Is it okay to use a camera in a nocturnal house?

USZOOfan42

USZOOfan42

Well-Known Member
After countless visits to nocturnal houses, I was wondering, is it okay to use a camera with a red focus light? (This is targeted at exhibits with red lighting) For example, at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, a visitor warned me and gave me a lecture on how a camera is bad for the animal. Mind you, said animal was asleep in the back of the enclosure. Does it effect an animal in any way or is it safe to use?
 
I would say follow whatever the zoo's official policy is, as I imagine most would have one. If there truly doesn't seem to be one, I would lean towards not doing it, but leave it up to your best judgement. I can't imagine just the red focus light would be anywhere near as bad as the full-on flash.
 
birdsandbats said:
I would say follow whatever the zoo's official policy is, as I imagine most would have one. If there truly doesn't seem to be one, I would lean towards not doing it, but leave it up to your best judgement. I can't imagine just the red focus light would be anywhere near as bad as the full-on flash.
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If I am correct, all policies are no flash photography.
 
The only place I've encountered a restriction on using a camera due to the infrared light is in Prague's salamander house, after research showed the IR sensor can irritate the animals. Other zoos holding the species, notably London, don't enforce this and also hold the animals in lit exhibits so it seems to be a little up in the air.

Regarding other species, I don't believe there's any real evidence it has a negative impact on them. As birdsandbats has said I'd find it hard to believe that the focus light is anywhere near as irritating as a flash, and there will be ambient light sources in the nocturnal house anyway that would likely dilute the impact further. It will likely be on a zoo-by-zoo basis, and I'd personally trust a zoo to know what is acceptable more so than a visitor (although it is entirely possible that some places just need to update their rules).
 
I don't think there should be a problem, but I would recommend checking your camera's instruction book for the technical details and then send an email to the zoo explaining the problem. If they say no - then at least the situation is clear. But if the reply says it's OK, or if there is no reply, take the email(s) with you to wave at any busybodies who feel the need to lecture you again.
 
If it is not explicitly banned by a specific zoo to take photos, and as long as you don't use a flash, I think it should be okay. That said, the red focus light might be a nuisance to some animals or other visitors.

You should check the instructions for your camera, normally the red focus light should be able to be turned off.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
After countless visits to nocturnal houses, I was wondering, is it okay to use a camera with a red focus light? (This is targeted at exhibits with red lighting) For example, at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, a visitor warned me and gave me a lecture on how a camera is bad for the animal. Mind you, said animal was asleep in the back of the enclosure. Does it effect an animal in any way or is it safe to use?
Click to expand...
id say it's fine so long you don't have a flash on
 
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