Alaska Wildlife photography video & still

Good morning,

My wife and I will be going to Alaska in 2 weeks time. Itinerary is Fairbanks/Denali N.P./Anchorage/Whittier day cruise/Wrangell (Anan Bear Observatory and Stikine River)/Ketchikan (fishing).

Denali N.P. and Anan will be the highlight of this trip as we both love shooting wildlife.

My primary wildlife gear will be Nikon D7100 + Tamron 70-300, and my wife will use her Sony A57 + Sony 80-400. Monopod will be used.

For scenery and general shooting, our go to camera is Olympus EM1 +12-40/f2.8, instead of changing lenses for our Nikon & Sony.

For still photography, I believe I am all set.

Video is a different story. While Sony can handle video well, my D7100 using live view to capture video of wildlife is a huge challenge. I am more inclined to use my M43 for video. Then I will need to change the lens to 70-300. Or is the new Panasonic 14-140 be more appropriate. Still another option is bring a small Sony video cam. But then, it is the fourth gear, be it small.

Would appreciate very much input from experienced photographers who have been to Denali and Anan to shoot wildlife.

Many thanks

Alaska is amazing place and sounds like you have quite a nice vacation. Enjoy

You may wish to peruse this thread:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54459813

I have had a similar concern going to Canada.  E5 video is useless, EM-1 is OK, but EM-5-ii is pretty darn good.  I am taking EM-1 and EM-5 bodies and 12-40 and 50-200 SWD lenses and a 1.4.  Will video with EM-5, shoot the rest with EM-1 or EM-5, probably leave the 12-40 on the EM-1.  No lens swap, backup camera, all fit in one kinda small bag.

Try the video with the EM-1, you might be surprised.  I have two Canon camcorders and I'm leaving them at home, although I do use them weekly for other things.

Joe

Its probably fair to say the 14-140 II is better than the 75-300 Oly / 100-300 Panny. In this case,  I'd take the reach over the quality - unless you expect/know you will be close enough for the 14-140.

We used 4 GH2s, though, so video wasn't a problem. I don't know about the EM1 except that it will do better for stills. I now have an EM5 II which does pretty good video. The 70-300 on even an APS-C sensor is a little too short for Denali where it would be good to have a 600mm equivalent. I am not familiar with the Sony A57 but if it's a cropped sensor you should be good with 80-400. I have been shooting some hawks with a bunch of photographers in Central Park the last week and the guys with the full frame sensors aren't getting anything worthwhile except for one who has a 400 f4. Unfortunately he's crippled by a 4 year old sensor in bad light. I really think you should have a 600mm equivalent, purchased or rented.

Good luck and have fun. Denali is open 24/7 so get there before all the tourists at say 7am. The moose and caribou will be feeding. I hope to get back there this year or the next.

I never got around to putting up more recent shots but here are some done a few years earlier:

http://www.pbase.com/khoss/alaska

Regards,

Kurt

Lawrence W wrote:

Good morning,

My wife and I will be going to Alaska in 2 weeks time. Itinerary is Fairbanks/Denali N.P./Anchorage/Whittier day cruise/Wrangell (Anan Bear Observatory and Stikine River)/Ketchikan (fishing).

Denali N.P. and Anan will be the highlight of this trip as we both love shooting wildlife.

My primary wildlife gear will be Nikon D7100 + Tamron 70-300, and my wife will use her Sony A57 + Sony 80-400. Monopod will be used.

For scenery and general shooting, our go to camera is Olympus EM1 +12-40/f2.8, instead of changing lenses for our Nikon & Sony.

For still photography, I believe I am all set.

Video is a different story. While Sony can handle video well, my D7100 using live view to capture video of wildlife is a huge challenge. I am more inclined to use my M43 for video. Then I will need to change the lens to 70-300. Or is the new Panasonic 14-140 be more appropriate. Still another option is bring a small Sony video cam. But then, it is the fourth gear, be it small.

Would appreciate very much input from experienced photographers who have been to Denali and Anan to shoot wildlife.

Many thanks

Adding a fourth camera would drive me nuts trying to keep all the menu systems straight.

DgkFL wrote:

I was in Denali a couple of days ago (I am in Anchorage right now, leaving for home tomorrow). I don't have much on my iPad to share, but below was shot with my 14-140 II, the longest lens I have with me, plus digital telephoto on my EM1 and mild cropping on the iPad. I show you this not as a great photo (aside from the low resolution, it was shot through a bus window), but as an indication to you that you should have a long lens with you.

I would say that matches my Denali experience.   Unless you are lucky expect similar.   And the sheep were dots even with the 50-200+EC-20.  Moose were right on the side of the road almost any where in Alaska except Kenai Fjords which lacks roads

My Nikon with a 30% crop on an APS-C sensor will give me almost 600mm. The Sony 70-400 and the Oly 75-300 both get us 600mm. They are all pretty decent for stills; just have to try them out for video.

Denali NP will need the longest  lens one can carry. My understanding is Anan Creek is a different story. Bears could be only 50-100 ft away. Lighting is the issue there as it is a rain forest, pretty dark even if it is not raining. I don't have fast and long lenses on any of the above 3 systems. Only Nikon 50/f1.8, 35/f1.8, or Oly 45/f1.8 and 25/f1.8 which I used mostly for taking pictures of my little granddaughter!

khoss wrote:

We used 4 GH2s, though, so video wasn't a problem. I don't know about the EM1 except that it will do better for stills. I now have an EM5 II which does pretty good video. The 70-300 on even an APS-C sensor is a little too short for Denali where it would be good to have a 600mm equivalent. I am not familiar with the Sony A57 but if it's a cropped sensor you should be good with 80-400. I have been shooting some hawks with a bunch of photographers in Central Park the last week and the guys with the full frame sensors aren't getting anything worthwhile except for one who has a 400 f4. Unfortunately he's crippled by a 4 year old sensor in bad light. I really think you should have a 600mm equivalent, purchased or rented.

Good luck and have fun. Denali is open 24/7 so get there before all the tourists at say 7am. The moose and caribou will be feeding. I hope to get back there this year or the next.

I never got around to putting up more recent shots but here are some done a few years earlier:

http://www.pbase.com/khoss/alaska

Regards,

Kurt