Best Lens for Photographing Zoo Animals and Plants

Enzothephotographer

Enzothephotographer

Well-Known Member
I've been recently thinking about getting a new lens for my Canon and I was wondering what do you think is the ideal lens size for crisp pictures of any plant or animal in a zoo.
 
One of the questions will be what camera do you have and what lenses do you have already / what are you looking for.

I don't shoot canon but I have four lenses that I take to the zoo at various times, all mine are Sony but commentary below is really about focal length and brightness.I shoot full frame, these would all be longer and a bit darker on APSC. I used to have a couple of primes but I never used them as I find a zoom is more practical for wildlife, so sold them on and / traded them and condensed my collection. YMMV if you shoot other things..I shoot wildlife and horses, all outdoors so I don't have to think about what happens indoors or for portraits, worth thinking about other bits of your hobby if you do any of those.

If I was looking for one, I'd probably go with a 100-400mm sort of length and accept the furthest stuff just means a crop -it's a versatile length for small primate enclosures all the way to lions.

I use
  • 70-200mm (native Sony) - this is a short, bright and fast with an internal zoom. I tend to take this to the zoo if I visit somewhere on the way back from photographing horses (the other bit of my photo hobby is horse eventing) and it's awesome for close up stuff. Love this lens for horse days out and it does interesting stuff on close up animals and plants at the zoo too (I just look 'nearer' though if I have this one with me).
  • 100-400mm (native Sony), pump zoom, my mainstay in the months outside the summer and sometimes in the summer depending on the reach I want. Bright enough at the long end this is always good enough to crop from. My favourite glass for everything outside cross country / action but it also did that before I saved for the 70-200mm.
  • 150-500mm (Tamron) great lens, take it all over the place in the summer in particular as it's compact and packs down to the same space as my 100-400 inside a camera cube in a rucksack, but has extra reach (with all wildlife, more reach = more fun) and great colour. Speed restricted on my camera as all third party lenses are with Sony, but still goes to 15fps.
  • 200-600mm (Sony) The big one. My Whipsnade lens (as I take my car in) and YWP (where the reach helps as some of the enclosures are huge, but it is a weighty beast to carry all day). Also take this one to nature reserves. lakes etc. Great on a gimbal. Sharp, fast, tad dark at the long end in the winter but it's a lovely bit of glass. Being internal zoom it also works with big gloves which is nice in cold weather. Needs a whacking great bag. I sometimes take this to other zoos but my back doesn't thank me after 8+ hours!
I am sure someone else will have some good canon advice.
 
There is no ideal lens for pictures of "any" animal, especially if you add in plants. Some animals are going to be close to you, like fish. Some animals are going to be far away and will need a much bigger bigger lens. Some will be in pretty dark environments, where more common lenses won't do well. If you're looking for something for everything, you'll need something mid-range that won't be perfect for a lot of stuff but will get you by.
 
Lafone said:
One of the questions will be what camera do you have and what lenses do you have already / what are you looking for.

I don't shoot canon but I have four lenses that I take to the zoo at various times, all mine are Sony but commentary below is really about focal length and brightness.I shoot full frame, these would all be longer and a bit darker on APSC. I used to have a couple of primes but I never used them as I find a zoom is more practical for wildlife, so sold them on and / traded them and condensed my collection. YMMV if you shoot other things..I shoot wildlife and horses, all outdoors so I don't have to think about what happens indoors or for portraits, worth thinking about other bits of your hobby if you do any of those.

If I was looking for one, I'd probably go with a 100-400mm sort of length and accept the furthest stuff just means a crop -it's a versatile length for small primate enclosures all the way to lions.

I use
  • 70-200mm (native Sony) - this is a short, bright and fast with an internal zoom. I tend to take this to the zoo if I visit somewhere on the way back from photographing horses (the other bit of my photo hobby is horse eventing) and it's awesome for close up stuff. Love this lens for horse days out and it does interesting stuff on close up animals and plants at the zoo too (I just look 'nearer' though if I have this one with me).
  • 100-400mm (native Sony), pump zoom, my mainstay in the months outside the summer and sometimes in the summer depending on the reach I want. Bright enough at the long end this is always good enough to crop from. My favourite glass for everything outside cross country / action but it also did that before I saved for the 70-200mm.
  • 150-500mm (Tamron) great lens, take it all over the place in the summer in particular as it's compact and packs down to the same space as my 100-400 inside a camera cube in a rucksack, but has extra reach (with all wildlife, more reach = more fun) and great colour. Speed restricted on my camera as all third party lenses are with Sony, but still goes to 15fps.
  • 200-600mm (Sony) The big one. My Whipsnade lens (as I take my car in) and YWP (where the reach helps as some of the enclosures are huge, but it is a weighty beast to carry all day). Also take this one to nature reserves. lakes etc. Great on a gimbal. Sharp, fast, tad dark at the long end in the winter but it's a lovely bit of glass. Being internal zoom it also works with big gloves which is nice in cold weather. Needs a whacking great bag. I sometimes take this to other zoos but my back doesn't thank me after 8+ hours!
I am sure someone else will have some good canon advice.
Click to expand...
I own a Canon EOS Rebel T7
 
Lafone said:
One of the questions will be what camera do you have and what lenses do you have already / what are you looking for.

