New to dSLR, Got 40D, Going to Yellowstone, Need help!!!

I just got my first dSLR last week, I got the 40D, I love it so far. I got it with the 28-135 IS lens. I am got the new camera because I am going to Yellowstone soon. I was looking for good ideas on the lens or lenses to take in addition to what I already have, I bought the 50mm 1.8 and 55-250mm IS. I was thinking the 100-400 L series IS lens with the 2X converter, will the converter hurt my image quality alot or will I need to get good shots of wildlife that is far away, I am thinking of renting since a good telephoto lens is out of my price range right now, here is my duck picture, lots of ducks. Thanks for any help, I really like this site already.

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The teleconverte will hurt image quality, you will also loose the ability to autofocus... the 100-400 is a lot of lense you may not need more to get good wildlife pictures in yellowystone as I think there some places where you can get reasonably close to the wildlife. But I have no first hand experience there.

If i you really think you need more length maybe looking at one of sigma 500m lenses is an option.

For Yellowstone wildlife, the 100-400L will be sufficient for most bison, elk, and deer shots. For wolves and bears, though, it will be hit or miss. For those animals, even 600mm may not be enough, although you can get lucky and be closer sometimes.

Also, 28mm will not be nearly wide enough for the thermal areas. That was the one area in the park where I used my 10-22mm last year.

You can check out my gallery from our trip there last year here. The EXIF info should give you an idea of what you'll need. I had a 70-300mm IS as my longest lens, and wished for more reach for the wolves and grizzlies.

You will really want a focal length range from 17-400 if possible. At Yellowstone, a lot of it is about luck with what you find and how far your reach will help you. I had 400mm reach and found it mostly long enough. Would a 2x be nice? sure but you'll get by fine without it. I would get a wide angle instead of the teleconverter.

Indeed, the 40D, while a great camera, does not play well with TCs on slower lenses. On my 30D the 100-400 with a Kenko 1.4x TC focuses fine, but not on the 40D.

I can recommend the 100-400 for wildlife shots. If you aren't close enough to the critters for a 400mm lens, it is not likely that a 500 will make the difference very often. Also, keep in mind that the crop factor of the 40D and a 400mm lens will give you the field-of-view of a 640mm lens on a FF camera.

And, don't be shy about using higher ISO when the light is not great. I use up to 1600 on the 40Dwithout a second thought, and have used 3200 successfully on many occasions.

Thanks for the info, I am going to rent the 10-22 canon also, sounds like it will get a lot of use in addition to the 100-400 lens for wildlife, the teleconvter is only $30 for 2 weeks so I will probably get that just in case.

Having been to Yellowstone three times in three years, I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but just to give you my experience on the matter: You likely won't need a wide angle lens. I never used a focal length over around 50mm except a couple times in Grand Teton. You WILL need at least 400mm in focal length and many times that won't be near enough. A 2X TC will likely return nearly unusable images on the 100-400, so I would stick with a 1.4X TC. If you want to get more focal length, rent a 300 2.8 and use the 1.4 and 2X TCs on it. Or, if you prefer, buy a Sigma 50-500. You'll have to use it with a monopod, but if you want the extra 100mm of focal length, that's the simplest and cheapest way to get it.
Other advice: get up before dawn and get to where you want to go by dawn. Lamar and Hayden Valley for wolves, Mt Washburn for grizzlies, the Roosevelt area for black bears, Mammoth Hot Springs area for elk.

Whether the 10-22 will be worthwhile depends upon how interested you are in landscapes. Everyone does their own thing, and RikWriter may never have felt the need for a wide-angle lens, but I wouldn't think of going near a place like Yellowstone without my 10-22, or something like it.

pknight wrote in post #6044089
Whether the 10-22 will be worthwhile depends upon how interested you are in landscapes. Everyone does their own thing, and RikWriter may never have felt the need for a wide-angle lens, but I wouldn't think of going near a place like Yellowstone without my 10-22, or something like it.

On the contrary, I love landscapes. The thing about Yellowstone is that you won't find that many landscape shots that require a wide angle. Actually, the best landscape shots I got there were in the 35-100mm range.

an excop that goes there uses a 600mm, but he uses 35mm film, and it works great for him, he also uses a little shorter focal lengths like 400.

Whatever lens you take keep everything covered when you are around those hot water springs and sulfur pits. There is a mist in the air around them that gets on your lens and is very hard to get off. It would not come off with wet lens cleaning cloths. After I got home I finally got it off, I think< with 99% alcohol. Hope I didn't hurt my L lens. It scared me as I thought the lenses were ruined. I tried to be careful as I knew there was mist in the air but it still got on both ends of the lens. Anybody else experience this??

would some kind of UV filter help keep the mist off the front of the lens...

Elk are very plentiful around the Canyon and Norris areas, too. Also, you have a decent chance of seeing big horn sheep on the Mount Washburn trail (especially using the northern trail head at Chittendon Road).

RikWriter wrote in post #6043892
Having been to Yellowstone three times in three years, I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but just to give you my experience on the matter: You likely won't need a wide angle lens.

This is spot on advice. Worry about a standard zoom and getting to 400mm. Yellowstone was "born wide". 17mm is often way too wide.

RikWriter wrote in post #6044140
On the contrary, I love landscapes. The thing about Yellowstone is that you won't find that many landscape shots that require a wide angle. Actually, the best landscape shots I got there were in the 35-100mm range.

Yup. This would change if you hiked *into* steep ravines or narrow valleys. UWA's are for cramped quarters. If you were at Moose Flats in Grand Teton and used 10mm, you would completely remove any "grand" from the Grand Tetons.