Lens advice for shooting Yellowstone winter

[jspiteri]

I have a trip planned to Yellowstone this winter and looking to rent a telephoto lens (haven't got a huge budget for rental so no 500mm f/4 L unfortunately).

The two I am currently debating between are:
400mm f/5.6 L
70-300mm f/4-5.6 L

The 400mm has the advantage of extra reach and probably the edge on sharpness.

The 70-300mm would be more versatile if the wildlife gets reasonably close. I have rented this before and, as expected of L series, it is well built and has impressive IQ.

So I guess i'm asking has anyone been to Yellowstone, or had previous experience shooting similar wildlife, and is able to offer any insight? (I'm open to other suggestions of course)

Any advice is very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[AprilForever]

The big problem with the 400 5.6 is no IS. Are you using a tripod? A good tripod with ball head? If not, be wary of the 400 5.6. The 70-300 is an incredibly useful lens. I used to have the old 70-300 IS not L, and it was the best lens ever! (not as good as my 70-200 2.8, but do understand my meaning here...)

What kind of animals are you trying to get pictures of? And how many animals are out and about in yellowstone in the winter? Some, indeed, but perhaps they might be rather remote...

 

[Canon 14-24]

curious as to why the 100-400 IS is not up for consideration?

 

[jspiteri]

I've thought about the 100-400mm but the push/pull zoom and sharpness at the long end put me off slightly.

I will be taking a tripod, fairly decent but unfortunately hasn't got a great ball head on it.

I've got realistic (I hope!) expectations of shooting Bison, Elk and Moose with anything else being a bonus. Obviously I can't be sure but research suggests the dramatically reduced visitor numbers and visible contrast of the wildlife and white snow will be good for spotting. I'll be shooting on ASP-C so i'll have the extra reach.

 

[BBT]

I owned an EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM. Being a DO series lens, it has a very compact body. I love the image quality produced. The size of the lens is the main factor why I bought it. I need the reach yet without the bulk and without the 'attention gather' that the huge white colored L telelens always get.
The only thing about this lens, may not suitable for snow condition (never tried it) since I don't think it has the seal quality as the L lens. And when you sling you camera downward from your shoulder, the lens will extend downward (lacking the retaining gasket/seal). It comes with manual lock mechanism to avoid it.
Overall, I'm always impressed with the image quality produced.

 

[smirkypants]

I would take a 7D + 70-300L on a trip like that in a heartbeat. It's a very nice and versatile, as well as weather resistant, combination. Just make sure you bring something in the 20mm range as well for those panoramic shots.

 

[DavidGMiles]

Funnily enough, my gear is packed and that is exactly where I am headed tonight, I fly out of the UK early hours of the morning ... as for what I have packed

It is comprised of the following: 10-22, 24-105mm L, 100mm L macro, 70-200 2.8 ISII L, 100-400mm L ... and my new favourite 70-300mm L ... and 2 50D bodies

This selection is based on the advice of the professionals that we are going with - and covers everything from wildlife through landscape to macro - we will be covering it all in the two weeks

Are you using snow mobiles to get around - you should be able to get shots of wolves and coyotes too if you are lucky

This is the trip we're heading out to participate in http://gerlachnaturephoto.com/Yellowstone/Winter.html - but we're doing some other bits before as well

 

[docsavage123]

I went to Yellowstone n May 2010, just as the park was re opening. I took the 400 F5.6, 70-200 F4 neither have image stabilisation, had no problems with birds in flight. I also took 2 bodies as well 7d and 40d as well as 10-20/24-70 for landscape shots. The 400 F5.6 trounces the 100-400 for image quality - tested it against my friends copy who after seeing the difference he bought a 400 F5.6 as well. I got some good bison, elk, moose and bear as well as birds.

The 70-300L as far as I know is weather sealed so that would be a good one to take as well as having image stabilisation. If you rent it ask it if it comes with a tripod collar as I dont think the standard model does.

 

[jspiteri]

I went to Yellowstone n May 2010, just as the park was re opening. I took the 400 F5.6, 70-200 F4 neither have image stabilisation, had no problems with birds in flight. I also took 2 bodies as well 7d and 40d as well as 10-20/24-70 for landscape shots. The 400 F5.6 trounces the 100-400 for image quality - tested it against my friends copy who after seeing the difference he bought a 400 F5.6 as well. I got some good bison, elk, moose and bear as well as birds.

