Long Lens EFP Wildlife shooting... best lens for RED?

[Steve Gibby]

Are you using the Miller soft case for the Arrow 55?

I don't have the Miller soft case for my Arrow 55, so I scored a Kata Tripsoft-2 Soft Tripod Bag ($199 from B&H). The shoulder sling is comfortable and this bag was a lot more affordable than the Miller bag for the Arrow 55.

Here's some more of my wildlife production kit info:

I have an Omega Probella Portable umbrella that attached to my tripod in case of rain or to keep the heat off the camera if its hot out ($29.95 from B&H).

As a rain cover for the camera itself I use a Petrol PRC-2 Camera Rain Cover ($139.95 from B&H).

I also take:

A lightweight portable poncho, two big canteens, bear spray (the big canister) to ward off animal or human predators, a sidearm (.44 magnum) if its legal where I'm going (BLM land, national forest), a Swiss Army Knife, a compass, a GPS unit, emergency food and water purification cup and tablets, waterproof matches, a small piece of plastic sheeting with which to make an emergency pup tent, a short length of plastic rope, a tiny collapsible fishing pole with a small amount of emergency tackle, snake bite kit, and a small emergency first aid kit.

I also have a lot of extra water, food, clothing, and survival stuff in my 4x4 SUV that I drive to the hike-in point.

I'm also looking into options for collapsible solar panels for use for remote charging of batteries on multi-day treks.

None of the above will be new info for wilderness veterans, but hopefully some of these suggestions will save new wildlife shooters some anxiety and grief on their production treks. Always be thinking "What will I do if I end up having to spend the night (or multiple nights) out there?" The Boy Scout motto applies to wilderness production: "Be Prepared".

 

[paul engstrom]

Been getting great results from sigma 120-300 2.8 and also with 2x doubler. Very, very happy.

 

[Michael Male]

Paul,

Is there much breathing in the image when you rack focus with the 120-300 Sigma?

All the Best,

Michael

 

[Denis Buhot]

i'll be testing my long lenses, which include the sigma 300-800mm, when it is released. i'd confirm the 300-800mm is completely impractical for backcountry use...it's not just the lens weight, there are other factors, such as the need for carrying heavier stabilizers. i've stabilized it using a monopod with a dSLR, but that was pushing it hard. forget about that lens with video (i've mounted it to an XL2), let alone a RED camera, except off the back of a pick-up truck with a really good tripod. ton of unbalanced weight there...it's a fantastic lens, simply marvelous, but not very mobile.

I'm not quite with you here...300-800 does require a sturdy tripod (not a monster, though, a medium range sachtler will do), plus some effective device to support the lens plus the camera and allow you to attach the whole setup almost in balance . As for fine balancing, red cradle with battery and drive is just perfect if slided backward. Not very mobile, true.. But your gear will be so heavy anyway...wildlife shooting has never been a run and gun thing... Besides, using such a big sensor as red's will require 600 mm and even more at times, when it comes to some specific species... Birds, raptors especially... Almost no use if you specialize in african big fauna... it all depends on what you want to shoot...

 

[Are Pilskog]

B4 hd

B4 hd

When I could shoot 2k and the B4 HD zooms made sense, I've used the following lenses with very good results:

Fujinon 42x9.7 and Fujinon 22x7.3. The 42x is big, heavy and not as mobile as I'd like, but the 22x with doubler is an excellent mobile choice.

Gibby, what kind of filters do you use on these B4 HD lences?

And do anyone know how these lences will work on the scarelet 3K.
There are for instance a discussion in this tread:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21875&page=2
but it does not seem to come to an answer....

Are

 

[Steve Gibby]

Gibby, what kind of filters do you use on these B4 HD lences?

And do anyone know how these lences will work on the scarelet 3K.
There are for instance a discussion in this tread:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21875&page=2
but it does not seem to come to an answer....

Are

Screw on filters, or occasionally drop in filters in a clip on matte box.

B4 EFP/ENG zooms are made for 3CCD cameras which use a prism. When used with CMOS cameras like RED One, an optical adaptor is necessary. 2k is 6% larger than 1080p, thus the optical adaptor also spreads the image from a 2/3" B4 EFP-ENG lens out the necessary 6% to cover 2k. I've owned and used the RED B4 adaptor for the past 15 months. It is well built, optically excellent, and induces no significant artifacts.

Yes, RED has announced a B4 mount for Scarlet, but the details of B4 lens use on Scarlet have not been revealed by RED. As a guess, since Scarlet will use a CMOS sensor like R1, you will need the RED B4 adaptor to use 2/3" B4 HD EFP-ENG zooms on Scarlet, same as on R1. It is also possible that RED has made some technological breakthrough or workaround that will enable use of B4 lenses on Scarlet without an optical adaptor between the lens and mount.

I would guess RED will clear this up shortly...

Cine style B4 mount lenses may be usable on Scarlet without an adaptor - again, a clarification on this from RED is needed.