I don't shoot canon but I have four lenses that I take to the zoo at various times, all mine are Sony but commentary below is really about focal length and brightness.I shoot full frame, these would all be longer and a bit darker on APSC. I used to have a couple of primes but I never used them as I find a zoom is more practical for wildlife, so sold them on and / traded them and condensed my collection. YMMV if you shoot other things..I shoot wildlife and horses, all outdoors so I don't have to think about what happens indoors or for portraits, worth thinking about other bits of your hobby if you do any of those.

If I was looking for one, I'd probably go with a 100-400mm sort of length and accept the furthest stuff just means a crop -it's a versatile length for small primate enclosures all the way to lions.

I use
  • 70-200mm (native Sony) - this is a short, bright and fast with an internal zoom. I tend to take this to the zoo if I visit somewhere on the way back from photographing horses (the other bit of my photo hobby is horse eventing) and it's awesome for close up stuff. Love this lens for horse days out and it does interesting stuff on close up animals and plants at the zoo too (I just look 'nearer' though if I have this one with me).
  • 100-400mm (native Sony), pump zoom, my mainstay in the months outside the summer and sometimes in the summer depending on the reach I want. Bright enough at the long end this is always good enough to crop from. My favourite glass for everything outside cross country / action but it also did that before I saved for the 70-200mm.
  • 150-500mm (Tamron) great lens, take it all over the place in the summer in particular as it's compact and packs down to the same space as my 100-400 inside a camera cube in a rucksack, but has extra reach (with all wildlife, more reach = more fun) and great colour. Speed restricted on my camera as all third party lenses are with Sony, but still goes to 15fps.
  • 200-600mm (Sony) The big one. My Whipsnade lens (as I take my car in) and YWP (where the reach helps as some of the enclosures are huge, but it is a weighty beast to carry all day). Also take this one to nature reserves. lakes etc. Great on a gimbal. Sharp, fast, tad dark at the long end in the winter but it's a lovely bit of glass. Being internal zoom it also works with big gloves which is nice in cold weather. Needs a whacking great bag. I sometimes take this to other zoos but my back doesn't thank me after 8+ hours!
I am sure someone else will have some good canon advice.
Click to expand...

Which 70 - 200 mm do you have (f2.8 or f4)?
And have you used a teleconverter on one of your sony lenses?
I have the 70-200 f4 and don't know how I should "upgrade" my reach. I'm thinking of the 200 - 600 mm but it's quite expensive.
 
RonBurrgundy said:
Which 70 - 200 mm do you have (f2.8 or f4)?
And have you used a teleconverter on one of your sony lenses?
I have the 70-200 f4 and don't know how I should "upgrade" my reach. I'm thinking of the 200 - 600 mm but it's quite expensive.
Click to expand...

I have the f2.8 - I bought the first generation second hand when the new version came out and there were loads on trade (wex). It’s a lovely lens. The second gen one is lighter and a bit faster but it’s also a load more money and if you carry a big lens the 70-200 seems light anyway.

I have the 1.4TC which I have used on all three, excellent as long as there’s good light but gets a bit slow as it gets darker as to be expected I guess. Was impressed the AF still stands up. For good weather the TC is nice for duller and or shorter days or enclosures without brilliant light it gets quite dark. I have put it on the 200-600 that’s awesome for birds.

I don’t believe the TC works with the F4 70-200mm though.

I do enjoy the 200-600 a lot, it’s not cheap but there’s lots now second hand and I buy most of my stuff pre owned - everything I listed above was second hand. It is quite heavy for walking about. But the image quality makes me smile I have to say.

I saw sigma have the new 60-600 which weighs even more than the Sony (!) and is priced about the same. I rented the sigma 150-600 previously and didn’t like it, it felt unbalanced. I do like the Tamron 150-500 for the reach and it’s a bit cheaper though it’s 6.7 at the longest end it’s 6.3 at 480 or so and so you can lock it to be brighter without losing much.
 
Lafone said:
I have the f2.8 - I bought the first generation second hand when the new version came out and there were loads on trade (wex). It’s a lovely lens. The second gen one is lighter and a bit faster but it’s also a load more money and if you carry a big lens the 70-200 seems light anyway.

I have the 1.4TC which I have used on all three, excellent as long as there’s good light but gets a bit slow as it gets darker as to be expected I guess. Was impressed the AF still stands up. For good weather the TC is nice for duller and or shorter days or enclosures without brilliant light it gets quite dark. I have put it on the 200-600 that’s awesome for birds.

I don’t believe the TC works with the F4 70-200mm though.

I do enjoy the 200-600 a lot, it’s not cheap but there’s lots now second hand and I buy most of my stuff pre owned - everything I listed above was second hand. It is quite heavy for walking about. But the image quality makes me smile I have to say.

I saw sigma have the new 60-600 which weighs even more than the Sony (!) and is priced about the same. I rented the sigma 150-600 previously and didn’t like it, it felt unbalanced. I do like the Tamron 150-500 for the reach and it’s a bit cheaper though it’s 6.7 at the longest end it’s 6.3 at 480 or so and so you can lock it to be brighter without losing much.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot. That really helped!!!
 
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