Zoo - what's the recommended lens?


RayLa82

Member
Feb 7, 2010
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Singapore, Singapore, Singapor
Hi seniors,

I will be making a trip down to zoo next weekend for photoshoot. I am wondering what lens should I rent to cover both the animal & maybe portrait of my friends.

Would be glad if seniors here give some advice & recommendation.

Thanks in advance.
 

Hi seniors,

I will be making a trip down to zoo next weekend for photoshoot. I am wondering what lens should I rent to cover both the animal & maybe portrait of my friends.

Would be glad if seniors here give some advice & recommendation.

Thanks in advance.

Your kit lens should be enough to cover your friends and some nearer animals. You will preferably need some sort of 300mm to cover the more distant animals like the Tigers, Lions, Cheetah, Monkeys. No need for a super fast 300mm. A Kit lens type will do as well. Refer to the Nature/Wildlife gallery here for reference.
 

Definitely your telephoto, that's the must.

A macro lens for orchids and flowers

A general purpose lens for rest ..)
 

I would highly recommend a 100-400L IS. This lens is best for the zoo and birdpark.
 

4317854596_5726678f8c_o.jpg



4317869856_feea72eb03_o.jpg



Shot with EF 100-400mm L
 

Hi seniors,

I will be making a trip down to zoo next weekend for photoshoot. I am wondering what lens should I rent to cover both the animal & maybe portrait of my friends.

Would be glad if seniors here give some advice & recommendation.

Thanks in advance.

in the zoo, the animals can be quite a distance away, so in general, you will need a telephoto lens.

if you have a higher budget, you *could* get something faster to make sure that you seize as much opportunities as you have, but as others have mentioned, even a consumer grade telephoto lens will do you fine if you find the right light.
 

4317854596_5726678f8c_o.jpg



4317869856_feea72eb03_o.jpg



Shot with EF 100-400mm L

Do you really need to emphasize the 'L'?
TS is just going to go to the Zoo with friends for a day, he does not need a heavy investment to do that.
Sabee has demonstrated well that so long as the focal length is enough, it will suffice.



Anything 200mm and above probably would do for the more distant animals.

EF-S 55-250 IS

4316645500_aa69628e51.jpg

:thumbsup:
 

A telephoto lens will be good. A kit lens is generally adequate too.
 

Do you really need to emphasize the 'L'?
TS is just going to go to the Zoo with friends for a day, he does not need a heavy investment to do that.
Sabee has demonstrated well that so long as the focal length is enough, it will suffice.





:thumbsup:

the picture taken by the non L lens is sharper than the L lens
 

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70-300VR2 ===> Will be making a trip there real soon. :)

I am using FX by the way. Oh and maybe a 50 1.4 to capture just those normal pictures. :think:
 

the picture taken by the non L lens is sharper than the L lens

dude, if ur not sure its better not to comment. the non L lens picture is post processed. the image was sharpen artifically. even the whiskers r jagged. it is infact oversharpen.
 

dude, if ur not sure its better not to comment. the non L lens picture is post processed. the image was sharpen artifically. even the whiskers r jagged. it is infact oversharpen.

I offer you the same advice. The jaggedness is caused by jpeg compression, not oversharpening.

Anyway this is not a discussion about what lens is better etc. Just offering advice to the TS.
 

dude, if ur not sure its better not to comment. the non L lens picture is post processed. the image was sharpen artifically. even the whiskers r jagged. it is infact oversharpen.

thanks for pointing that out, my newbie eyes can't distinguish a post processed one from not, i just commented an observation
 

Any lens 200mm and above would be good enough.
Fast primes/zooms are also recommended for those animals in the enclosed areas.
For your family and friends, your kit lens will be good enough.

And bring water, its very hot recently