100-400mm IS at the Bronx Zoo

Went to the Bronx Zoo last weekend; beautiful day (nice and cloudy to start) and low crowds. Was able to shoot with my D30 and 100-400mm IS L mounted on a Gitzo 1348 CF with Arca Swiss B1, using a 1.4x TC at times as well.

Here are three pictures with details on each image.



250mm, ISO 200, Evaluative Av 1/200s f8, Custom WB (gray card)



350mm, ISO 400, Evaluative Av 1/30s f5.6, Daylight WB, fill flash at -1 1/3 EV



400mm, ISO 200, Incident meter reading 1/100s f5.6, Daylight WB, fill flash at -1 EV

• Mohit

Those are great shots.

Mohit said:

Went to the Bronx Zoo last weekend; beautiful day (nice and cloudy
to start) and low crowds. Was able to shoot with my D30 and
100-400mm IS L mounted on a Gitzo 1348 CF with Arca Swiss B1, using
a 1.4x TC at times as well.

Click to expand...

Good job! I am thinking about taking the girls to the zoo in Nashville next weekend. You have made it hard not to.
Ron Warren

Very nice work, Mohit!

Beautiful symmetry on the flamingos - great timing.

Colors and smoothness on the bird are just right.

The bear is also nicely shot.

Congratulations on some nice work!

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

Hi, Mohit. Wonderful images. I'm impressed with your work. Thanks for posting.

Mike Flaherty

Mohit said:

Went to the Bronx Zoo last weekend; beautiful day (nice and cloudy
to start) and low crowds. Was able to shoot with my D30 and
100-400mm IS L mounted on a Gitzo 1348 CF with Arca Swiss B1, using
a 1.4x TC at times as well.

Here are three pictures with details on each image.



250mm, ISO 200, Evaluative Av 1/200s f8, Custom WB (gray card)



350mm, ISO 400, Evaluative Av 1/30s f5.6, Daylight WB, fill flash
at -1 1/3 EV



400mm, ISO 200, Incident meter reading 1/100s f5.6, Daylight WB,
fill flash at -1 EV

• Mohit

Click to expand...

Beautiful images
Does not look like a zoo at all.

suresh

Mohit said:

Went to the Bronx Zoo last weekend; beautiful day (nice and cloudy
to start) and low crowds. Was able to shoot with my D30 and
100-400mm IS L mounted on a Gitzo 1348 CF with Arca Swiss B1, using
a 1.4x TC at times as well.

Here are three pictures with details on each image.



250mm, ISO 200, Evaluative Av 1/200s f8, Custom WB (gray card)



350mm, ISO 400, Evaluative Av 1/30s f5.6, Daylight WB, fill flash
at -1 1/3 EV



400mm, ISO 200, Incident meter reading 1/100s f5.6, Daylight WB,
fill flash at -1 EV

• Mohit

Click to expand...

Great shots. Does the fill flash make a difference especially at 400mm? mark

Ron,

Member said:

Good job! I am thinking about taking the girls to the zoo in
Nashville next weekend. You have made it hard not to.

Click to expand...

Take them, I'm sure they'll love it! Don't forget the D30 and long lens though...

• Mohit

Don,

Thanks for the comments. I've admired your bird shots (especially some of those flight ones) as well as the macro work too.

There were tons of flamingos in this little spot, maybe 20-30 of them, all fairly close to each other. I tried hard to isolate just one so I could get a clean shot, but was unable to. I saw these two standing in a similar position next to each other, and took several horizontal shots. Then I really noticed their reflection, and quickly switched to vertical and fired off a bunch of great shots. I'm glad they hold that basic pose for about half a minute!

Using an incident meter was great in this case. Once I'd taken my reading and a custom WB off a great card just prior to setting up for these shots, I locked in the manual exposure and kept shooting with various compositions, knowing the Evaluative meter wouldn't be fooled by the varying amount of water or other reflective readings in different shots. Made it easy to nail the exposure and white balance.

Same story on the bear - manual incident reading with my Sekonic L358 (even more important given the dark color of the bear), then I tried various focal lengths for different compositions as the bear was very accommodating in staying in that position for several minutes. The image I posted was the tightest shot.

• Mohit

Member said:

Very nice work, Mohit!
Beautiful symmetry on the flamingos - great timing.
Colors and smoothness on the bird are just right.
The bear is also nicely shot.

Click to expand...

Mike,

Mike Flaherty said:

Hi, Mohit. Wonderful images. I'm impressed with your work.
Thanks for posting.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll post a couple more later...

• Mohit

Suresh,

sureshmysore said:

Beautiful images
Does not look like a zoo at all.

Click to expand...

The Bronx Zoo is quite impressive; this was my first visit there. Many animals are in fairly open spaces with little or no high fencing to shoot through. You can get fairly close in some cases, and definitely within reach of the 400mm on a D30 (640mm equivalent) for almost all shots.

