my new 80-400 went to the zoo

RandySmugMug

78 and sunny...what a day

System

gee, I'm impressed-

no expert here, but I think those are some pretty neat shots-

RandySmugMug

gefillmore wrote:

gee, I'm impressed-

no expert here, but I think those are some pretty neat shots-

thx George

a little motion blur and some underexposing but for my 1st day I was happy....vr tempts u to lower that SS, sometimes a tad to much so u can keep your iso low

windoze

great images - thanx for sharing !!!
ive been debating again, what is the ultimate zoo lens....


troy

RandySmugMug

windoze wrote:

great images - thanx for sharing !!!
ive been debating again, what is the ultimate zoo lens....


troy

thx Troy

i have them all,

the Nikon 300/4 AFS w/ 1.4 TC, superb IQ but a 300mm prime is hard to compose with. F4 is nice for low light and afs is nice for birds in flight or sports but no VR...the best IQ of any lens I own (which includes the 70-200vr)

the sigma 50-500 HSM non OS...the non OS is the killer...great reach and fast AF and very good IQ

my latest, the nikon 80-400VR, the perfect zoo lens...animals at the zoo don't move much so u don't need afs but zoos are full of shade and VR is the key..
great IQ, slightly less impressive than the 300/4 but if you stop it down to 7.1-f9 it rocks and w/ VR u can get by w/ low SS-s, low ISO's and stopped down apertures

dbaker1221

fantastic set

RandySmugMug

dbaker1221 wrote:

fantastic set

thx

Swartzy

Nice job Randy
Nothing like a new lens...especially a sharp one. Nice captures. Great colors. Have a feeling you'll be posting lots and lots of new wildlife shots

RandySmugMug

Swartzy wrote:

Nothing like a new lens...especially a sharp one. Nice captures. Great colors. Have a feeling you'll be posting lots and lots of new wildlife shots

thx

yep, in fact i'm off to our other zoo in 10 mins

Seneca

Whoa...these are great.

RandySmugMug

Seneca wrote:

Whoa...these are great.

thx Seneca

Harryb

Excellent set. I've been using the 80-400 for awhile now and its one very handy lens to have in your kit.

RandySmugMug

Harryb wrote:

Excellent set. I've been using the 80-400 for awhile now and its one very handy lens to have in your kit.

thx Harry

raptorcaptor

Best Hippo shot yet!

RandySmugMug

raptorcaptor wrote:

Best Hippo shot yet!

thx Glenn

3rdPlanetPhotography

Those are fantastic.... I think it would be nice if your 80-400 would take me to the zoo

Great Job

GraphyFotoz

GREAT SHOTS!!
The Bird colors are fantastic!
Yeah I love my Sigy 80-400mm.....Super wildlife lens.
I hafta get to our zoo sometime.
Whats the f's on that VR?
Mine is 4.5-5.6....almost got the BIGMA but the OS on this is SUPER.
Handheld at 1/30....UNREAL!!

dallas

Wow....Good work. I tried an 80/200 once, but didn't like it. I should re-think it and improve my photo skill if this quality is possible.

RandySmugMug

kc7dji wrote:

Those are fantastic.... I think it would be nice if your 80-400 would take me to the zoo

Great Job

thx Scott

RandySmugMug

GraphyFotoz wrote:

GREAT SHOTS!!
The Bird colors are fantastic!
Yeah I love my Sigy 80-400mm.....Super wildlife lens.
I hafta get to our zoo sometime.
Whats the f's on that VR?
Mine is 4.5-5.6....almost got the BIGMA but the OS on this is SUPER.
Handheld at 1/30....UNREAL!!

thx

aperture range is the same
I used the sigma 1st...IQ is almost identical
VR is quiet though and the lens doesn't creep

RandySmugMug

dallas wrote:

Wow....Good work. I tried an 80/200 once, but didn't like it. I should re-think it and improve my photo skill if this quality is possible.

thx
the 80-200 is not VR and w/o VR these shots would have been noisey (it was cloudy out)

greenpea

RandySmugMug wrote:

78 and sunny...what a day

Beautiful pics!

I recently had a chance to use the 80-400 VR and the 200-400 VR. I really liked the 80-400 VR, but I fell in love with the 200-400 VR, unfortunately that lens is WAY out of my price range. :cry

RandySmugMug

greenpea wrote:

Beautiful pics!

I recently had a chance to use the 80-400 VR and the 200-400 VR. I really liked the 80-400 VR, but I fell in love with the 200-400 VR, unfortunately that lens is WAY out of my price range. :cry

thx...

f4 on the 200-400 would sure be nice but still a stretch for low light sports

greenpea

RandySmugMug wrote:

thx...

f4 on the 200-400 would sure be nice but still a stretch for low light sports

I rented the 200-400 with a 1.7 TC for a rather feeble attempt bird photography. 400 + 1.7 wasn't quite enough reach, but if I brought that monster to the zoo... LOOK OUT!

dallas

RandySmugMug wrote:

thx
the 80-200 is not VR and w/o VR these shots would have been noisey (it was cloudy out)

How careless of me......I meant to say 80/400. And your photos are still top notch.

greenpea

dallas wrote:

How careless of me......I meant to say 80/400. And your photos are still top notch.

Thanks, but after looking at some of the pics posted on this forum (yours included), I realize I have a lot to learn.

I'm just glad everyone here has been so willing to educate me.

RandySmugMug

greenpea wrote:

Thanks, but after looking at some of the pics posted on this forum (yours included), I realize I have a lot to learn.

I'm just glad everyone here has been so willing to educate me.

I looked at your bird pics
you need 2 increase your shutter speed..unless you have VR you always need to shoot at a min of 1/focal length
so if you shoot at 400mm on a nikon the SS should be 1/600...remember the 1.5x crop factor because it's a dx camera....on Canon it's 1.3 or 1.6 or full frame.
Also keep in mind it usually takes a min of 1/400 to freeze action....your pics @ 1/125 are too slow even for VR since the bird is likely to move some
I can get by w/ 1/320 but 1/400 is better...if it means lowering your iso try 1/320 & 1/400 to be safe...
Plus you were very far away (650mm, did u use a TC)...
Since u shot @ ISO 200 u coulda increased it to at least 400 on a d70
email me if this made no sense or if i can ever help...i'm addicted to this hobby

greenpea

RandySmugMug wrote:

I looked at your bird pics
you need 2 increase your shutter speed..unless you have VR you always need to shoot at a min of 1/focal length
so if you shoot at 400mm on a nikon the SS should be 1/600...remember the 1.5x crop factor because it's a dx camera....on Canon it's 1.3 or 1.6 or full frame.
Also keep in mind it usually takes a min of 1/400 to freeze action....your pics @ 1/125 are too slow even for VR since the bird is likely to move some
I can get by w/ 1/320 but 1/400 is better...if it means lowering your iso try 1/320 & 1/400 to be safe...
Plus you were very far away (650mm, did u use a TC)...
Since u shot @ ISO 200 u coulda increased it to at least 400 on a d70
email me if this made no sense or if i can ever help...i'm addicted to this hobby

Both the lenses that I rented for the pics (200-400 & 80-400) were VR. It was just one of those situations where I was so excited about getting to use the big glass, that I wasn't even thinking about iso. But the eagles come back every year, so there's always next season and a maybe chance to rent the 600mm f4 + 2.0 TC!