Canon IS Lens for Shooting from a Canoe

[jeff_nadler1]

Although an amateur, I've been offered an assignment at a mountain

resort to photograph common loons on a wilderness lake as well as

deer, using my car as a blind. I've taken numerous loon photos from my

canoe before with usual disappointment of blurred images. Deer from a

car usually turn out well using my Bogen Window Pod. For just about

anything not from a canoe, I consistently use a quality tripod. My

required goal is marketable images for publication and their web

site so I'd like to use Provia F or Velvia. I am not an advanced

wildlife photogrpher. Would it be worth considering the investment in

the Canon 300mm IS lens? I assume images from the canoe would be

improved and better flexibility in the car-blind situation without a

window mount.

[ShunCheung]

I think shooting from a boat, canoe, etc. is when IS really shines. However, you need to determine why you have been getting blurred images. If it is due to vibration of the camera and/or movement of the canoe, IS will help, perhaps big time. If it is due to movement of your subject, you'll probably need faster film and a faster lens. To paraphase what Bob Atkins said in another thread recently, you need to rent or borrow an IS lens and try it out under your particular shooting situations to determine its usefulness.

 

I wonder whether a 300mm lens is sufficient for shooing loons from a canoe. Do you have the f4 version or f2.8 version in mind? The f2.8 is a lot more expensive and heavier but gives you more options with telecovertors. Perhaps the 100-400mm IS is more flexable, especially from a canoe. What other lenses you already have also makes a difference in this decision.

[terry_danks]

Shun asks whether the f4 or f2.8 300 IS is being considered. I suspect we both know the answer but, as an owner of the EF300/2.8L IS, and as an unskilled canoeist who capsized as a young man with my Minolta SR-7, Id NEVER take a lens as expensive as the 300/2.8 into a canoe!

 

Also I have never seen a situation where a loon allowed such a close approach that 300mm, or even 420mm (with the EF1.4) was effective at getting a good shot but maybe you'll have better luck than I.

 

In any event, IS will be extremely useful under such circumstances.

 

Good luck . . . and no capsizing!

[ShunCheung]

I think Terry and I are talking about the same problems. Unless you get lucky, you'll need a 600mm lens to photograph loons from a canoe, but you have to be pretty crazy to bring one of those on board. With a 300mm lens, we are talking about adding a 2x TC pretty much all the time, and IMO a 2x TC will work much better on a 300mm/f2.8 than on a 300mm/f4. Of course, I wouldn't bring an expensive lens such as a 300mm/f2.8 onto a canoe either (let alone a 600mm/f4).

 

Perhaps the 100-400 IS is the best answer. The flexability of a zoom is a major plus when it isn't easy to add/remove TCs in a hurry. And you can still add a 1.4x TC onto the 100-400 although it is getting slow. I also wouldn't use Veliva in this situation, at least not at ISO 40/50. Provia 100F pushed a stop is more like it.

[jeff_hallett1]

I use a 28-135 IS and a 100-400 IS from my kayak and either hand hold or stick the camera/lens combo on a 3021 sitting right in front of me

at eye level while paddling. If waves approach I can pop it off the mount and into a padded dry bag(also directly under the tripod).

I would likely not do this in a canoe of narrow beam but my open tandem 28" beam kayak is far more stable than even a wide beam canoe so I feel comfortable with this setup and do this regularly. Stick a Canon EF 2x on the 100-400 and you will not believe the sharpness of those loon images likely filling much of the frame.

[ericpeltier]

Terry - you should take a trip up to northern Minnesota. You can't walk 20 feet without getting your feet wet in another lake, and every one has loons that ignore people in canoes. I've even had them surface 10 feet away from my dad's pontoon boat, and stay there preening. Just a shameless commercial for MN! (so why am I moving to CO next week...?)

[mike f]

I have had a 600mm Canon EOS lens for years and a canoe. Never went after a loon but I have had my wife balancing the lens on the gunnell after a great blue heron. We now own the 600mm IS but haven't got the canoe anymore. Bought a Zodiac inflatable for more stability. The motor scares everything off but with rowing it is sure sweet to have a tripod under the lens. For those of you that are nervous about dunking your camera equipment buy a "floater" (no pun intended) policy. Go to the insurance company you have fire insurance with and for about $12.00 per thousand per year they will cover your gear against ALL risks!! Even "I dropped it". Check it out

[carlyn_iverson1]

Jeff,

 

I have very successfully photographed loons from my 18ft. Kevlar canoe

in N. Minnesota. Last year, I took both my Nikon 500f4P lens on a

tripod, and my Canon 300mmf4IS lens. I got nice shots with both

setups, but many many more images with the IS lens, because of

autofocus and especially the IS. I had so much more flexibility to

follow the loon family's actions with a hand-held lens. I set the

canoe in a position to drift past the loons. This location is a small

lake, about 40 acres, and they are comfortable with the quiet craft. I

usually shot both lenses with a 1.4TC. I'd be happy to e-mail some of

the

[ross_geredien]

I own the 300mm IS and live in Maine, where we have great lakes for loons as in Minnesota. I would have to agree, if you're in good loon country, you can get quite close to them. The 300 f/4 IS is a great lens for such hand-held photography.