Advice for renting a lens for Yellowstone

[Graphic.Artifacts]

One of the things that makes Yellowstone unique is the long sight lines. Its not uncommon to spot some of the larger mammals when they are several miles away so it's a bit frustrating no matter what glass you bring. Far is far and no lens can make a sharp image over those distances. I often revert to video in those cases as I find it is more forgiving of a loose crop and Canon's video crop ratios become an advantage.

As far as lens choices, it really depends on what you hope to photograph. Grizzly bears, wolves and moose generally require as much glass as you can muster although if you put the time in you can occasionally get pretty close to those with reasonable safety. Black bears, elk, deer, fox, coyote, sheep, etc you can often get quite close to and a 100-400 or 150-600 can yield some very nice frame filling shots. I'd probably recommend going with one of those and and 1.4x extender as that will provide the most flexibility. Yellowstone is huge and you are going to have to be on the move to see much of it in a few days.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The last time I went, all I had was my 70-200 f/4L IS with TC's. To shoot wild life, I added a 1.4X TC, but it was woefully inadequate to fill the frame with a eagle in the top of a tree at the edge of the parking lot.

On the other hand, the 24-105mm was not quite wide enough to get a good photo from some of the board walks that are right on the edge or even partially over the geologic features. I think my 100-400 with 1.4X or 2X TC and live view DPAF might make it. I'd not want to pack a really big lens thru the July Crowds, I went in the fall to avoid them, but there were still a lot of people. I had my 70-200mm lens set at 70mm to shoot old faithful, a mistake, I could not get it all in the image and did not want to wait for the next event to put a wider lens on.

I doubt that I'll be going back soon, even though its a day or less drive, but I'd want ~12-24 or 16-35, 24-70/24-105, and 100-400 plus TC's. Both my crop and FF DSLR's have DPAF and I'd use that a lot, since my 5D MK IV will AF even with stacked TC's if focus is already close.

 

[scottkinfw]

Since you have years of experience with Canon's 100-400mm, I would suggest you rent one of those. If you are committed to a prime, I can say that my transition from mainly using a 100-400 for wildlife to a 300mm F2.8 IS ii with a pair of teleconverters was pretty easy. I am very happy with the results I get from the 300mm F2.8 IS ii. I can also recommend that you enjoy your trip, prepare for the unexpected moments, and don't stress too much about the gear your taking. The Eastern Screech Owl was taken with the 300mm F2.8 IS ii about 15 min after sunset with ambient light. The Elk + Old Faithful was taken with a 35mm film point-and-shoot circa 1986.

Oh there will be no family along with me, this is all about geeking out on photography and trying something new. I never owned anything longer than 400 and renting is a great opportunity to try that yet I want to do it realistically and perhaps not get a giant prime which challenges me in the field with time constraints. Thanks.

You are brave!

Getting a great shot always challenges me regardless of lens or camera.

I'm going to look into the 500L. It might be worth the $, as I never know when and if I will ever get another chance.
Scott

 

[scottkinfw]

What are some great lenses, focal lengths that have served you well in Yellowstone?

We visited Yellowstone NP for 5 days back in 2012. At that time I had a 550D, EF-S 18-55 and 55-250mm. 250mm on a crop (400mm FF equivalent) was definitely not enough reach for wildlife. I cropped most of my wildlife shots pretty heavily. Yes, you will get some close-up wildlife encounters as well, but most will be fairly distant. You will use your EF 16-35mm f/4 IS quite a bit, but will probably need a normal zoom as well, 24-70mm or 25-105 in addition to a long tele for wildlife.

Your long tele choice depends on your budget. A 500 f/4 II would be my preference, but renting for a week will be expensive. The Sigma C 150-600 and Tamron 150-600 G2 are both very well respected. Auto focus will not be as good as one of the big whites, but autofocus requirements for shooting distant bears, bison, elk and moose is not nearly as demanding as BIF.

