Gear for Taronga Zoo's

[Morgo]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to go for a trip to both Sydney and Dubbo zoo's in the near future and was hoping to hear from those who have been recently about what gear you used and what you think is ideal and over kill lens choice wise for each zoo?

I'll be using either a 5D3 or 1DIV, may take both yet.

[bushbikie]

Just my $0.02 - I'd suggest bringing both bodies, with a 200mm+ on the 1DIV, and say a 24-70 or 24-105mm on the 5D3, so you don't have to do the lens shuffle, and possibly miss "THE" shot.

[Morgo]

Cheers mate

I was originally hoping to get away with a smaller "light" weight setup with mainly just the 70-200 but it appears it may be a little short, atleast for what I want. So I'll just bring the big bag and the big whites and put up with the weight.

Better than getting there and wishing I"d brought something longer.

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Has anyone had issues using a speedlight and better beamer at the zoo's?

[Lance B]

What lenses do you have available? I would say a 300mm lens or even longer may be of benefit in some situations.

Are you going by yourself? If you are, I have a Guest Pass, so you can get in for free, and might be able to join you if you would like the company.

[Morgo]

My short to medium is a little bare after getting away from APS-C last year.

As it stands today I have;
Canon 200-400 1.4x, Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II, Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art, Samyang 14mm 2.8 plus the two bodies. Also a Canon 600 speedlight and better beamer which I never did use in Africa last year and would like to try out at the zoo.

I had a few friends who were keen to go down though I haven't fixed a date yet. I'd like to get down with in the next month.
Sadly none of my friends are all that keen on photography, well none that are living in Aus at the moment, so they tend to have short attention spans when it comes to waiting around for the shot :)

It would be nice to have the company of another person interested in photography if your available one weekend in August?
I might see if I can start a thread for a meet and greet at the zoo for the day, might be some others interested as well.

[Lance B]

There are a few people that I already know on AP that might like to come along also- Mongo being one. Just let me know what weekend and I'll see if I'm able to make it.

[Mark L]

You'll want the longer reach at Dubbo zoo.
Haven't been there for a long while, so wouldn’t mine joining you there. Mudgee is a good overnight stop between Sydney and Dubbo.
See what happens.

[farmmax]

You can hire electric carts to get around Dubbo zoo, so you can load yourself up with all the heavy lenses you want :)

If you can afford it, best to try and get on one of the early morning walk arounds where you get to see the animals up close. The animals are more active then. You can stay overnight at the zoo, but that is not cheap either.

[Morgo]

There are a few people that I already know on AP that might like to come along also- Mongo being one. Just let me know what weekend and I'll see if I'm able to make it.

I know I'll be free the last weekend of August, the 29th, is that any good?

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You'll want the longer reach at Dubbo zoo.
Haven't been there for a long while, so wouldn’t mine joining you there. Mudgee is a good overnight stop between Sydney and Dubbo.
See what happens.

Sounds like a plan mate, not sure when I'll be heading out to Dubbo but likely in September.

I'm in Newcastle, figure its a 5 hour trip which I can handle in one go but probably depends if I work that day and head off late.

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You can hire electric carts to get around Dubbo zoo, so you can load yourself up with all the heavy lenses you want :)

If you can afford it, best to try and get on one of the early morning walk arounds where you get to see the animals up close. The animals are more active then. You can stay overnight at the zoo, but that is not cheap either.

Can the carts get any closer to the exhibit than cars? I noticed on the zoo website they mention some exhibits are a short walk from the road.

I drive a Jeep on the weekends so always looking for any chance to take the roof and doors off to drive around. Probably not much bigger than the carts :)

[Morgo]

Posted a new thread in the meetups section for those keen to come

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?140839-Taronga-zoo-Sydney&p=1305797#post1305797