 Betty A. Wisse |
Photographing Wildlife: Lens Question I am going to shoot wildlife at Triple D and in South Africa . I need to get a 300 or 400 lens for my Nikon D70. I have the 70-200mm VR. which is fabulous but just doesn't get me close enough. I heard the 400 isn't very sharp when pushed all the way out. Anyone have either lens that can advise me on the best one to get?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Peter K. Burian |
Elizabeth: The Nikon 80-400mm VR zoom is great, but not inexpensive or lightweight. Like any zoom, its optical quality is not the highest at the longest focal lengths but a lot of pros use it. See the review at: http://www.bythom.com/80400VRlens.htm "The bad news is twofold: at above 300mm, the lens can be a touch soft (though not as soft as some suggest - with proper technique, it's a very serviceable 400mm lens, just not exceptionally sharp)." For a review of the Sigma 80-400mm lens, also with image stabilizer, see:
|
|
|
|
||
|
Dominic Philippa |
Elizabeth, I have been to Kenya twice and Tanzania once and did alot of wild life photography, at the end of the day sometimes the whole up close and personal with a beast of some sort or another doesn't always look fantastic, you will need to spend alot of time in the one place just waiting for the perfect shot to come along,not moving just sitting and waiting, remember you are in the wild, and animals are not knowen to be the photogenic types! all I could suggest is try something different, infra red with emotive cloulds in backround and a field of grass with a rhino mid ground was a silver award winner for me, also a line up of elephants on a hill top with a single tree and a dark storm gathering in colour was a great photo, you may only get a few great great shots but realease the stress and enjoy the scenery, the people and landscape could be more rewarding if time is the essence, infa red is tricky, but worth the trouble if done right.My infra red photo was on a 50mm and the colour was on 300mm sorry if I cant expand any more on the correct lens of your trip just wanted to give a alternative view. galleries by catagory, and on the last page of safari photos lions, etc, are my two that I spoke of. Cheers and safe travels
|
|
|
|
||
|
Michael H. Cothran |
If I'm not mistaken, Nikon makes a high quality 200-400 zoom. It may be out of your price range, but if not, it's worth looking into. Of course, using lenses in super long focal lengths requires that you use an appropriate quality/size tripod, and practice the best of shooting habits. Otherwise you've wasted your time. And after a day of lugging this equipment around, you should be able to sleep very soundly under the stars. Michael H. Cothran www.mhcphoto.net
|
|
|
|
||
|
Betty A. Wisse |
Thank you all for your comments. A very good friend of mine is lending me his 80-400 lens to use till the end of the summer. Dominic, you are right, I have to remember to see the bigger picture. I've seen some awesome scenery photographs of Africa. Betty
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||