Baja whales with Nikon 80-400 VR

[Aquanaut]

I purchased the Nikon 80-400 F/4.5-5.6 D VR lens especially for a whale watching trip to Baja, California this March. The lens performed just as I expected after reading all of reviews I could find. Hand holding a long telephoto lens requires VR, especially when making captures from a bobbing zodiac (about 20 feet long) or even the platform of the expedition ship (152 feet long).

Below is my favorite humpback whale capture. It was belly up with the baleen folds showing on the underside of its mouth, and both of its pectoral fins on the sides, just behind the mouth. They use the baleen to filter out the huge amounts of plankton they feed on. They come to Baja in February/March to birth and mate.

HumpbackA.jpg

Capture made at 135mm, 1/1250 sec - F/8, ISO 400 using a D100 body. I had to use dynamic focus in continuous mode to track the animals. In bright daylight, I had no focusing speed issues. I was even able to accurately track flying birds. C&C welcome.

[oldphotohand]

Very nice shot! Amazing how effective VR can be, especially with such a long lens on a Zodiac!
Kevin

[jfrancho]

That's really nice. That sounds like a nice chunk of glass you have there, and it looks like an awesome trip.

[Aquanaut]

That chunk of glass with the D100 body weighed 4.95 pounds. You had to be ready to capture an image at a moment's notice. On board the vessel, I used a monopod at eye level to hold up that five pounds. The monopod was indispendable. The vibration reduction was amazing! Not only did it stabilize the capture, but it also stabilized the image in the view finder.

Also check out:

Sea Lion at Baja

for more captures. There will be more to come.

[fintastic]

Nice Capture, I also have this lens and the more I use it the more I like it. Cool shot got any more

[Aquanaut]

Check out:

Sea Lion at Baja

Also, more to come.

[Alfred D.]

Originally Posted by Aquanaut

[...] On board the vessel, I used a monopod at eye level to hold up that five pounds. The monopod was indispendable. The vibration reduction was amazing! Not only did it stabilize the capture, but it also stabilized the image in the view finder.

Didn't the ship's engine tremors travel from the deck through the monopod to the camera?

Nice whale photo! I'm assuming that one's from the ship's deck. I'd adjust the levels a bit.

Here's a feeding 12 tonne Humpback Whale mum I shot (on film; 200mm) in Antarctica. The 2 tonne baby was just outside the frame:

[Aquanaut]

Originally Posted by Alfred D.

Didn't the ship's engine tremors travel from the deck through the monopod to the camera?

The ship was 152 ft long and I felt minor tremors. The lens was able to stabilize these vibrations using the mono pod.