Roarrrrr!!!

[clutchkiller]

I went back to the zoo today to try and take some better pictures. I had just walked out from a dark area and my shutter speed was pretty slow, I didn't think to increase it when all of this happened so some pictures are pretty blurry, also, I was shooting through glass so I hope you all will forgive the bad quality.

It was a lot of fun to take these pictures... I had a huge smile on my face

She was having fun by herself with the barrel...

and then this guy walked by

Oh, it's on!

I really wish I would have gotten a better shot of this one

OUCH!

play time is over, time for a rest.

 

[fossilman]

Cool

 

[Hideandwatch]

Clutch, these are some awesome shots, all of them! Your really coming along with that cam. It must have been so cool being there watching this, but looking at the shots I was lost in them. very nice!

 

[Lan-Lord]

That is some awesome action Paul! I always figured zoo animals were pretty ho-hum.. but these guys put on the show.

Were you shooting the 300 f/4?
As you indicated, the shutter was a tad slow. Were you free handing this or could you brace yourself (or use a pod)? Were you shooting in shutter priority mode? I find that shutter priority is my favorite mode. I can deal with over/under exposure. I can even deal with noise. But I have a hard time dealing with blur. That's why I ensure that my shutter is always fast enough and shoot in shutter priority primarily. Also, not sure if you knew this or not, but as a general rule for shooting big glass, your shutter speed should be no slower than 1/focal length. So if you were shooting at 300mm, you shutter should have been 1/300 sec or faster. Not sure if you (or anyone else) was aware of that.

But non-the less, great captures. Until now, that kind of behavior was up to my imagination, you brought it real time right here.

 

[clutchkiller]

Thanks Fossilman, Hideandwatch, and Lan-Lord.

Lan-Lord, I wont be able to buy the 300 f/4 for another two or three weeks... I want it BAD now!

I had just walked out of a very dark indoor area of the zoo where I was trying to take some pictures of fish. I was using the TV mode, manual focus, and my shutter speed was @ 1/125, ISO speed was @ 1600. I rested one hand/arm on the enclosure glass and tried focusing with the other (for the lions)

I tried using slower shutter and ISO speeds while taking the fish pics but every time the fish would move just a little, I would get an awful blur. The result of shooting like this was a tremendous amount of noise (see pics below). Going to the zoo yesterday was a huge learning experience.

And I didn't know about the shutter speed vs. focal length... I'm telling ya, info like that should be pinned here

Here is the reason I want that 300mm so bad. This guy wasn't too far away, this is all I could get with my 18-55mm kit lens.

 

[tpetty]

Great shots Paul!

 

[cjinsa]

Awesome pics!

 

[clutchkiller]

Thanks Trent and Cjinsa