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Zoo with the new 20D

M

Milwaukee Reptiles

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Today we went to the Milwaukee County Zoo with my new 20D. Most shots were taken with my new 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, although I took a few with the kit 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 lens.

I learned one very important lesson about shutter speeds today... keep them high when using a telephoto. Even some of my shots on the tripod didn't turn out as I had hoped. Anyway, Enjoy!
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Exce;llent photos, I love the lion and tiger, thanks for sharing!
 
Brian,

Very nice shots. Nicely composed and shot. I was going to recommend using higher shutter speeds, but I see you already realize that. It will increase crispnees of the shot, but it's also a "catch 22", because you need to use a wider aperature (decreasing depth of field), and you have to have lots of light, in order to use the higher shutter speed.

The rule of thumb is to multiply focal length by 2, then reciprocate that #. This gives you the minimum shutter speed you want to use.

For example: you have your zoom at 250 mm. 250 x 2 = 500. Reciprocal = 1/500.
So, you would want to shoot at least 1/500th of a second.
To freeze a moving object, double that = 1/1000th sec
 
Just a note, The setting I posted above will not always be attainable. In such a case, use the fastest shutter speed your lens will allow. Just remember, your depth of field will be shallow, so make sure to focus on the most important part of the shot.

Auto focus will focus on whatever is in the center of the viewfinder. So, if your subject isn't in the center of the frame, focus manually.
 
Oops, I wrote that from memory. Went back to check it, and the equation I wrote was wrong.

Simply take the focal length, and reciprocate it. Don't double it.

i.e. Focal length = 250mm. Minimum shutter speed = 1/250th a second.
 
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