San Diego Zoo (WARNING - DEATH TO 56K - 5MBIT+ CABLE RECOMMENDED)

[MaxxxRacer]

For my birthday my girlfriend and I went to the San Diego Zoo. The D300/70-300VR/SB-800 came along too. I got about 1000 photos in total. I will be posting up some of them tonight.

[Jor3lBR]

For my birthday my girlfriend and I went to the San Diego Zoo. The D300/70-300VR/SB-800 came along too. I got about 1000 photos in total. I will be posting up some of them tonight.

Well I look forward to see it, the Nikon D300 with those lenses is a hell of a good camera when used in right hands, the only problem is you have to book 2 rooms, 1 for you and your gal and the other for the Nikon lady.

[Newblar]

got any polar bear pics :)?
could avatar/sig some of em if im allowed

[Soulburner]

Can't wait to see the results. I've done plenty of Zoo shooting with the 70-300 VR and it is a great lens - though on the D80. I find I need ISO 1600 at f/2.8 (on the Tamron 17-50) quite a lot when we move to indoor areas, and I cap it at 800 due to noise. That is one of my primary reasons for going D300 soon.

Even my 70-300VR needs ISO 1600 outdoors sometimes, it just depends on the area and the lighting.

[Nate P.]

Nice, looking forward to seeing some sweet pics!

[Asgard_thor]

cant wait! please let me know if you have any pictures of bears any kinds!

also im going to the idaho zoo with my girlfriend but I will only have Disposable cameras.. and one cheap 7mp camera..

[MaxxxRacer]

Pics are uploading right now. 55 good/interesting with a few of them turning out spectacularly. I got some polar bear shots, but they were all through the glass which realy makes the photos look bad. I picked the one where the 3 inch plexi affected the photo the least. I didnt really getting any good black/brown bear pictures. I meant to, but by the time we got to that area it was dark out and we were exhausted. Lighting conditions were HIGHLY varied, with Auto ISO kicking in on a regular basis. I could have benefitted from the 70-200VR or the 300 Prime. 300 Prime would not be nearly as useful due to the lack of versatility but for certain shots it would have been neccesary..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/2670173233_68e6a4c0e3_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2670997494_ec7757529a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/2670174917_a4e0de8686_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2670175755_14591f327a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2670176563_20d6778ab5_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3055/2671001894_30dfe500ef_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3034/2670179505_bb1ef53c5b_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2670180305_bec7076ec4_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2132/2671004412_0afbcbc121_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3123/2671005156_b87cb27683_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/2671005964_f459c259de_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/2670183615_ecc1691c04_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2670184521_9dc8a64441_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3282/2670185395_63c29e8ea2_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3291/2671001004_c3c0ed3828_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2670186059_b4e1a4dd8c_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2670186809_8405587b7a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3230/2670187633_2fff3f347e_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3156/2670188547_b9fcd287d5_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2670189357_0db631499e_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2671013002_26abcb22c3_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/2670191073_9252e45bdb_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/2671014732_89697346b8_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/2671015600_3fa8067b0f_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3185/2670193625_1ae1bc3262_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2670194419_ebb9151661_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/2670195133_1c6a3136d6_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2671018834_5fdbe75839_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2670196495_bc66f042cb_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/2670197351_ae6d0e3213_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/2671020916_1d96b52f35_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/2671021406_f59944256b_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/2671022286_492180583f_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2670200071_3a2fb11f97_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/2671024268_8efc30440d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/2670202293_279ca38857_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3205/2671025634_bb8ffa66d0_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/2670203515_7bf2281423_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2670204347_c2b91131c0_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/2671027558_e5851886a4_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/2671028224_d98500ae7b_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2671028854_e441e95639_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2671029370_449a1d9351_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2670207519_5eca1bd931_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2670208157_cc1c8d087f_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/2671031392_1c341ec1c9_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3213/2671032096_95c555c21a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2670210405_9d787f6a86_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/2671033596_802b6ee139_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/2670211845_b58f46c181_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/2670212501_80f5f6a849_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2670213297_ef55df0c7c_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/2670214233_ec62aae1e4_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/2670214861_7e82b93cc3_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2671043140_4989e78618_b.jpg

[Soulburner]

Yeah Auto ISO is mandatory unless you want to be fiddling with the camera and wasting a lot of time. On the D80 I set it to minimum 1/125 (the highest it goes) and ISO 800...however on the D300 I will set 1/200 or 1/250 and ISO1600.

[MaxxxRacer]

Yeah Auto ISO is mandatory unless you want to be fiddling with the camera and wasting a lot of time. On the D80 I set it to minimum 1/125 (the highest it goes) and ISO 800...however on the D300 I will set 1/200 or 1/250 and ISO1600.

I generally have it set to go as high as 3200 but I usually end up tossing out those results because 3200 doesnt look good. Its workable if you had to keep the shot, but it requires alot more PP.

For minimum shutter I have it set to 1/125 usually, but for some action stuff I set it to 1/400. If I had the 70-200VR I would have kept the minimum shutter at 1/300 minimum because most of the animals were moving. I had to toss alot of shots due to lack of light/motion blur issues. ohwell.. Live and learn. But in the quest for the perfect setup for the zoo, I would have to say the 70-200 and D3 would be the way to go. That way you could just turn up the minimum shutter speed and NEVER worry about noise.

Last thing, everything was shot in JPG fine with file size optimiation on. I dont have enough memory cards to shoot the entire zoo in RAW, nor the hard drive space.

