a request

[jk]

Hi all,

Since I am in the market for a lens - I think it might help me and maybe others if when you post a picture with all the info about it that you also include the distance from your subject. For example: a 400m lens taken at what distance because if you weren't that far away... it would be nice to know that you were 75 feet or 750 feet from that hawk. Thanks

JK

[Bonish Photo]

Here are a few to give you an idea of what to expect

Shot in Sequoia National Park Canon 30D with a 70-200 f/2.8 IS - Cindy was about 50 feet from the bear and the EXIF says she was at 180mm on the lens



Sitting in a small aluminum boat on the Sea of Cortez in Southern Baja Canon 30D 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 IS - EXIF says the lens was at 300mm and we were about 30-40 feet from the ray



Sitting in my truck using the door frame as the tripod with the 70-200 f/2.8 IS with a 2x extender on it. Again on the 30D body, so you have to do the math and calculate the 1.6x crop on all of these equations. This one I was probably 150 feet from the owl



Now look at the difference with this shot taken with the 400 f/2.8 from about 20 feet away - again mounted on the 30D, but you have to remember that this bird is about 4 inches tall



Hope that helps

[bob_r]

Hi all,

Since I am in the market for a lens - I think it might help me and maybe others if when you post a picture with all the info about it that you also include the distance from your subject. For example: a 400m lens taken at what distance because if you weren't that far away... it would be nice to know that you were 75 feet or 750 feet from that hawk. Thanks

JK

Even if we were all good at estimating and remembering distances, I'm not sure that this information would be of much use. So many times we crop our pictures to fill the frame or to remove unwanted portions to improve our images. We would then have to try to remember what percentage we cropped the pic and when processing a few hundred pics, how many of us are going to remember all these details? At my age, I'm lucky to remember what I had for breakfast. I think it's better to just appreciate the results that can be achieved with different equipment and file that in your memory for possible use in the future.

Bob R

[gdietzman]

I'd add that most of us want to figure out what lens length will give us the effects we want so even approximations are important, but to understand even approximations photos should be compared to photos taken by cameras with similar crop factors. For instance, if I take two photos with a 300mm lens, one using a Canon 5D (full frame, 12.7mp) and the other a Rebel 300D (1.6 crop, 6mp), I'll get two different photos. The subject, a bluebird, for instance, will look 1.6 times larger in the Rebel photo relative to the 5D, provided the camera to subject distance remains the same and I don't crop the results in a software program. The cropping issue, due to sensor size, can change the apparent performance of a lens, as far as subject size goes.

Most cameras, however, have crop factors that range from 1.4 to 1.6, so they are pretty close. But In short, if you want to get an approximation of what a particular lens will do, you might want to consider looking specifically at photos taken with a camera using the same crop factor as your camera, preferably the same camera as you use.

Hope that is a helpful suggestion.

[jk]

The reason I was asking was because I want to get a longer lens. Landscape & wildlife and was trying to figure out some of the distances some of these shots were made. Yes, cropping is going to come into play and I didn't figure that in. I think I will look at the 70-300 Nikon lens - seems to have ok reviews and I want nice clear photos that can be cropped or trimmed to bring the subject in closer without them looking fuzzy or soft. Be patient with us Rookies!! Thank you for your input as always.

Jk

[Bonish Photo]

I cant remember 100%, but I rarely crop too much and never the 50 or 100% crop that I know some people do.

[Edd]

JK could you not gho to your local store and try the lense on a camera and see what you think.

When I bought my wife some binoculars one year they let me stand in the street and try them out. May be you could try something similar ???

Ed

[Edd]

I cant remember 100%, but I rarely crop too much and never the 50 or 100% crop that I know some people do.

Sorry Pat but this did make me smile so please correct me here. If you crop an image 100% then surely you have no image, right

Ed

[bob_r]

The reason I was asking was because I want to get a longer lens. Landscape & wildlife and was trying to figure out some of the distances some of these shots were made. Yes, cropping is going to come into play and I didn't figure that in. I think I will look at the 70-300 Nikon lens - seems to have ok reviews and I want nice clear photos that can be cropped or trimmed to bring the subject in closer without them looking fuzzy or soft. Be patient with us Rookies!! Thank you for your input as always.

Jk

JK,

I rarely use the same lens for landscapes and wildlife. Usually for landscapes a wide angle lens is used and for wildlife, you'll need a telephoto. If you're including birds in your meaning of wildlife, you want the biggest telephoto lens you can find. A 300mm lens is rarely long enough for birds. I sometimes have to add a teleconverter to my 100-400 to capture shots of birds and have been known to stack teleconverters to increase the reach.

Another consideration will be whether or not you are planning on using a tripod. If not, VR will help reduce camera shake and give you better shots - especially in low light situations. I believe one of the Nikon 70-300 models does have VR. If you're planning on using a tripod, you might look at some of the 3rd party lenses. They are normally a little easier on the budget. One of the members here (Southern Wolf) uses a Sigma 50-500 with excellent results, but I've never seen him use it without a tripod. You might browse through the wildlife section for some of his posts to see his results.

JK, don't worry about being a "Rookie". This is a very friendly board and I don't think any member has a problem trying to answer questions. We've all been there at one time. Good luck with your search and if you have any other questions, fire away.

Bob R

[jk]

Thanks bobr for the input. I do use a tripod. Santa brought me a nice Manfrotto with a ball head. A little heavy but I am not hiking the Appalachian trail so not too worry! Thanks!