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Author Topic: Lenses for whale watching  (Read 9055 times)

Richard Morwood

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Lenses for whale watching
« on: July 01, 2010, 06:37:53 am »

I am off to New Zealand in a few months and amongst the many places we are visiting will be Kaikora for the whale watching. I am curious how long a lens is needed to do this justice. I will be bringing Nikon 70-200 II but if required will bring a 200-400, but this is likely to be mainly for the whale watching if necessary. Is this likely to be too long and will a 70-200 (possibly with 1.4 or 1.7 converter, or even the new 2.0 converter if they ever get to the shops)be enough?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Many thanks
Richard
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Josh-H

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2010, 08:11:14 am »

Quote from: Richard Morwood
I am off to New Zealand in a few months and amongst the many places we are visiting will be Kaikora for the whale watching. I am curious how long a lens is needed to do this justice. I will be bringing Nikon 70-200 II but if required will bring a 200-400, but this is likely to be mainly for the whale watching if necessary. Is this likely to be too long and will a 70-200 (possibly with 1.4 or 1.7 converter, or even the new 2.0 converter if they ever get to the shops)be enough?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Many thanks
Richard

Hi Richard,

I was in Kaikoura in the South Island of New Zealand last July (almost a year ago to the day). Its a gorgeous location - one of my most favourite destinations. Kaikoura has the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen and experienced. They are a natural phenomena enhanced by the immediacy of the alps to the coast and the famous North Western Arch cloud formation. There are photographs from Kaikoura on both my website and blog. I envy you going there. Now.. on to the Whales..(and Sea Lions!)

I went out whale watching in Kaikoura and was fortunate enough to see three large Sperm Whales. I was equipped with my Canon 1DSMKIII and my 70-200 F2.8L IS lens and 1.4 Tele-Extender. I had decided not to take my 300mm F2.8L IS  as I didn't want to lug it with me all the way from Australia.

Ultimately, I got the shots I wanted with the 70-200 F2.8L IS with the 1.4 TC (see my Blog and website)- but I did wish I had the 300mm F2.8L IS with me - both for that extra reach and for the dreamy bokeh it produces.

The boat gets quite close to the whales - but never that close that 300mm is impractical on a full frame sensor. If I was going back there tomorrow I would not hesitate in taking the 300mm.

Another tip.. when the boat spots the whales all the tourists tend to run for the high deck on the boat thinking thats the best place to see the whales. Dont be tempted to follow them. By far the best spot is at the front pointy end, lying down at the Bow. That way you can capture the whales fluke from almost water level when it sounds and keep the horizon in the shot for perspective. All the tourists are getting from the top deck is a top down view of a whales tail with no context.

There are also heaps of Sea Lions all along the beaches at Kaikoura. You can get quite close to them (say within fifteen/twenty feet or so before you enter their threat zone). The 70-200 will serve you well here - the 300mm will get you in nice and tight.

I hope this helps and good luck. Make sure you post some photos for us.
« Last Edit: July 01, 2010, 08:16:30 am by Josh-H »
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BernardLanguillier

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2010, 11:03:24 am »

Quote from: Richard Morwood
I am off to New Zealand in a few months and amongst the many places we are visiting will be Kaikora for the whale watching. I am curious how long a lens is needed to do this justice. I will be bringing Nikon 70-200 II but if required will bring a 200-400, but this is likely to be mainly for the whale watching if necessary. Is this likely to be too long and will a 70-200 (possibly with 1.4 or 1.7 converter, or even the new 2.0 converter if they ever get to the shops)be enough?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Many thanks
Richard

Amazing place, wish I could visit again.

I used a 80-400 VR on my D100 when I was there 7 years ago (time flies). A VR equiped lens is a must, other than that the boats do indeed get pretty close to the whales.

Cheers,
Bernard

PeterAit

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2010, 11:07:41 am »

Quote from: Richard Morwood
I am off to New Zealand in a few months and amongst the many places we are visiting will be Kaikora for the whale watching. I am curious how long a lens is needed to do this justice. I will be bringing Nikon 70-200 II but if required will bring a 200-400, but this is likely to be mainly for the whale watching if necessary. Is this likely to be too long and will a 70-200 (possibly with 1.4 or 1.7 converter, or even the new 2.0 converter if they ever get to the shops)be enough?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Many thanks
Richard

My suggestion is to contact the people who run the whale watching and ask how close to the critters you are likely to get.
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gss

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2010, 01:00:44 pm »

I sometimes find that the 200-400 is too long when I'm out whalewatching, though I always bring it.  Also, since you're on a boat, and hence cannot use a monopod or tripod, the 200-400 can get a bit heavy.
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Jeremy Payne

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #5 on: July 01, 2010, 01:27:00 pm »

Quote from: Richard Morwood
I am off to New Zealand in a few months and amongst the many places we are visiting will be Kaikora for the whale watching. I am curious how long a lens is needed to do this justice. I will be bringing Nikon 70-200 II but if required will bring a 200-400, but this is likely to be mainly for the whale watching if necessary. Is this likely to be too long and will a 70-200 (possibly with 1.4 or 1.7 converter, or even the new 2.0 converter if they ever get to the shops)be enough?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Many thanks
Richard
I went on a wale watch last year with a 70-200 on an FX body with the 1.7x TC ... there were times I wanted longer reach, but for the most part I was pretty satisfied ... were I to do it again, I would want to have a 300mm and the TC.

