Which lenses for this trip/how to shoot it?

[jephotog]

<p>I just came back from a trip from Baja California where I visited the Bay of Magdalena, where I got to pet a baby Gray Whale. There were many more other cool whale sightings also. While I got some nice photos, generally there were many more disappointing photos. Just some soft and out of focus, or water glare and reflection.<br>

I like my lens collection for what I do but am considering renting some better glass for this trip.<br>

Camera body: EOS 7D<br>

Normal carry lenses</p>

<ul>

<li>Sigma 10-20</li>

<li>Tamron 28-75/2.8</li>

<li>Canon 70-300 IS</li>

</ul>

<p>I also own a </p>

<ul>

<li>Canon 55-250</li>

<li>Canon 17-86</li>

<li>Canon 28-135</li>

<li>Canon EFS 60 macro</li>

<li>Canon 50/1.8 ii</li>

</ul>

<p>The things I plan on doing differently is shooting at shutter speed of 1000 or greater on the big telephoto. I am also thinking of renting the Canon 100-400 ii for the same trip next week and adding a circular polarizer for my wide angle lens. I may also rent a second camera body, so I am not switching between lenses as shots come and go. The whales are popping up either far away or close up the whole time.</p>

<ul>

<li>The question I have is there a wide or medium lens that is far superior to what I own that I should consider renting?</li>

<li>Would I benefit from putting a polarizer on the front of all my lenses i bring?</li>

<li>Would a second 7D be the camera of choice for this trip or is there a better body for wildlife, within a budget?</li>

</ul>

<p>Any other suggestions on making this upcoming photo trip a better one photographically are appreciated.</p><div></div>

[JDMvW]

<blockquote>

<p>more disappointing photos. Just some soft and out of focus, or water glare and reflection.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>These are not problems requiring different lenses, but ones requiring more careful technique.<br>

Try shooting more deliberately and slowly. Give the AF time to work, and make sure the active focus point is where you want focus to be. If possible, try to anticipate where the action will be and be ready for it.<br>

Higher ISO and a little noise is preferable to getting motion blur. Shooting wide open with telephotos will also result in shallow depth-of-field in the image.</p>

<p> </p>

[David_Cavan]

<p>What a great opportunity, Jordan. I'd like to do one of those trips myself. I checked the EXIF data on your shot, and I think the big issue with that one is that you were hand-held at 1/640s, at 190mm, from a boat. That's a tough shot to nail, and I think you are right about getting the shutter speeds up. In that case you could have dropped the aperture and increased the shutter speed, and you have room to increase the ISO as well on a 7D. So there's room to get the shutter speed up quite a bit and that would make a huge difference.</p>

<p>As far as lenses go, I suspect the new 100-400 would give you a couple of stops as well if you could rent that - in this case it's all about shutter speed. I doubt that you'll find anything better than the 7D, or not at least anything that's worth the cost.</p>

[mark_ethridge]

<p>Depending on how long of a telephoto you're using, you really need a fast shutter speed for pictures like this. Even in great light. Looking at your image, I don't see any area in focus which leads me to think you needed a higher shutter speed. Particularly since you're 7D is more than capable of establishing great focus in this kind of light so I don't think it's a camera issue (provided you've tested your camera for focus and it checks out). Your plan of at least 1/1000 shutter speed is a good one. My guess is that all you need to do is bump up the ISO and shutter speed and you'll be much happier. If you want to rent a second body, another 7D or a 7DmkII would probably be best for wildlife with a telephoto. If you might be taking wide shots or landscapes, you may want to try a full sensor camera like a 5DmkII or 5DmkIII. You'll be surprised how different your 28-135mm or the 50mm 1.8 looks without the 1.6 crop. But do realize that lugging around two cameras with lenses attached is not easy. The camera bodies we're talking about are not featherweights and the 100-400L is quite large. Another warning: if you try the 100-400L, you're probably going to want one!<br>

<br /> I have the 100-400mm (ver. 1) and have used it for whale photos on my 7D--it's a terrific combo!</p>

[jephotog]

<p>JDM,<br>

I realize the disappointing photos from this trip is not the fault of the lenses but that of pilot error and know what I did wrong and glad to have another opportunity to do it right. While I little rusty at this type of action shooting, I have pretty much the right technique. It is tough when I am shooting a baby frolicking 20 feet from the boat and a large mom breaches a hundred yards away. Its not a bad problem to have when there are too many photo ops and not enough camera bodies. <br>

I did end up with some nice shots, but not as many as I was hoping for. I am wanting to maximize my opportunity for the next trip. A person on board this trip had a 5Dmark II with all L lenses. I spent the majority of the trip showing her how to use it. I was jealous but when doing some bracketing, I realize how slow it is and really like my 7D for what I do. I already want this 100-400 II, and am renting it to test drive it this weekend and contemplating some overtime at work so I can add it to my collection.</p>

<p>So the plan now is to carry my 7D, rent another 7D and then rent the 100-400 with a polarizer.<br>

Would a polarizer be useful on all the lenses? I really feel the close ups with the wide angle would have benefited from one.<br>

Should I put a polarizer on all the lenses?<br>

Will this help with low contrast images?<br>

Would a monopod help with the big glass in a boat?<br>

Is there an exposure I should try to help on the low contrast images when it comes to shooting or post processing?</p><div></div>

[gduffy]