The 70-300L as far as I know is weather sealed so that would be a good one to take as well as having image stabilisation. If you rent it ask it if it comes with a tripod collar as I dont think the standard model does.

Thanks, that's interesting to know. Did you get a lot of use out of the 400?

 

[Vern]

just returned from Yellowstone Feb 23-27 - took 600II and used it often with the 2XIII and needed more reach for wolves

I had considered getting a 7DII just for this trip and it would have been handy - just had 1DX and 5DMKIII

You can get great bison, bighorn, pronghorn, elk shots with less length, but if you want to shoot wolves you need as much as you can manage

I will post some shots in a new thread to show that the 600 + 2X combo can deliver acceptable IQ (nothing like the bare lens though)

 

[Lloyd]

Vern, I have been to Yellowstone many times, but always in the summer. I always wanted more reach than even my old manual FD 800mm could provide. However, as I live in Texas I don't get the chance to take many pictures in the snow. Were there any filter preferences or other equipment/techniques you found useful in such a snow filled and cold environment?

Kindest Regards, Lloyd

 

[Vern]

We were lucky with the weather. Coldest was -15F but most days got into the 20's. (Day before we arrived at Old Faithful, it was -37 there.) I experimented with using the 52mm drop-in CP filter with the 600II + 2X combo to decrease glare/haze, but can't say it helped a lot. Basically I got some great shots with this combo when the sun was behind me and there was limited heat turbulence (yes, I was a little surprised that this was a big issue over the snow), but any backlighting created pretty poor images. My technique was likely at fault at times (even with IS and a tripod, 1200mm picks up any vibration, shot with IS on 3), but backlighting consistently degraded the shots. I tried mirror lockup and live view + cable release to decrease vibration, but haven't noticed that these helped a lot versus just using the viewfinder and manual shutter release - which is easier for tracking wildlife.

I was pleasantly surprised not to have to fight condensation when we re-entered our van. I guess the air is just basically dry enough that even cold kit was OK. I did pack along some large plastic bags just in case but never used them.

I bought a 3rd set of batteries for the 1Dx and 5DMKIII with grip, but really didn't need them. Everything performed well electronically/mechanically even at -15F for 3-4 hours.

I kept the 600 on a RRS full gimbal with the 1DX and the 5DMKIII with the 70-200 2.8II on a shoulder sling + the 24-70 2.8II in a pocket. CP's on the two zooms were useful most of the time.

Wish I had bought the 7DMKII b/c light was good and I think more pixels on target with the 600II + 1.4XIII would have better IQ than the 600 + 2X on full frame. Maybe next time (or the 5Ds?).

Really awesome trip. I will start a new thread and put up a few shots soon.

 

[Lloyd]

Vern, thank you for your response. It is interesting that heat turbulence is still an issue in the winter. It is a significant problem for me in the summer. As I said before, I always want more reach, but there comes a point where all the magnification does is magnify the effect of the heat waves.

 

[wsmith96]

I went to Yellowstone a couple of years ago and took my 70-300 IS USM (non-L). I found that having the zoom was great for my pictures, though I did find that most shots were from 250-300mm when using this lens. I'm not sure if a tele-prime would have helped me or not as at the time I only had one body, but the zoom stayed on my camera 90% of the time.

You may want to look at the 100-400 mk ii L as well.

 

[weilin]

Just got back from Yellowstone actually...

I had 7D Mk2 + 2x + 600mm Mk2. The reach was "acceptable". There were a few instances where the 70-200 came in handy. Do bring something for landscapes as well.

Things you could see in the winter: Bison, Wolves, Coyotes, Red Foxes, Grizzly (there's a few that woke up early due to how warm it's been), Big Horn Sheep, Prodhorns, Deer, Elk...

I agree with the others, look into the new 100-400 Mk2 and bring the 1.4x tele.

 

[Andy_Hodapp]

Maybe think about the Tamron 150-600mm. Pretty affordable, lots of reach and versatility. It's not the sharpest thing in the world at 600mm but it really isn't that far behind lenses that cost twice as much.

 

[cycleraw]

I would recommend renting the 100-400 L II and a 1.4x III converter. I own both the and the new 100-400 works really well with the 1-4x converter.