e - Ken Gilbert

Wildlife Andy Rouse
AndyRouse@AP
Thoughts from a wildlife photographer’s world
THE AF-S VR
Zoom Nikkor 200-
400mm f/4G IF-ED
was launched in 2003
with the marketing
message that it combines four key
super-telephoto focal lengths in a single
compact lens. The VR system is said
to allow shutter speeds of up to 3EV
longer than would usually be safe at
any particular focal length, and with
dual modes it can be set to compensate
for normal or extreme movements. A
built-in detection system recognises
panning motions and switches to work
only on vibrations in a single plane.
The AF-S Silent Wave AF motor is
designed to work quickly, but without
drawing attention, which obviously is a
great benefi t to wildlife photographers.
It is hard to believe such a long
telephoto zoom would be described
only as 2x were it attached to a compact
camera, but it covers viewing angles of
4°-8° when mounted on a full frame
or fi lm camera body. On an APS-C
body the focal range behaves as 300-
600mm, while three TC teleconverters
are available to magnify the focal lengths
by 1.4x, 1.7x or 2x. Only the TC-14E II
maintains AF, though.
ANDY ROUSE
is one of the world’s
most prominent
wildlife photographers
and a passionate
conservationist – two roles that go
hand in hand as far as he is concerned.
A professional photographer for
more than ten years, Andy has
worked in every corner of the planet
and photographed everything from
ladybirds to elephants. He has a dozen
books to his name and regularly
appears on TV. He has also won
multiple wildlife photography awards.
In this weekly column, Andy recounts
some of his experiences, shares his
thoughts and highlights issues from
the wildlife world. You can see his work
at www.andyrouse.co.uk and read his
blog at www.andyrouse.co.uk/blog.asp.
You can even become a fan and keep
up to date with ‘Andy Rouse Wildlife
Photography’ on Facebook.
Bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to lenses
THE BEST LENS
FOR WILDLIFE
ONE OF the questions I
am most frequently asked,
apart from ‘Why do you
love West Ham?’ is ‘What
is the best lens for wildlife
photography?’ The truth is simple. The
perfect lens for wildlife is a 28-800mm f/4.
It would fl oat in mid-air and be in claretand-blue
colours. Wake up Rouse! Until that
day comes we all have to deal with reality.
The simple answer is that there is no
perfect lens for wildlife photography; it all
depends on your fi eldcraft, your subject
and what you are trying to create with
your image. Most photographers I talk to
seem to aspire to a 500mm or 600mm
lens and, of course, there is no doubt they
are brilliant. They get you close and help
you take frame-fi lling shots. Yet these big
lenses have their drawbacks, too, some
of which are not so obvious until you get
to use them a little. So for those of you
considering spending money on one of
these lenses, instead of a fi ne Skoda Gti
pose wagon, just humour me and continue
reading this column.
The main problem is that these lenses are
heavy, and require a decent tripod and head
to support them. It’s pretty diffi cult to react
quickly, too, although my mate Rich the
Scouser handholds his 500mm all the time
and gets superb results. Big telephoto o
lenses also limit your options and od yyyou ou
can only take a certain kind of oshot, hot,
with a very defi ned and recognisable bable look. Pictures will typically have a very ery
fl at composition, with limited depth
of fi eld and showing very little of the
habitat. Now this is good for some subjects jtbj cects and situations, but I want to choose my y
composition and not have it forced upon n
me. One annoying effect of using such
a big lens is ‘too much glass’. I have been
in the situation many times with my
600mm lens where the subject appears
too close and I am forced to crop off
vital parts of its anatomy.
I use a Nikon 200-400mm (pictured)
and 70-200mm for 80% of my wildlife
photography, saving the 600mm for shy
animals or where I cannot get close. Using
More of an animal's
environment can be
captured with a less
extreme telephoto
the 200-400mm has improved my
creativity no end as I can take frame fi llers
and habitat shots, all at cracking quality
without compromise. Many of my friends
are using a 300mm f/2.8 lenses for their
wildlife photography on a cropped sensor.
They get 450mm and over 600mm with a
1.4x converter (which has no negative effect
on the f/2.8 lens apart from a drop to f/4).
If they need frame fi llers, they crop and
resize using Photoshop. Since most of you
are shooting for web galleries or prints, you
don’t need to worry about losing any detail
during d the crop and resize. If you only crop
y by 30%, resize using Bicubic Smoother and
sharpen sha the subject only at the end, you will
not t ssee
s much difference.
o Now, No I am not telling you not to buy a
500mm 500 or 600mm lens, as that would
yh
e be hypocritical hy
since I own one myself.
m m a I am
merely m suggesting that you think
oabo about u alternatives before going down
the
f fframe
ra fi lling route. After all, that
kSk Skoda dod Ga
Gti G pose wagon may be a better
vi
t aalternative. alt nt r ernativ
AP
10 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 17 April 2010 subscribe 0845 676 7778
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© ANDY ROUSE