What lens should I take to the zoo

[reaper7534]

What aperture do most people find the best sharpness at for the 70-200 ? I have the bad habit of running wide open and cranking up shutter speed thus losing sharpness. Guess I figure I paid for 2.8, I'm gonna use it.

 

[SCraig]

What aperture do most people find the best sharpness at for the 70-200 ? I have the bad habit of running wide open and cranking up shutter speed thus losing sharpness. Guess I figure I paid for 2.8, I'm gonna use it.

If you're shooting it wide open you're still paying for it Can't help with the question though, the only lens I have that fast is a 17-70 and I normally shoot it around 5.6.

I never go to the zoo with less than 300mm. If I'm going to the reptile house / aquarium I'll take my 17-70 and a speedlight with an off-camera cord.

 

[Overread17 5]

Most lenses typically increase in sharpness from wide open to around f8/10 thereafter that point they typically reduce in sharpness as diffraction kicks in. As a result typically if you want the sharpest then around f8 is going to give you that result. However each lens will have its own sweet spot, you can test for this and read reviews to find out the ideal perfect aperture for sharpness

However remember that this is only looking at "the best" sharpness possible and isn't taking into account usability and personal requirements. Wide open chances are you can get very usable images, just as you can get them at f13 and even f16 - so you should never get into your mind that you should only shoot at f8 for perfect sharpness.

Another point is that with a zoom lens you'll typically see its sharpness degrade at the longer end of its zoom range so for a zoom lens you will see a difference not just with the aperture, but also with the focal length used (typically this will be something you notice at the extremes of the aperture range - at f8 you might not see much difference from 70m to 200mm - at f2.8 chances are you will)

 

[RMTac]

70-200 would be my pick.

 

[TCampbell]

The artificial "environments" that the zoo usually creates to house and display the animals really look "artificial". The more of the animal and the less of the environment... the better.

Usually I don't go for a long lens, but this is one place where I do.

 

[slow231]

hmm, on my recent trip to the zoo i went the other direction and took my 24-70 (on a ff). my thought process is that there are plenty of great shots of animals (that i would never be able to rival), and a heavy overabundance of shots of zoo animals from the public viewing areas (nbd to me to capture those). to me, the real action would be your nephew's reaction to animals and exhibits.

 

[B3nn1]

I actually just came from my local zoo today. Perfect weather and not a lot of people. I took. 18-55 and 55-250. I used both equally. 18-55 in the houses that were dark. Once outside I switched lenses. Had mine in manual allday. Other settings weren't working out for me. Funtime. Learned a lot.

 

[bvjgcigh]

How do you use a macro lens at the zoo?

 

[Derrel]

70-200 at f/4.8 to f/5.6.

 

[dxqcanada2]

How do you use a macro lens at the zoo?

As I have a 150mm f/2.8 macro on an APS-C body ... it makes for a fast long(ish) focal length lens. Great for the indoor pavilions.

 

[stevensondrive]

What I have right now

70-200mm f/2.8 L
50mm 1.4
24-105mm f/4 L
90mm Tamron Macro f/2.8
Kenko 1.4 TC
10-22mm

dang you have a nice arsenal of lenses!!

I'd take the 24-105. It should get you some nice shots and you can use it to take a picture of you with your nephew. You know you're gonna want that.

 

[kathyt]

I would take my 70-200 and maybe my 50mm. Just to be able to go to f1.4 if I need to. I really liked having my macro at the aquarium the other day though.

 

[runnah]

A ZOOm lens of course.