[Cold Fussion]

The d300 has such beautiful IQ. I love these shots:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2670186059_b4e1a4dd8c_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2670204347_c2b91131c0_b.jpg

[Asgard_thor]

yeah I have 768DSL and the fact that it was lagging, was worse, but just went to take a dump, came back...they were done..lol

[Nate P.]

Excellent, I love the detail in the fur/feathers! I also love this one: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2670186059_b4e1a4dd8c_b.jpg

[[XC] 2long4u]

Heh, I liked that shot too.
There are a bunch of shots that are soft. The green parrot could have used a fill flash.
There are also a bunch of shots that are razor sharp also. How far away were the night shots? I have a hard time at night also. Sometimes I will pull the little diffuser out of the flash. It is supposed to be used for wide angle shots but it helps to fill the area. A diffuser would probably help too.

[MaxxxRacer]

2long4u;3143557']Heh, I liked that shot too.
There are a bunch of shots that are soft. The green parrot could have used a fill flash.
There are also a bunch of shots that are razor sharp also. How far away were the night shots? I have a hard time at night also. Sometimes I will pull the little diffuser out of the flash. It is supposed to be used for wide angle shots but it helps to fill the area. A diffuser would probably help too.

Night shots were between 10 and 30 feet. (of the Kualas). I have a massive diffuser, but it wasnt appropriate for this use. The camera with flash was already too heavy to cary around for 11 hours solid. I have used the stofen omnibounce and the one that came with the SB-800 and they arent very good.

When I got there I had no plans of doing night photos, but we stayed really late and there were some great photographic opportunities.


As far as the green bird (electus), they look like crap if you use flash on them. I know.. my girlfriend and I both have one. They look best with natural sun light, but this guy was in the shade. Lighting conditions were pretty bad so the ISO jumped up nice and high.

As far as the soft photos, this is due to the animal running out of the focal plane as I take the shot. Alot of these are candid shots that I could only get once so letting the camera focus lock on it was not an option. (70-200VR would have helped with this :D )

[ferrari_freak]

Dude wow those are some absolutely amazing pictures. I should get my dad to invest in a decent camera lol.

[MaxxxRacer]

Dude wow those are some absolutely amazing pictures. I should get my dad to invest in a decent camera lol.


Thank you. It helps to have a nice camera.

[Soulburner]

Night shots were between 10 and 30 feet. (of the Kualas). I have a massive diffuser, but it wasnt appropriate for this use. The camera with flash was already too heavy to cary around for 11 hours solid. I have used the stofen omnibounce and the one that came with the SB-800 and they arent very good.

When I got there I had no plans of doing night photos, but we stayed really late and there were some great photographic opportunities.


As far as the green bird (electus), they look like crap if you use flash on them. I know.. my girlfriend and I both have one. They look best with natural sun light, but this guy was in the shade. Lighting conditions were pretty bad so the ISO jumped up nice and high.

As far as the soft photos, this is due to the animal running out of the focal plane as I take the shot. Alot of these are candid shots that I could only get once so letting the camera focus lock on it was not an option. (70-200VR would have helped with this :D )
First, great shots. We have nearly the same setup and the same experiences. Since I've done this before, here's a little tip.

Use AF-C when focusing on a moving creature. This works extremely well...the lens will keep the subject in focus as long as you hold down the button. My D80 has no problem keeping up, and apparently the D300 has 3D focus tracking and if you set it at 9 or 21 points it should never lose track of your initial subject of focus. With that, Auto ISO, Aperture Priority to set your desired sharpness/DoF, all you have to worry about is composition and using the available light to get the best shots.

Other than that, don't forget to set your AF back to AF-S to get back to "focus and recompose". Also, seriously consider getting a larger memory card, or two. They are dirt cheap now and there is no excuse not to carry lots of storage. I have 2x4GB Transcend 150x SD cards that I use on a regular basis and they have proven to be invaluable. You obviously need CF cards but if you can start shooting in RAW you open up a whole new world of picture quality in your finished images.

The reason I carry two? Half-way through my day I swap them, regardless if its full or not. What does this do for me? It gets me a full card so I don't run the risk of running out of space and trying to click away while missing something important. At the same time I also swap batteries as I keep an extra of those as well. That also ensures that I have plenty of juice. I never run out of storage and never run out of power. Think about it ;)

[MaxxxRacer]

First, great shots. We have nearly the same setup and the same experiences. Since I've done this before, here's a little tip.

Thank You for the kind works soulburner.

Use AF-C when focusing on a moving creature. This works extremely well...the lens will keep the subject in focus as long as you hold down the button. With that, Auto ISO, Aperture Priority to set your desired sharpness/DoF, all you have to worry about is composition and using the available light to get the best shots.

ya, for some of the stuff I had AF-C on with 3D tracking, but most of it was with AF-S. The Gazelle was AF-C as was the little monkeys, but the little monkey jumped faster than I could move so the camera focused pased him.

Looking through the photos I posted again, focusing wasnt the issue. The soft photos are ones that the lighting was poor enough that I had to get as low as 1/80th at 200+mm so there was camera shake and movement from the animals.

[Soulburner]

Yeah that's my most common problem. Even at 1/125 I was still getting motion blur if something moved more than just a little bit. I plan on using the D300's extra power to get the same quality at ISO1600 that I am getting at 800 now, and bumping that minimum to 1/200.

[hieuhef]

they sure look yummy.. umm, the pictures..

[and the animals]

[berk]

Im not so into the 'back of the duck' and cable car pics,but i love the detail in the rest, and the colours of the exotic birds really shine.
My personal fave is the Panda looking through the foliage :)

[DeadlyFire]

Great pics! :up: Thx for sharing :)

[Oliver]

Impressive job man, those pictures rocks...

Keep photoing it...