Zoo Photography

brandofamily

I was thinking of trying my hand at photographing some animals at the Brookfield Zoo, near Chicago, this next week. Can anyone give me some input on lens to use?
I shoot Nikon D3 and have the following to choose from:

• Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
• Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8
• Sigma 2x Teleconverter
• Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8
• Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3

Would love to spend time in Monkey/Ape House. Not sure what animals would be outside... Polar Bears?

rookieshooter

My suggestion would be bring the longest/fastest lens you have; so that would be the Sigma 120-300.

Osprey Whisperer

Depending on how much you want to carry...these 2 lenses pretty much cover your entire focal length range.

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8

Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8

if you can carry it..then possibly add the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 as it probably is a bit sharper at the 70mm range than the Tamron 28-75.

Probably no need for t he tele as all it will dois cut your light gathering ability and seems like most zoos don't have the best indoor lighting.

The Tamron 28-300mm is redundant and slower than the other lenses. I think speed (light gathering ability) is important in zoo shooting. Often times a flash is not allowed or will cause problems with glass partitions.

Good luck.

Blackwood

Definitely the 120-300. Every time I bring my 24-105 to a zoo, I am annoyed and inevitably shoot at 105 the whole time.