<p>I am not familiar with all of your lenses, but I notice from the exif you were shooting F8. If your lens is good for it you could shoot f5.6 or F4 and pick up a stop or 2. Likely a better solution would be to bump up the iso so that you can have some dof latitude. The polarizer is going to work against you as the filter can take away a couple of stops. You may be better off making color adjustments in post. Just get the shutter speed up and take a look at your technique a bit. Should do it. (I would have expected a little bit better focus results a 1/640s, but if you are shooting from a boat it could be tough) The 7D should be just fine for the job. Might be worth some test shots from a tripod to verify focus is good before your next trip. Happy shooting!</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>This is I'm afraid par for the course. You need the highest shutter speed you can bear 1/1000-1/2000+ - a lot of your blur will be due to boat pitching. It is best to have a zoom. I00-300 is about right, so your 70-300mm is good. Push up the ISO to ensure you have plenty of leeway, and you have to be quick. There is also of course a lot of luck as to where and when you see the whales and what they are doing. I have only seen Humpbacks and a few Right whales. Sometimes they are doing interesting things, other times not. So you have to see and act quickly. Last time I used a 70-200mm f2.8 + 1.4 with Humpbacks, but I probably didn't need the 1.4 for most of the time. If you put a polarizer on the lens you will lose light_ I think that would be a bad idea, also I doubt you will have time to rotate it to minimize reflections.</p><div></div>

[jephotog]

<p>So no polarizer on the big lens, where I need the shutter speed? I also don't think DOF is much of an issue because I am usually shooting fairly far away with this then cropping. Also some of these distant shots are usually taken with a last minute camera swing as the whales pop up. Most of the first shots were soft then a little better. That day was fairly calm so the camera was fairly steady once on target.<br>

Would the polarizer be good for the close up shots 10-20 and 28-75 lenses with the whales under or near the surface? I am hoping for some glare reduction and better water penetration.</p>

[gduffy]

<p>"Would the polarizer be good for the close up shots 10-20 and 28-75 lenses with the whales under or near the surface? I am hoping for some glare reduction and better water penetration."<br>

I suppose it would cut down the glare, but one more thing to adjust. You could take a guess on where they are going to surface for optimal results.<br>

</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>Jordan,</p>

<p>Yes, it would probably help, but it all depends whether you have time to adjust, and whether you are happy with the results, given that it will cost you a stop and half or so. Also remember when shooting deep into the water, the light is not as good as you might think. In the Atlantic the water is rarely still enough to see very deep and is rarely undistorted (waves, swell) so a polarizer probably is not a lot of help much: but it may be different in Baja.</p>

[dcstep]

<p>On small boat, like a Zodiac, or pretty much anything under 30', you'll want a shutter speed up the 1/2500 to 1/3200-sec. range. Even on a large boat, engine vibration can require shutter speed up over 1/2000-sec. Use single-point AF and try to get it on the eye and keep the shutter speed up. Noise is better than motion blur from your boat. </p>

[jephotog]

<p>The bay where they are was so calm the day I was there. For the wide angle shots I will have plenty of time. This provided a momma brings her baby up to the boat again. At one point I was shooting with my right hand over my head and reaching out with my left hand petting the baby whale. I had to reach up with my left hand to rack the lens to 10mm as it was so close.</p>

<p>I have a rental 100-400 II on the way. I will be carrying my Canon 30D with me to keep a second camera on the ready, for the wide angle shots.</p><div></div>

[gduffy]

<p>David Stephens takes some fantastic shots with a 500mm handheld! Unbelievable focus! Perhaps a little input on your technique would be great here. ( beyond the shutter speed) Hand held camera support? Breathing? etc. Would be interesting to hear.</p>

[colin carron]

<p>I have recently caved in and bought a 100-400 II and can say it is a very, very good lens indeed. You will find it obviously a good bit heavier and bulkier than the 70-300 and in my experience the IS takes a little longer to settle on target. But it is an amazing lens. As said above, trade ISO for shutter speed. I find that for larger subjects the aperture needs to be a stop or two down from full to get a better depth of field.</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>Jordan</p>

<p>The Baja scene looks great. I think you may find the 100-400mm a little long and cumbersome, but it's a great lens. It looks like if you are close as shown in your pic, then a 24-70 or 24-105 might be quite as useful.</p>

[savagesax]

With water, reflections are pretty common. Use a circular polarizer. By moving the circular polarizer in

different directions you should be able to get rid of the glare. A regular polarizer may not work. Try to set your

camera at F11 to F16, pretty much everything will be in focus. Then set the shutter speed to around 1/1000th of

a second to stop motion. Adjust the ISO accordingly. As for lenses the 100 to 400 is a pretty sharp lens. Have a

good time!

[craig_shearman1]

<p>"At one point I was shooting with my right hand over my head and reaching out with my left hand petting the baby whale<br /><br />If you're trying to get good pictures, then you need to concentrate on our photography. You can't pet a whale and photograph a whale at the same time.<br /><br />You have a pretty big collection of lenses already. You need to learn to use what you've got before you bother with anything else. A polarizer will help in some of the shots, such as the whale just below the water. You definitely need 1/1000 or faster on the shots with longer lenses.<br /><br />Another factor here is bad lighting. These shots appear to be mid-day, glaring sun, out on the water. Those are the conditions and time of day most photographers try to avoid regardless of the subject matter. Early mornings and late day "magic hour" light is when you want to be shooting.</p>