Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 + Nikon D7200

[BrownBear]

Santa put the 200-500 under the tree for me, and I finally got the chance to give it a trial run. We set out in our kayaks to photograph birds in the mangroves near our Florida winter home. For the sake of testing, I left the 7200 on Program and let it make all the decisions while I concentrated on birds, the kayak, and keeping the camera dry.  All hand-held, dependent on the VR to steady things up.

First is a front lit black crowned night heron in full sunlight against a dark background.  Nice for my tastes with just the right contrast even when reduced to a file 1200 pixels on the long axis.

Next up is the real test. The little blue heron was strongly back-lit. Sure, I'll be looking for front-lit opportunities, but the combo of wind and tide often conspires against perfect light.I can say for sure that in the future I won't be shying away from back-lit subjects.





I'll have to photograph the setup later, but I think I've found the ideal means for photographing birds from a kayak. We're using sit-on-top angling kayaks, specifically the Ocean Kayak Big Game II models with the fishing consoles between our legs. I bungee a plastic mail box to the console lid, and it's virtually a made-for-purpose "waterproof camera case." Drop the door, and slide the camera and lens into it, and snap the door closed for paddling. The box is long enough to accommodate the 7200 and lens with the barrel fully extended and the hood mounted. Highly secure, quickly accessible and dry, yet low enough not to interfere with paddling.  Perfect.

[Chairman Bill]

Great photos, and the kayak looks pretty good too

[N80]

Nice photos. Not sure about the set up though. I've done limited ocean kayaking. I put my gear in a dry bag and stuff it into the tiny dry well in the kayak. It would not hold a long lens. In your case I'd be very concerned about tipping over (kayaks do that) and unless that mailbox is completely waterproof I'd worry about water damage. In my case I paddle through inlets and sometimes surf so I don't think it would work for me either. A dry bag is safe enough but not something where you can get the camera in and out with ease. I have a Pelican hard case but have not had the guts to trust it or strap it onto the kayak.

[BrownBear]

Nice photos. Not sure about the set up though. I've done limited ocean kayaking. I put my gear in a dry bag and stuff it into the tiny dry well in the kayak. It would not hold a long lens. In your case I'd be very concerned about tipping over (kayaks do that) and unless that mailbox is completely waterproof I'd worry about water damage. In my case I paddle through inlets and sometimes surf so I don't think it would work for me either. A dry bag is safe enough but not something where you can get the camera in and out with ease. I have a Pelican hard case but have not had the guts to trust it or strap it onto the kayak.

I read you. And in fact we aways use dry bags for transport. This is something to do with the camera when it's out of the dry bag.

When maneuvering on birds in the sheltered areas where they're found, NO ONE bothers to close and latch their cameras back in the dry bag. No one.  This is a quick and handy "camera hanger" to protect it from splashes, drops, slides, dings and general abuse while your hands are on the paddles.