Bosque on a budget

[Brian Powell]

This question really is about equipment, and specifically about Canon lenses. Sorry if there's another forum section that would have been more appropriate.

This year will be my fourth year at Bosque del Apache. I'm going right after Thanksgiving.

I shoot with Nikon equipment, and I've been happy with my 200-400mm zoom (with and without TCs) at Bosque.

This year, I'm going with a friend of mine who shoots with some sort of Canon Rebel (but she hopes, soon, a 5D Mark II). Her longest lens is the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS lens.

Going out and buying a new long lens isn't in the cards right now. (Especially if she's saving for the 5D Mark II.) We might rent her something, but I don't know enough about Canon lenses to know what the best options are.

She's got a decent ballhead and tripod, but not a Wimberley (or similar) mount for large lenses.

This is her first visit to Bosque. She's only going to be there for a couple of days, so I'm hesitant to make this problem more complex than it needs to be.

So my initial thought is to either stick with the 70-300mm lens, or perhaps rent a 100-400mm. Another pro thought I should also consider the 500mm. Are there other creative ideas I should consider? What would you do?

Related question: Do any of the pros leading workshops at Bosque rent out their extra equipment? This seems like it would be less hassle for us than using one of the online lens rental places.

Thanks.

Brian Powell
www.bhpowell.com

[Robert O'Toole]

Hi Brian,

I would recommend a larger lens like a 500 or 600/4+ extenders. The extra 100mm of the 100-400 would not be worth it.

Last year a friend from FL rented a 600/4 for bosque.

Google " lens rental" I think a 500/4 is about $300 per week.

Good luck this year Bosque should be great thanks to Artie and the volunteer crew.

Robert

[Roger Clark]

Brian,
Remember the 70-300 consumer zoom is not as sharp as a fixed focal length lens. Also remember that a 1.6x crop sensor gives another multiplier factor. So which gives more pixels on a bird: a 500 mm f/4 L IS and a 1D Mark III, or a Rebel (let's assume a 10 MP XTi) with a 400 mm lens?

The 1DIII has 7.2 micron pixels, and the XTi has 5.7 micron pixels. So a 500 mm lens on the 1DIII will have the same number of pixels on a bird as the XTi would with a focal length of 500 * 5.7/7.2 = 396 mm. The advantage of the 1DIII is the larger pixels give better low light performance, and the speed (frames per second, AF, and others).

So your friend could buy a better 300 or 400 mm lens and get some great images when the light is adequate. For example, the 400 f/5.6 L (non IS) is very sharp and very fast focusing. And it is a keeper lens for the future.
Another option could be a 300 f/4 L IS plus a 1.4x TC. Add a Wimberly sidekick, and you have a nice starter outfit.

Roger

[Robert O'Toole]

Good points Roger. Thought I should add some quick additional info.

....The advantage of the 1DIII is the larger pixels give better low light performance, and the speed (frames per second, AF, and others)....

You forgot to mention that the EOS-1D body AF will AF at F8. They will even AF with stacked extenders (1.4X+2X) in good light.

So your friend could buy a better 300 or 400 mm lens and get some great images when the light is adequate. For example, the 400 f/5.6 L (non IS) is very sharp and very fast focusing. And it is a keeper lens for the future.
Another option could be a 300 f/4 L IS plus a 1.4x TC. Add a Wimberly sidekick, and you have a nice starter outfit.

This is a good general recommendation and I agree with you Roger.

But I do have recommendations for Bosque specifically.

Since the subjects at Bosque are normally found quite some distance from the shooting areas I normally recommend something in the 500 to 600 range with extenders as I said. Lens reach isnt everything as I have also made nice images with lengths from 15mm and up. But to make good frame filled images of single birds I would say that 300-400 even with an APS-C body is a short. Last year I did photograph with my 200-400VR and D300 (300-600 equiv) in certain situations last year but I was glad I also had my 600 with me when I needed the reach.

Robert

[Roger Clark]

Good points Roger. Thought I should add some quick additional info.
You forgot to mention that the EOS-1D body AF will AF at F8. They will even AF with stacked extenders (1.4X+2X) in good light.

Robert
Yes, I agree. The f/8 AF is very nice. I have also stacked the 1.4 and 2x and got autofocus. The
disadvantage at those focal lengths (e.g. 500 *2*1.4=1400mm) is that extremely small vibrations are magnified as is lens imperfections, so one must then also have $1,200+ in a carbon fiber tripod plus good gimbal head.

This is a good general recommendation and I agree with you Roger.

But I do have recommendations for Bosque specifically.

Since the subjects at Bosque are normally found quite some distance from the shooting areas I normally recommend something in the 500 to 600 range with extenders as I said. Lens reach isnt everything as I have also made nice images with lengths from 15mm and up. But to make good frame filled images of single birds I would say that 300-400 even with an APS-C body is a short. Last year I did photograph with my 200-400VR and D300 (300-600 equiv) in certain situations last year but I was glad I also had my 600 with me when I needed the reach.

Robert

I agree too. It seems one can rarely have a big enough lens or big enough reach. But having said that, the beginner needs to rent not just a lens, but also a good carbon fiber tripod and gimbal head, so the costs are more than just a big lens (renting or purchase when one gets into the big lens territory). And it takes some practice to use a big lens effectively.

I have traveled with a friend who uses a 40D and 300 f/4, compared to my 1DII and 500 f/4. I continually am impressed at what he can achieve, So the beginner should weigh their dollars and desires with renting for a great opportunity or building a system for the future. Both directions have merits, and you adapt with the equipment you have with you.

At Bosque, there are the great images of distant birds one can only get with a big lens, but there are also nice group images you can do with moderate telephotos, e.g. the cranes coming in with a red sunset in the background.

I hope to get to Bosque this year; missed it last year. Perhaps see you there.

Roger