My question to anyone who has been there, should I rent a longer lens?
I will bring a 5DIII and 1DX II. Would it be worth it to rent a 5dSR?

A 300 f/2.8 II is my longest lens as well. I use mine all the time for wildlife with the 1.4x and 2.0x III extenders and it performs pretty well, but AF struggles a bit with the 2x. For a trip like this, I would probably rent a 500 f/4 II or 600 f/4 II. I would think your current cameras are certainly good enough unless you really want maximum resolution for large prints.

Anyone use Canon with the CPS benefits to "borrow" a lens?
Scott

 

[scottkinfw]

What I used in Yellowstone last year: 16-35 f/4 IS, 24-70 II, 100-400 II (plus extenders).

I went with my family, so a lot of it was driving and hiking. The 16-35 and 24-70 got used a lot as walk around lenses. A lot of the more sensitive geological areas restrict foot traffic to boardwalks and it's handy to have a UWA lens (i.e. Grand Prismatic). If you're planning on going to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone area, the 100-400 is a must as a landscape lens in addition to the shorter focal lengths. I had two camera bags with me, I carried what I thought I needed at the moment, and left the rest in the second bag in the car.

The 100-400 II is an excellent lens and it's portability is a major asset. I'd rather walk around with a 100-400 II with the extender in the backpack rather than a 150-600. That said, I would have loved to have a long supertele in the Lamar Valley. We were taking pictures of an osprey family (2 young chicks), and that was the only time I felt I needed something longer. I had both extenders with me and the resulting pictures were good. but then a serious amateur/pro came by and asked what we were looking at. I showed him the shots that I got of the nest, and he liked them, so he went back to his vehicle and brought back a D4/5, the Nikkor 500mm, extenders, tripod and a chair. My family watched the ospreys for about half an hour. He was there for over 2 hours (he was still there after we had gone to see the bison in Lamar Valley and passed the osprey nest on the way out). He was returning from Alaska after shooting bald eagles. I was looking for something good for memories. He was looking for something great (ospreys taking off and returning in flight). My tripod was in the car because I didn't know how long my family would let me stay; he was camping out waiting for a moment that might never occur. Besides the two of us, I saw only one other camera with a long zoom. Nearly everyone else had cell phones. We passed binoculars around to let them see what we were seeing/taking photos of.

If I were going to do it as a photo trip exclusively, I'd bring both the 100-400 II and a 600. 600 instead of the 500 for the birds with monopod and tripod. The bison get close to the road but those are not the best opportunities because of the background. They are spread out over a wide area so you can walk a bit toward the river while keeping adequate distance and use a long lens to get the shot you want. Don't forget to bring the wider lenses. Telephoto shots of the large animals are great, but there is also a great quality for panoramas showing these large animals in a large expanse of nature.

Also consider talking to the rangers to find out where the wolves are active in Lamar Valley. They hunt early (5-6AM), and Yellowstone is a big park so you'll have to get up early. That was one of the things I would have loved to see and get a photo of, but our hotel was in West Yellowstone on the opposite side.

Hi Random

I just made reservations for the Western enterance of the park. Any recommendations for must visit places in that neck of the Park?

Thanks.
Scott

 

[dawgfanjeff]

Here's my advice

I was there last September, and I'd recommend the longest zoom you can get (300mm should be a minimum), and without a doubt, rent a 10-22. You'll be walking along boardwalks and standing literally 3 feet from open thermals, "pots" and geysers that have so much visual interest you'll feel like there is no way to frame it without sacrifice, so go wide. I'd also leave the macro lens at home, instead bring a tripod and a polarizer for the 10-22.

A few other tips...you're going to see lots and lots of bison. Unless they are really close, don't stop to photograph the first ones you see. The opposite is true of moose and elk, but especially bear and wolves. I struck gold on wolves, but no bear.
When in Teton, visit the best visitors' center I've ever seen, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve and take the short hike to Phelps Lake.

