Bristol Zoo - which lens to take?

[littlemonster]

Hello lovely people In about 10 days I'm going to bristol zoo and as it's a once off (it's a hell of a trek!) I want to make the most of it photography-wise.

The question is, nikon 80-200mm vs sigma 150-500 - Obviously the 80-200 is 2.8 (so better if it's a dull day and to blur wire), plus is half a kilo lighter - but I'm wondering if I'll need the extra reach really? I know it varies a bit between zoos how long you really need.

My backup lens I'll be chucking my 18-105 in so that covers closer shots.


Basically any wisdom from visitors of bristol zoo, pretty please

 

[cw318is]

Personally I'd take the Sigma, some of the enclosures are quite deep.

 

[sonik]

Whichever one you take you will need the other.

 

[Toggerman]

Take the 150-500. 200mm is often enough for the most part but with the Prairie Dogs, Meerkats, Lemurs you need more.

Last time I went I took 120 shots with my 70-200, and 95 with my 150-500.

 

[littlemonster]

sonik, so true It's basically how much generally I'll use the 201mm+ range compared to the 80-150mm range. Though obviously can still change to my 18-105.

Going to buy a q strap so I can secure it to the tripod collar on either big lens

 

[AESamuel]

Personally I would take the nikon 80-200. I found that I only wanted a little more reach with my x10 which has a 112mm focal length at its largest. That was at Paignton zoo, I've no idea how big Bristol zoo is but I think that would suit me fine - especially if its lighter.

 

[littlemonster]

Thanks, it is lighter but now I've bought a better strap, it's not such an issue really

Now going to put off Bristol (hellish long day from here) and go to Paignton to see the wickle giraffe instead

 

[littlemonster]

Any ideas for paignton zoo? I've had advise I'll need the reach of the 150-500 but I'm nervous about f5.6 - many of my photos at smaller zoos with the 80-200 were at 2.8 or 4.

I may take both and leave 1 in the car to be collected if I need it...

 

[AESamuel]

Any ideas for paignton zoo? I've had advise I'll need the reach of the 150-500 but I'm nervous about f5.6 - many of my photos at smaller zoos with the 80-200 were at 2.8 or 4.

I may take both and leave 1 in the car to be collected if I need it...

There are a lot of outdoor attractions at Paignton. However, if you are wanting to take pictures of the monkeys indoors, for example then you will miss the 2.8 as it gets very dark inside those enclosures. However, I managed to get by at 2.8 for all but the darkest of rooms (where the bats were). I wouldn't have wanted much more reach than my 112mm as I said before. Perhaps for some of the more secretive animals (the cheetahs and tigers for example) the longer reach would have been a lot more useful.

I will post a few pictures from my trip to Paignton (Not the best photographs, more snapshots but they will give you an idea). They were hsoted on facebook so they aren't really representative of IQ but I was able to get enough light into the lens.

For this we were lucky enough to have the tiger prowling along the fences, it didn't stand still very long so it took me a few attempts but I am happy with this. The other tigers were out of sight.

The cheetahs weren't quite so friendly and this was about as good as I got from them with my 112mm.

This was where I was really struggling in the gorilla house. It was very dark in there and the glass was playing havoc with the AF. I strongly recommend when shooting through glass and the fences that you MF as much as possible or else you will get plain missed focus like I got (as well as a slow shutter speed) or a lovely shot of the fence in focus and the animal out of focus!

Other indoor shots worked fine even in lower light such as these two:

So basically, for all but the really darkest stuff you could get away with 5.6 but if it were me, I would take the 80-200 because I don't think you will need any more reach than that and the better aperture will be a bonus for the fences too. Being able to focus on the animal with a small aperture means you can get the fence so out of focus it isn't that noticeable.


Hope this helps!
Asa

 

[andy1868]

i'd be taking both, then moaning about the weight on my back

i took a 70-210 to Chester Zoo afew years back and was constantly wanting more at the long end as said though, for the indoor stuff the lighting is generally not brilliant at zoos so something with a wide aperture is going to be better :\

I actually went to Dublin Zoo earlier this year whilst over there for a family reunion, the only thing i took away from that experience is 50mm is not enough for a zoo :|

 

[modchild]

I've been to Yorkshire Wildlife park a couple of times and I've taken my Sigma 150-500 OS both times, but I took my Canon 70-200 f2.8 MkII and 2x MkIII converter as well on my second visit. The first time I shot only with the 150-500 but the second time I shot about twice as much with the 70-200 and the converter was used when necessary. Without knowing what the layout and pen sizes of the zoo you might be best to take both and leave one in the car and use whichever is the most suitable, but I feel the 70-200 may not be long enough on its own.

This is with my 5D3 and 70-200 with 2x attached, 1/320sec, ISO160, f5.6 @140mm. No PP apart from a crop.

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This is with my 60D and 150-500, 1/640sec, ISO640, f6.3 @ 500mm. No PP apart from a crop.

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[Nod]

Hi, Gemma. Personally, I would take both and leave the 150-500 OS in the car - it's a big, heavy brute to lug around on the off chance! You'll want the f/2.8 to reduce the DoF to shoot through the fences and the speed of it for the Orang Utan and Gorilla house (and nose plugs!) If you're taking a friend, you could try talking them into carrying the Sigma round for you since it's quite a hike back up to the car park to retrieve something.

Have fun at Paignton, IMO, it's a great zoo, concentrating as much on conservation as on displaying the animals. Oh, and on the raised wooden walkway, keep an eye out for the (?) Golden Tamarinds popping out of their shed - no fences or glass to get in the way!