Wildlife lens rental recommendations for trip to Costa Rica

wasigan

Hi everyone -

Last year I discovered lens rentals as a good option to try out lenses, before a trip to Peru. I knew there would be good landscape shots so I rented a wide lens just for the trip. This year, I'll be traveling to Costa Rica and wanted to get some recommendations for a good wildlife lens to rent. I have a Canon Rebel XTi and was thinking of the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS lens.

I'm not a pro, but please share your opinions of this lens and any other recommendations you may have. Is this too much lens to work with, is it too heavy without a tripod, and/or can I get some good shots with handholding?

The monkeys and wildlife there are sometimes fleeting, so speed is an issue.

thanks for your help!!
Lori

kdog

I think the 100-400 IS L is an excellent choice. The image stabilization is a key feature here for shooting in dark rain forests without a tripod. The lens only weighs 2 pounds or so, and is quite compact when retracted all the way at the 100mm length. This is a very popular safari lens. Copies of this lens are reported to vary in sharpness. I wouldn't know, because mine's very sharp.

The only other lens you might consider is the 300mm F4 IS L. It's a very sharp lens, and has the IS of course. Works well with a TC1.4 extender. Of course you lose the flexibility of the zoom that the 100-400 has.

There is the 400mm F5.6 lens which I wouldn't recommend because it has no IS, and is difficult to shoot in low light without a tripod. It's nice and sharp though. It's also longer than the retracted 100-400.

Just for completeness I'll mention you could rent the 500 F4 IS L, or even the 600 or 800. But these are big heavy lenses that you'd probably want to use on a tripod with a gimbal mount and are a pain to lug around. Probably overkill if you're a novice wildlife shooter.

Ric Grupe

kdog wrote:

I think the 100-400 IS L is an excellent choice. The image stabilization is a key feature here for shooting in dark rain forests without a tripod. The lens only weighs 2 pounds or so, and is quite compact when retracted all the way at the 100mm length. This is a very popular safari lens. Copies of this lens are reported to vary in sharpness. I wouldn't know, because mine's very sharp.

I debated over this lens way too long...I love mine. It's just plain useable!