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Thread: Recommended lenses for upcoming Raptor shoot

  1. #1
    Brian Kent
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    Default Recommended lenses for upcoming Raptor shoot

    So I just signed up for a raptor shoot in Northern Virginia for this Saturday. This being my first one I do need some advice on lens/body combos. The birds will all be tethered to their handlers or on a perch (tethered). I'll be shooting both Owls (Northern Saw Whet Owl, Long Eared Owl, Great Horned Owl and White Faced Copes Owl) and Hawks/Falcons (Northern American Kestrel, Broad Winged Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk and a Gyrfalcon). Shooting distance will be no closer than 6 feet, but I'm pretty sure we'll have room to stand back 10 to 20 feet, maybe more. Flash is allowed (I have an SB-600) as are tripods.

    My question concerns choice of lense/bodies. I've got a full frame Nikon D700 and a cropped sensor D300s. My lenses are:

    Nikon 300 f4
    Nikon 70-300 4.5 - 5.6 VRII
    Tamron 24-75 2.8
    Nikon 60mm 2.8 Micro
    Nikon 18-200 3.5-5.6 VRII (DX)
    plus a few short Nikon primes (35 2.0, 50 1.8) and a wide angle (Nikon 16-35 F4 VRII)

    I've got a monopod as well as a tripod, and I can use either at the shoot.

    I'm totally flummoxed over what combo would work best with what camera, however my best guess is to use my 300mm on the D700 with a tripod and either put my Tamron 24-75 on the D300 or my Nikon 60 on the D300, hand held, for closer work. What do you think?
    Thanks!
    Brian
    PS I'm thinking flash will not be necessary. However, it will be a bright, cloudless day (according to weather.com) and if we are in the open (as opposed to a wooded shady area) I may need flash for fill. Will bring along to be on the safe side.
    Last edited by Brian Kent; 11-12-2010 at 11:20 AM.

  2. #2
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    That'll be decent light except for raptors with white heads, where you may need some -EV to avoid blowing out the highlights. Given the lack of shade expected, you may want to bring your flash for fill-flash.

    On a full-frame I'd take the 70-300mm if I were going to take just one lens. If the 300 f4 is extra sharp in comparison (I don't really know the Nikon lens line up, but I assume that you bought it for some good reason) then I might take that and anticipate needing to back up a little for some shots. The problem with it will be that you'll get nice, detailed shots of the raptors, but you'll not be able to include the handlers, while with the 70-300mm you can cover all the possibilities. Given the light you're expecting, your monopod should do the trick and even handheld will be ok. Keep the ISO low, but go ahead and let the shutter speeds run around 1/1000th and even higher if you need to open the lens for bokeh generation.

    Your shorter primes won't be of great use unless you want to pop one on to get a general shot or two of the overall scene and the people observing, etc.

  3. #3
    BPN Viewer Ed Grella's Avatar
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    Bring both! At that distance I would mount the 18-200 on the D300 and the 70-300 on the D700 and hand hold. I would set the flash to -1.7 for a soft fill effect. I would think the D700 would give you better shadow details (less noise) at iso 400 and above.
    Good Luck!
    Last edited by Ed Grella; 11-12-2010 at 08:07 PM.

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    I'm assuming this is with the RCV. I went to this last year and used my 100-400mm which worked well for this occasion. Depending on how many people show up it can get a little crowded around the birds and they only had 2 out at a time if I remember correctly. I believe it was held at a local botanical garden and the birds were in a wooded shaded area. I think the 70-300 would be a good choice. They do allow you to get pretty close.

  5. #5
    Brian Kent
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    Default Indeed, this IS with the RVC

    Thanks for the suggestions folks! I think the fixed 300 f4 is just to inflexible, in that I can't change my filed of view without lots of walking back and forth. If it gets as crowded as Mike suggested it might, maybe having the flexibility of the 70-300 on my D700 and the 18-200 on my D300 would work out best. They both have VR and since light will be good I should be good to go hand holding. I'll bring my tripod just in case, but I think I'm set.
    I'll let you know how it goes - thanks again!!!
    Brian

  6. #6
    Brian Kent
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    Default Well, the 300 f4 on my D700 turned out fantastic!

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    I ended up mounting my 300 f4 on a tripod with my D700, and used my D300s with the 70-300 VR hand held. This combo worked perfectly! Only about 6 shooters ended up showing, so there was plenty of room to maneuver around. I've attached a sample shot with the 300 f4. What a great day! Thanks for all the feedback folks!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Kent View Post
    I ended up mounting my 300 f4 on a tripod with my D700, and used my D300s with the 70-300 VR hand held. This combo worked perfectly! Only about 6 shooters ended up showing, so there was plenty of room to maneuver around. I've attached a sample shot with the 300 f4. What a great day! Thanks for all the feedback folks!
    Thanks for the follow-up with what you actually did. Nice image, btw.

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