Here's a couple from that day ...

340mm (200mm + 1.7x tc)



320mm









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K.C.

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2010, 01:07:53 am »

Apparently there were only Grey whales that day.  

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tom b

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2010, 01:53:24 am »

I've been there twice in summer.

Whales aren't the only thing to see there. You will have a chance to see dusky dolphins, albaross (and other birds), sea lions and if you're lucky orcas/killer whales. I was a week late for the latter.

 If you have time, do the peninsula walk. Though it still may be a little cold at that time of year. I was in Wellington last August and it snowed just north of there. Some shots of the peninsula can be seen here:

http://www.tombrown.id.au/travel2/kaikoura...lbum/index.html

I had a 70-200mm lens on an 1.5 crop camera and it was fine.

Just remember it is open water, so come prepared if you are susceptible to sea sickness. The person sitting next to on my first trip was sick.

Cheers,



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DaveCurtis

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2010, 03:40:13 am »

Hi, i shoot regularly in Kaikoura and I would suggest 400mm for Sperm whales tails. If you want to shoot the whale with the mountains in the background then 200mm would be ideal.

The pelagic bird tour is my favourite tour in kaikoura where 70-200mm lens is pefect as the albatrosses will come right in to your minimum focus distance.

I have attached two images taken with my Canon 400mm f4 DO. With the larger tail, the whale was very close to the boat. Closer than the usual encounters. This should give you an idea of the scale.

Cheers
Dave
Dunedin, NZ
« Last Edit: July 02, 2010, 03:42:10 am by DaveDn »
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Richard Morwood

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2010, 05:38:07 am »

Many thanks to you all for your advice. So it looks like it will be the 200-400 at the "pointy end" of the boat. The kids carry-on luggage has just got a lot heavier!  
Thanks again
Richard
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stever

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2010, 03:19:43 pm »

if you're staying overnight in Kaikora you may be able to go possum hunting.  the possums are Australian common possoms (nothing like north american possums except both are marsupials - acutally kind of cute) brought in about 1900 when possum fur was popular.  the popularity waned, and without natural predators the possums got out of control and started to destroy forests.  so they've been trapped, poisoned, and hunted for some time.

even if you don't go possum hunting, the sweaters made from a mixture of possum fur and fine merino wool are incredibly soft and light but extremely warm

although not the bargain that it was a few years ago, the fine merino wool clothing in New Zealand is outstanding

unfortunately when i was in Kaikora the water was to rough to go out and i didn't know about possums so hadn't planned to stay overnight - but i still have the possum sweater and gloves
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BFoto

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2010, 01:25:58 am »

1DIV @200mm

Front of the boat works.

Ray

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Lenses for whale watching
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2010, 02:54:10 pm »

Quote from: Richard Morwood
I am off to New Zealand in a few months and amongst the many places we are visiting will be Kaikora for the whale watching. I am curious how long a lens is needed to do this justice. I will be bringing Nikon 70-200 II but if required will bring a 200-400, but this is likely to be mainly for the whale watching if necessary. Is this likely to be too long and will a 70-200 (possibly with 1.4 or 1.7 converter, or even the new 2.0 converter if they ever get to the shops)be enough?
Anyone have any suggestions?
Many thanks
Richard

I think you must have got the impression by now, Richard, that there's no recommended focal length for whales.

The tourism rules may assert that a tourist ship should not approach whales closer than a certain distance. However, such rules do not apply to the whales, who may be very curious as to the nature of another huge beast in the water, and who may sometimes come right along-side the tourist vessel.

I would recommend hanging two cameras around your neck. One with telephoto capability, such as a Canon 100-400 on a cropped format body, and the other a wide angle to medium telephoto, such as a 24-105.

Here's an example of how close an inquisitive whale can come to a boat. This shot was taken with a Canon D60 about 6 years ago from my own vessel, but later the same whales came along-side the ship that I was on, and I was unable to photograph them because I was stuck with the Canon 100-400. There's no time to change lenses in such situations.

Best of luck, and happy shooting!

[attachment=22917:Whales.jpg]

Oops! Forgot to mention. My experience is in Australia, Harvey Bay, north of Brisbane, but I suspect that whale behaviour is pretty similar in New Zealand   .
« Last Edit: July 03, 2010, 02:58:56 pm by Ray »
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