More 70-200L 2.8 IS Tests - Zoo

Handling a beast like the 70-200L 2.8 IS lens is definitely a work in progress. It's been almost 6 months since I upgraded my lens from the non-IS version, and I am still working out my technique. This lens is all of 3.2lbs, but it's an awkward 3.2 lbs. Especially for a guy with big hands holding on to a Canon 40D. I suppose buying either a bigger camera or the external battery pack for the 40D would make the bigger lenses feel a bit better by giving my hands something more to hold on to, but I'm determined to deal with it. Plus, the cash reserves for Luxe are a bit low :)

From the number of posts on the blog from the zoo, you'd think we're there all the time. Well, we pretty much are. My kids love it, and I love that it gives me the opportunity to really sharpen my skills. Right now, I'm not only finessing the 70-200L 2.8 IS lens, but I'm also working on shooting in full manual mode as well. So for each shot, I'm constantly watching that exposure meter and playing with both shutter and aperture. The good thing is the animals at the zoo move faster than do many of the families I shoot. It's sort of like a pro athlete tying that parachute to the back of their waist while they run.

I was most pleased with the shots today. Nothing totally unique, but the shots were crisp and the colors really came through. For example, this robin was just off the path in the Rivers Edge looking for some food in all the dead wood laying around. My boys and I slowly crept off the path and I started shooting...and adjusting...shooting...adjusting. Here we caught him with a little worm or larvae of some sort.



I always wonder if it would be worth bringing my flash with me for these sort of shots. I'm thinking it would give me that extra pop and freeze the action. Maybe next time. But I think the shot came out pretty good.

The next one here shows just how unafraid the birds are at the zoo. I imagine it's a lot like pigeons in the big city. They just aren't afraid of people. This robin was probably within 6 feet of me, hopping back and forth on this dead log. He sort of turned to me right before flying off and I got this shot.



The color on the chest in fantastic. The dead wood in the background contrasted by the black head and red chest...Really helps this photo pop.

The next picture I was really happy with really shows off how sharp this lens can be. The hippos were out taking a mid day nap, and I was a good 50 feet away. Look at the hair on the front of the nose and face. The picture here on the blog may not be big enough to capture that full effect, but trust me, it's there.



Finally, this last picture was just fun. I'm not that crazy about the overall quality of it, but I wanted to touch on just how much leeway one has if they shoot RAW. I exposed for the elephant playing with the food in the tube - everytime he knocked it, he'd get treated to some food. The framing is pretty cool, the sharpness is ok. But the skies were completely blown out. If this were shot in .jpg format, you'd lose all that detail. Shooting RAW allows you to recover so much detail - and it definitely helps in my sanity knowing I have a little extra help in post production.



Now I'm sure there are those photographers out there that can get just as good of pictures shooting .jpg. Our friend Dana, over at Moments Photgraphy is able to take all those awesome shots - and she's shooting .jpg. Shooting RAW doesn't guarantee great shots, but it sure does help when you need it.