Rental for a weekend at the cabin

[evilsivan]

I am heading to a State Park cabin with the family in November for a weekend.. I'll bring my kit D750 + 35mm,

50mm, 24-70 and 70-200 f4 and my TC1.4II. There are usually some eagles and the hikes are fun and beautiful, but

I hate swapping my lenses out (mostly the 24-70 and 70-200) so I thought maybe it'd be fun to rent a telephoto

and a body. So, a few questions Which lens? The 200-500 can be had for fairly cheap ($50/4days) from lensrentals

or I could rent a 300 f2.8 from another company for $150/3days. Maybe something else? I think the 200-500 makes

sense because I might actually by one one day.

 

Then, what body to rent? I sold my D7000 so I could bring my D80 (yawn) or rent a D750 for pretty cheap (already

have one so yawn), a D3 would be fun, I never used one, but the D4 and D4s are pretty spendy but I always wanted

to shoot with one. A Df would be pretty cheap but probably not great for birding. I could borrow a friend's D7000

(yawn). Do you guys have any opinions? (Just kidding I know you do!).

[Matthew Currie]

<p>If you're thinking seriously of a DX camera like the D7000, how about renting a D7200 instead? It would make a pretty good eagle spotter with the 200-500 lens on it.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>There are usually some eagles and the hikes are fun and beautiful</p>

</blockquote>

<p>How much hiking is involved? The 300mm/f2.8 is heavy and not ideal for hiking, although I have done that.</p>

<p>To me, a very good lens for birds in flight (with at least good sunlight) is the 80-400mm AF-S VR. It is not too heavy and you should be able to hand hold it for a long time. The new 200-500mm is bigger but also hand holdable (not as much as the 80-400). The problem with 500mm, especially on a DX body, is that the angle of view is quite narrow. Unless you have some slow flying birds, @ 500mm, it is very easy to lose your moving target in the viewfinder. Of course you can zoom back to the 200mm end, but then why not just use a lighter 80-400 to begin with?</p>

<p>The problem with both of those lenses is that if it is dim outside, AF with an f5.6 lens on a moving target could be very frustrating.</p>

[evilsivan]

Good question Shun, the hikes are not long, maybe two hours tops. Since we're hiking with 4 and 7 year olds, nothing too ambitious. I am capable of lugging around 2 bodies and some lenses around for a few hours. I had never considered that I'd get zoomed in too much. I didn't even know that could happen.

 

Matt, good idea about the D7200. I was saying that I don't want to use a D7000 because I've done it before.

[Andrew Garrard]

I'll second the "losing the subject" problem - when I shot

with a 150-500, I often zoomed out to find the target,

then zoomed back in for the shot. Tracking birds at

500mm can be tricky - much easier to find things at a

wider angle. Or I could just be incompetent in aiming (I'm

useless with a telescope, too). I defer entirely to Shun on

the merits of different lens speeds for birding.

 

Unless you're worried about low light, I'd be strongly

tempted by the D7200 (or D7100 if you don't care about

the buffer and want to save cash). The crop gives you

more reach, it gives you more options with the lenses

you've got, and you've got better frame coverage with the

AF points than the D750. And you do get appreciably

more reach, unlike the D7000.

 

I'd avoid the D4 for the same reason - the pixel density

means less reach, bad unless you're going to be very

close or get hold of a 600mm. It depends a bit whether

we're talking eagles soaring on the wind or whether

you're going to be up close where they're feeding - then I

concede that frame rate and buffers are appealing. I may be too urbanised to judge your shooting environment, though.

[ShunCheung]

<p>I have had a 500mm/f4 AF-S since 1998, back then on film SLRs initially. Therefore, I have known for a long time that with the 500mm on a tripod with an FX body, I can usually locate my subject without too much trouble. Once I attach a 1.4x TC on the 500mm, it gets hard, which is similar to using a 500mm on a DX body. When I started using the 200-500mm zoom on a D7200 a couple of weeks ago, I quickly realized that while I have no trouble hand holding that set up, it is quite easy to lose your moving subject (e.g. birds in flight) in the viewfinder.</p>

<p>Having said that, our new member <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=9020100">Chris H</a> seems to have a lot of success using the 200-500mm for eagle in flight shots: <a href="/nikon-camera-forum/00dVDu"> Nikon 200-500mm/f5.6 E AF-S VR Lens Early Impressions</a><br>

Of course, you are not stuck at 500mm, as you do have the option to zoom back a bit.</p>

<p>A lot depends on your specific situation and how far the birds are away, but generally speaking, I think the 80-400 is the better birds in flight lens. To me, the 200-500mm is more like a lens I'll use on a tripod.</p>

[evilsivan]

Low light is important, campfires, etc. But I do have the D750 and some 1.4's and 1.8's for that. The D7200 might be ideal for the hikes and birds. Now to decide between the 80-400 and the 200-500.

[Two23]

<p>The autofocus on the D7200 will just astonish you.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Is the autofocus on the D7200 any better than the D750's? I assumed they were roughly the same generation, and a small step up (give or take coverage) over the D810's (which is itself better than the D800's, I think). The frame coverage is useful, of course.</p>

[ShunCheung]

The D7200 doesn't have the new dynamic AF mode that is available on the three FX bodies introduced in 2014: D4S,

D810 and D750. That mode can be useful for birds in flight. All of those 4 have separate AF point selection memory for

horizontal and vertical.

 

For birds in flight, I'd use DX. The OP already has a D750. I think he is better off adding something different.

[bob_h]

<p>Two bodies and five lenses seems like a lot of gear for a weekend at a cabin to me. If it was my trip I would bring your D750 with the 35 lens and the rented 200-500. To me it would be fewer choices, but also simpler decision making for your shooting. We all have different ideas, so I would be interested in hearing about the weekend and seeing a few pics after you return. Have a fun trip!</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>Two bodies and five lenses seems like a lot of gear for a weekend at a cabin to me.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>If I were hiking maybe with my wife to photograph, I think I wouldn't mind carrying that set of gear in my backpack to walk a few miles. However, when the whole family goes out with a 7 year old and a 4 year old, it indeed seems to be a lot of gear to me. However, I have no small children like those such that I am sure Ofer is a much better judge on whether that is too much gear or not.</p>

[evilsivan]

I usually bring the whole gear kit, but hike with just two lenses, usually the 24-70 and 70-200f4 (maybe the tc in my pocket). I might whip out the fast primes for campfire time or night time. I think it would be fun to have a second body and a new to me lens, hence the 200-500 or 80-400. There are always eagles at the park which I never get decent pics of. I'll post a link to some typical pics.

[ShunCheung]

<p>If you rent the 80-400, I don't think you need to 70-200mm/f4 any more as its range is mostly covered by the 80-400 already. Otherwise, the 70-200 + 200-500 seems to form an excellent combo.</p>

[evilsivan]

Good point Shun. I think I'll rent either the 80-400 or the 200-500 for the fall cabin trip and then try the other in our spring trip. Here are some typical pics