Which lenses is perfect for whale watching?

[PingPingPing]

I am going to Monterey whale watching in feb
 

which lenses is perfect for whale watching 

my options for now is

50-140mm 70-300mm 1.4 tele

 

i am thinking about buy tamron 18-300mm so i can carrying only 1 lenses with all focal length 

and how about setting in xt5

thank you very much 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2024 by PingPingPing

[jerryy]

Welcome to the forum.

Unless the boat gets very close to the whales, wider angle lenses probably will not be all that useful. For the choices you listed, that 70 - 300 mm gets a lot of good reviews and as you note, can be used with the 1.4x tc. Do you think you may be able to get the 100-400mm or the 150-600mm in the near future (assuming good weather and bright skies)?

Another option is to rent or borrow another body, put a wider angle lens on it and keep it close by while you use the longer lens. Then, if you want some landscape style shots or the whales do get close, you have it ready to go.

[Sleeping Dog]

A friend is an avid bird watcher and we once had a discussion as why binoculars for birding were so expensive. She explained that not only did the noc's need reach, they needed a broad enough field of view that allowed you to find bird quickly. The same is true for tracking whales, by the time one puts their eye to the view finder or screen and locate the whale, it could be gone, so you frequently are observing through the camera.

The idea of the Tamron is a good one, you can use the wide angle to locate and then zoom in. For what it's worth, I'd try manual focus and set the focus at infinity, then zoom in and out. I'd also try and maintain a deep depth of field, but be cognizant of shutter speed.

[jerryy]

There are quite a few considerations. Birders will often use 6 x mm or 8 x mm binoculars over others because they are “bright” and lightweight. Bright lets you see things quickly in the same way a f1.4 lens will before a f8 lens does. Lightweight is obvious.

Tamron’s superzoom is supposed to be a good lens according to the reviewers, but it is not parfocal. You will have to re-focus every time you do any zooming.

@PingPingPing says they are going to Monterey, which I am guessing is the one in the U.S. which means since whales are a protected species, the tour may not be getting close to the critters swimming out there. Various laws restrict and/or prohibit boats’ activities. So essentially, longer lenses will help more than shorter ones.

Nikon has a nice explanation: https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/tips-for-taking-great-whale-and-dolphin-photos.html