The park is huge, so you'll be driving alot, so will everybody else so get out there EARLY and try to catch wildlife and avoid alot of traffic. There are hiking trails everywhere, but really do heed the warnings on bear.
Lastly...you cannot possibly see everything you want to but you'll want to check off the snake river overlook that Ansel made famous, Old Faithful and without a doubt, spend some time in Lamar Valley. I bought a couple of photo related guidebooks for kindle and read them on the plane ride, it helped out. Enjoy!

IMG_1102 by dawgfanjeff, on Flickr

IMG_1648 by dawgfanjeff, on Flickr


Lamar Valley Wolves by dawgfanjeff, on Flickr

 

[reef58]

I've not been to Yellowstone, but around Jasper, I didn't need a long lens for wildlife. These were shot with my S120 or S95, whichever I had at the time:

At Glacier National Park I saw grizzlies using the same trails as hikers as I looked across the side of a mountain. I didn't have a digital camera back then. I was shooting negative film with a compact 35mm camera. I don't recall whether I tried to get a shot of that. I hope some day to go back through those pictures and scan in the negatives of the best shots. If I had wanted a picture of just one bear, I would have needed a long lens. To show the bears and people on the side of a mountain, my guess would be something in the 100mm to 200mm range would have been about right.

You don't want to try and shoot bears and bison with a short lens. You are inviting disaster.

 

[takesome1]

Go to this website and see what everyone else is using.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/viewanim.htm
Also, 100 yards from bears and wolves.
If you feel like taking a shorter zoom lens and moving in closer by all means do so. I like the cell phone shooters, they give an added layer of protection between me and a bear.

 

[timmy_650]

I might go with the 150-600, I have only shot it at a demo at a Zoo but I was pretty happy with the quality. The 200-400 and 400 were better. Why I would say the 150-600 is cost and transporting it. If you rent a 500 you probably want to a bag too, so you have some way to carry it.
When I was at Yellowstone a few years ago, I saw wolfs in the morning on the boardwalks. If I rented a 500 I wouldn't been carrying it with me.
If you where going to Alaska to shoot bears, then I would say a 500 would be worth it. But it sounds like you want to shoot everything at Yellowstone.

 

[stevelee]

You don't want to try and shoot bears and bison with a short lens. You are inviting disaster.

I was in a small bus when I took the picture of the bear, so fairly safe. It was a sad story. Traffic was backed up, and we soon saw why. A small skinny bear was in the middle of the road begging for food from cars. I didn't see that anybody was giving him food, but maybe some had. He apparently had become dependent upon humans for food rather than gathering his own, and it wasn't working out well, judging from his appearance. There was little chance that he would make it through the next winter. By the time we got close, he was heading back into the woods on our right. That was when I took the picture. I don't know how safe it was to be that close to the sheep or goats, whichever they were. They were walking by us, so not spooked by our presence.

 

[scottkinfw]

These replies are great, thank you all (so far) I shoot with a 5D3 and an M5. I have years of experience with the two versions of 100-400's even though I do not have one at this time. Therefore I figured the 150-600 would be 2nd nature in terms of zoom range and handling. I prefer to zoom with my feet over 35mm and have little use for a 24-70 in the wild (I do own the 2.8 Mkll) The 135L is my baby for those special abstract images the pools can offer. I have no issues with how I will use both that and the 16-35 (which utilizes my Formatt HiTech filter system)

The monetary variance of renting a 150-600 G2 vs a 500/600 Canon big white is $300-400, so there's that...therefore I appreciate the feedback on the hunch that this may not be the time for me to experiment with huge primes. I'll have 3 full days and want to make the most of my time, using my previous experience there as a guide of what I want and how not to waste my time.

Funny how I have two other trips prior to this and I know just what to bring to California Central Coast and Kauai but YS is driving me nuts. Thanks again.

I agree with the tripod. What do you say about the advice from others about how difficult it is to get technique down? I have gotten pretty good with my 300 F 2.8 even with a 1.4 extender. Is it really a steep learning curve stepping up to a 500?

