Erie Zoo

[itznfb]

spent a few hours at the Erie Zoo couple weekends ago

 

[Al-Wazeer]

third shots is the best!

 

[sabbath999]

I like them.

Red Panda's are the cutest, and this little fella is a sweetie (BTW how do I know it is a male? Male red pandas have whiter heads than females)

 

[itznfb]

I like them.

Red Panda's are the cutest, and this little fella is a sweetie (BTW how do I know it is a male? Male red pandas have whiter heads than females)

i didn't know that! and i agree, Red Pandas have got to be the cutest animals. i wish we had one at the PGH Zoo.

however, i have a difficult time getting sharp pictures of them. this was one of my best red panda shots and it is still somewhat soft and washed out. it was shot through a net that was pretty easy to focus through and it was a little overcast at the time of the shot.

sabbath999; i know you're quite experienced (probably an understatement) at Zoo shoots do you have issues getting these guys?

 

[sabbath999]

Red pandas are extremely active and like to hang out in shady areas. Additionally, they are furry which tends to confuse the auto focus a bit... not much, but a bit.

So... the best answer is to have a decent depth of field... but since they generally are in shade and are moving that also means you have to have a farily high shutter speed.

There are times when higher ISO's are best, and Red Pandas generally mean higher ISO's when they are in shade...

What I usually do is set my autofocus to one point and track the near eye as it moves around. I get a lot of bad shots, but occasionally one works.

The best Red Panda shots are when the zoo puts their food out in the sun, and you can get em when they are tearing apart the bamboo.

Sometimes if you can find an area where there isn't caging, you can use a flash, like this:

or

 

[itznfb]

yea i figure i should try and find when feeding time is next time i visit a Zoo with red pandas. i generally don't think to take a flash to the Zoo especially since here at the Pittsburgh Zoo most of the exhibits are pretty open and well lit so i've gotten used to not needing one.

that second picture is great! looks like you're in a red panda petting area.

thanks!

 

[sabbath999]

I was actually 20 feet above the critter. I jingled my keys (that trick works at zoos, zookeepers jingle keys to undo locks at feeding time and critters say "Hmm, is it chow time?" and look at you sometimes). SB600 fill flash with a 70-200 VR lens.