• Mohit

Mark,

mark kay said:

Great shots. Does the fill flash make a difference especially at
400mm?

Click to expand...

I didn't think so either until I read about birders using fill flash at even longer focal lengths. Then I got to try it for myself at a photo workshop earlier this month. You typically only need around -1 1/3 or -1 2/3 EV for the flash, which really doesn't require as much power as you might think. It's basically to impart a "kiss of light" on the subject, if only just a catchlight in the eyes, and maybe fill in the shadows just a bit. It really works well (the Inca Tern bird photo shows nice even lighting with use of fill flash).

At longer focal lengths, it's advisable to use a flash extender like the Better Beamer which adds up to 2 stops by use of a fresnel glass in front of the flash head. See Arthur Morris' site at http://www.birdsasart.com for more info on the Beamer.

• Mohit

Love the bear -- that's great!

Mohit said:

Went to the Bronx Zoo last weekend; beautiful day (nice and cloudy
to start) and low crowds. Was able to shoot with my D30 and
100-400mm IS L mounted on a Gitzo 1348 CF with Arca Swiss B1, using
a 1.4x TC at times as well.

Here are three pictures with details on each image.



250mm, ISO 200, Evaluative Av 1/200s f8, Custom WB (gray card)



350mm, ISO 400, Evaluative Av 1/30s f5.6, Daylight WB, fill flash
at -1 1/3 EV



400mm, ISO 200, Incident meter reading 1/100s f5.6, Daylight WB,
fill flash at -1 EV

• Mohit

Click to expand...

Great shots!!! Thanks for the information about the fill flash. The 100/400 is my favortie lens with the D30. Thanks for posting them.

Mike

I use the Kirk FX-2, although only with the 400/5.6 so far since I
haven't gotten a bracket for bigger lenses yet. Works very well
and packs small, featherweight. I haven't seen the BB yet, but I
suspect it's actually the same thing. Regardless, it's an excellent
accessory and I suspect with the 100-400 you won't need
a bracket. Just put the flash on the camera.

Mohit said:

Mohit said:

Great shots. Does the fill flash make a difference especially at
400mm?

Click to expand...

I didn't think so either until I read about birders using fill
flash at even longer focal lengths. Then I got to try it for
myself at a photo workshop earlier this month. You typically only
need around -1 1/3 or -1 2/3 EV for the flash, which really doesn't
require as much power as you might think. It's basically to impart
a "kiss of light" on the subject, if only just a catchlight in the
eyes, and maybe fill in the shadows just a bit. It really works
well (the Inca Tern bird photo shows nice even lighting with use of
fill flash).

At longer focal lengths, it's advisable to use a flash extender
like the Better Beamer which adds up to 2 stops by use of a fresnel
glass in front of the flash head. See Arthur Morris' site at
http://www.birdsasart.com for more info on the Beamer.

• Mohit

Click to expand...

Very nice shots - excellent color and details. Envy is a bad thing, but I'd love to be able to afford that lens!

Cheers,
Hans

Jan,

I believe the FX-2 is virtually the same as the Better Beamer. I'd like to get a flash bracket too, though, since there are some really nice (though expensive!) ones that attach directly to the ArcaSwiss lens plate on the tripod collar of the bigger lenses, so when you switch from horizontal to vertical, the flash stays where it is. It's also good in raising the flash a little higher.

Thanks for your comments on the shots; the bear has a great lazy/lounging around look to him

• Mohit

Jan Brittenson said:

I use the Kirk FX-2, although only with the 400/5.6 so far since I
haven't gotten a bracket for bigger lenses yet. Works very well
and packs small, featherweight. I haven't seen the BB yet, but I
suspect it's actually the same thing. Regardless, it's an excellent
accessory and I suspect with the 100-400 you won't need
a bracket. Just put the flash on the camera.

Click to expand...

Michael Eckstein said:

Great shots!!! Thanks for the information about the fill flash. The
100/400 is my favortie lens with the D30. Thanks for posting them.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments, Mike.

The 100-400mm IS L has to be one of the most versatile lenses for outdoor shooting. I love its sharpness, colors, and the focus is quick too. What a great do-it-all lens...

• Mohit

Hans Bornich66586 said:

Very nice shots - excellent color and details. Envy is a bad thing,
but I'd love to be able to afford that lens!

Click to expand...

Thanks Hans. As I wrote to Mike, the 100-400mm IS L is one heck of a lens, so versatile for outdoor use.

I'd originally bought Canon's 100-300mm f/5.6L (which is only $329 new) since I wasn't sure I needed a long lens as I was mostly shooting portraits and family stuff when I first bought my D30. That is one sharp lens with great color too. I finally purchased the 100-400mm IS L several weeks ago and am glad I made the change - it is far more versatile. The price is not cheap though, unfortunately

• Mohit