Thanks.

Scott

 

[scottkinfw]

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM with Built-in Extender 1.4x Lens, and a burro to carry it all.

Agreed and an. SBA loan to get one.

Scot

 

[scottkinfw]

Go to this website and see what everyone else is using.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/viewanim.htm
Also, 100 yards from bears and wolves.
If you feel like taking a shorter zoom lens and moving in closer by all means do so. I like the cell phone shooters, they give an added layer of protection between me and a bear.

Ha Ha. I love the cell phone photographers. I'm not that fast at running, but I can outrun them- even with all my gear!

Scott

 

[scottkinfw]

Go to this website and see what everyone else is using.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/viewanim.htm
Also, 100 yards from bears and wolves.
If you feel like taking a shorter zoom lens and moving in closer by all means do so. I like the cell phone shooters, they give an added layer of protection between me and a bear.

Excellent resource- Thank you.

scott

 

[bholliman]

I agree with the tripod. What do you say about the advice from others about how difficult it is to get technique down? I have gotten pretty good with my 300 F 2.8 even with a 1.4 extender. Is it really a steep learning curve stepping up to a 500?

My comments on it taking some time to learn how to shoot with a long prime were primarily in reference to photographing birds in flight. Slow moving bears and other large mammals are much easier to shoot. If you have experience with your 300 and extenders, a 500 f/4 won't be that much different. Using a tripod or stabilizing your lens on your vehicle, tree or rock definitely helps, but with image stabilization, I can get good hand held shots with a 500 f/4 II and my 5DsR. I'm not strong enough to hand hold for long periods of time, but sufficient for an animal or two.

 

[stevelee]

I definitely don't intend to photograph fast moving bears.

 

[slclick]

I definitely don't intend to photograph fast moving bears.

No?, don't care to try and get both eyes in sharp focus in a shallow DoF plane at an ever decreasing distance?

 

[ethanz]

What are some great lenses, focal lengths that have served you well in Yellowstone?

We visited Yellowstone NP for 5 days back in 2012. At that time I had a 550D, EF-S 18-55 and 55-250mm. 250mm on a crop (400mm FF equivalent) was definitely not enough reach for wildlife. I cropped most of my wildlife shots pretty heavily. Yes, you will get some close-up wildlife encounters as well, but most will be fairly distant. You will use your EF 16-35mm f/4 IS quite a bit, but will probably need a normal zoom as well, 24-70mm or 25-105 in addition to a long tele for wildlife.

Your long tele choice depends on your budget. A 500 f/4 II would be my preference, but renting for a week will be expensive. The Sigma C 150-600 and Tamron 150-600 G2 are both very well respected. Auto focus will not be as good as one of the big whites, but autofocus requirements for shooting distant bears, bison, elk and moose is not nearly as demanding as BIF.

My question to anyone who has been there, should I rent a longer lens?
I will bring a 5DIII and 1DX II. Would it be worth it to rent a 5dSR?

A 300 f/2.8 II is my longest lens as well. I use mine all the time for wildlife with the 1.4x and 2.0x III extenders and it performs pretty well, but AF struggles a bit with the 2x. For a trip like this, I would probably rent a 500 f/4 II or 600 f/4 II. I would think your current cameras are certainly good enough unless you really want maximum resolution for large prints.

Anyone use Canon with the CPS benefits to "borrow" a lens?
Scott

I use it. I borrowed all their 400ish lenses before I bought mine. The return shipping is expensive (due to insurance), but it still typically comes out to be less than renting the lens.

 

[ethanz]

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM with Built-in Extender 1.4x Lens, and a burro to carry it all.

I second this choice.

 

[Don Haines]

I definitely don't intend to photograph fast moving bears.

That would be the 1200F5.6.... you will have a hard time finding one to rent, but if you do, you can hide behind it from a charging bear....