and will really do a job on camera gear. Just be advised to sit a bit back and or, be ready to cover your gear when a splash is directed your way,

The 70-200 is plenty. If you've got a SMALL bag and enjoy WA, take the 17-40 along. Although, I think once you see the images you are getting with the 70-200, you'll probably leave any other lens in the bag. When I go to zoos, I only take a 100-400. It's always been plenty.

I have been using the 5D which is a FF but I find that my 17-40 and 70-200 cover my needs. I never used my 24-105 and have sold it. But the 70-200 would be my first choice for SeaWorld.

I would take the 70-200 ( I took my cheapy 70-300) and had no problem.

DO NOT sit in the first 25-30 rows if you will be bringing camera gear. Those rows are specifically labeled as "Splash Zones" and Shamu will be sending a wall of water over the side of the tank. The "zone" is only like the first 15 rows but my experience is that the water goes much farther than that.

I would take the 70-200 for the show, and the 50mm for regular shooting.

70-200mm f/2.8, iso 1600, 1/125sec