AGeoJO wrote:
With “hot and sticky” 😜 best wishes from Costa Rica…
Just beautiful.
I will be travelling to Costa Rica this year beginning november, and feel uneasy taking the 600GM along, since it is the tail of the rainy season, and there will be multiple trips in a small guided group.
How do you carry and protect the 600GM there?
I am thinking to get the 300GM and use it with both converters, but it of course would be a shame to not use the 600GM
ChrisMak wrote:
Just beautiful.
I will be travelling to Costa Rica this year beginning november, and feel uneasy taking the 600GM along, since it is the tail of the rainy season, and there will be multiple trips in a small guided group.
How do you carry and protect the 600GM there?
I am thinking to get the 300GM and use it with both converters, but it of course would be a shame to not use the 600GM
In the last year I've been to Costa Rica three times and Ecuador once, and every time I've had two A1's and the 600GM and 400GM. I don't worry about protecting them in any way besides the camouflage AlphaGuard wraps I have on them. The A1 can take more moisture than most people imagine and typically you're not going to be outside when it's pouring rain anyway.
If you want to take photos of birds in flight, then I highly recommend getting that 300GM. I have one order for precisely that use. The 400 is just a bit too tight for most BIF photography and it's quite heavy. Have a great trip, what locations are you going to?
jhapeman wrote:
In the last year I've been to Costa Rica three times and Ecuador once, and every time I've had two A1's and the 600GM and 400GM. I don't worry about protecting them in any way besides the camouflage AlphaGuard wraps I have on them. The A1 can take more moisture than most people imagine and typically you're not going to be outside when it's pouring rain anyway.
If you want to take photos of birds in flight, then I highly recommend getting that 300GM. I have one order for precisely that use. The 400 is just a bit too tight for most BIF photography and it's quite heavy. Have a great trip, what locations are you going to?...Show more →
It will be a first for me as a European.
Therefore we chose a guided 16 day journey in a small group.
We'll be going from the Carabien lowlands to the savannas from the Guanacaste area. Also visits to the Ramsar-site Parque Nacional Palo Verde, the Parque Nacional Carara and La Selva biological station.
Since I am unfamiliar with the area and with the weather from the second week of November, I am not able to calculate whether the 600GM will become a source of stress and burden.
My intention is to take the 300GM with both converters, but I would of course prefer the 600GM.
ChrisMak wrote:
It will be a first for me as a European.
Therefore we chose a guided 16 day journey in a small group.
We'll be going from the Carabien lowlands to the savannas from the Guanacaste area. Also visits to the Ramsar-site Parque Nacional Palo Verde, the Parque Nacional Carara and La Selva biological station.
Since I am unfamiliar with the area and with the weather from the second week of November, I am not able to calculate whether the 600GM will become a source of stress and burden.
My intention is to take the 300GM with both converters, but I would of course prefer the 600GM. ...Show more →
Take the 600, you won't regret it. For smaller birds I am actually using the 600 with the 1.4x or 2x almost 100% of the time. The majority of the birds you will see will be small. Those are some great locations and with a guide you'll see some amazing birds and wildlife!
jhapeman wrote:
Take the 600, you won't regret it. For smaller birds I am actually using the 600 with the 1.4x or 2x almost 100% of the time. The majority of the birds you will see will be small. Those are some great locations and with a guide you'll see some amazing birds and wildlife!
ChrisMak wrote:
Just beautiful.
I will be travelling to Costa Rica this year beginning november, and feel uneasy taking the 600GM along, since it is the tail of the rainy season, and there will be multiple trips in a small guided group.
How do you carry and protect the 600GM there?
I am thinking to get the 300GM and use it with both converters, but it of course would be a shame to not use the 600GM
Thank you, Chris! Is yours a birding/wildlife trip? Mine is and there are 2 participants out of 6 that took a 600mm lens, including me. Well, the guide also has a 600mm lens. The 600mm lens is my most used lens but sometimes, you need to be a little bit flexible with the focal length selection. My other most used lens is the G 200-600mm lens. We are currently at a high elevation for quetzals. My 200-600mm lens has come in handy to take take-off and in-flight shots. It allows me to give more room for the quetzal to fly into and not clippings the wings or tails.
No special care to carry the lens. I carry around 1 lens. Either the guide or his assistant/driver carries the other lens with the A7r V while we are searching for birds. So far, so good. Both lenses have camo protection on them. I love using my tripod with gimbal, it feels sufficiently sturdy and I can get a lower shutter speed and lower ISO for perched shots that way. Sometimes I just extend one of the legs of the tripod and use it as a monopod. Being an old guy, I really need some kind of support for my camera/lens. I am 74 years this year…
Hope this helps and please feel free to ask any additional questions.
Joshua
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you, Chris! Is yours a birding/wildlife trip? Mine is and there are 2 participants out of 6 that took a 600mm lens, including me. Well, the guide also has a 600mm lens. The 600mm lens is my most used lens but sometimes, you need to be a little bit flexible with the focal length selection. My other most used lens is the G 200-600mm lens. We are currently at a high elevation for quetzals. My 200-600mm lens has come in handy to take take-off and in-flight shots. It allows me to give more room for the quetzal to fly into and not clippings the wings or tails.
No special care to carry the lens. I carry around 1 lens. Either the guide or his assistant/driver carries the other lens with the A7r V while we are searching for birds. So far, so good. Both lenses have camo protection on them. I love using my tripod with gimbal, it feels sufficiently sturdy and I can get a lower shutter speed and lower ISO for perched shots that way. Sometimes I just extend one of the legs of the tripod and use it as a monopod. Being an old guy, I really need some kind of support for my camera/lens. I am 74 years this year…
Hope this helps and please feel free to ask any additional questions.
Joshua...Show more →
Hi Joshua, yes it will be a dedicated birding/wildlife trip. Taking the 600GM in a small carry-on friendly backpack means I will not be able to carry the lens with camera attached, but will have to assemble/disassemble the combo a lot. Given the likelyhood of wet weather in second and third week of November, I will face a challenge of keeping the lens out enough without stressing its weather sealing..
I developed the idea of getting the 300GM with both converters to have an assembled combo at the ready, that I can also easily tuck away when needed, the 200-600G would be a bit dim is my thought. The 300GM with 1.4TC at f4 would suit the rainforest better.
But for such a unique trip I guess I would regret not taking the 600GM, so should probably suffer the impracticalities
ChrisMak wrote:
Hi Joshua, yes it will be a dedicated birding/wildlife trip. Taking the 600GM in a small carry-on friendly backpack means I will not be able to carry the lens with camera attached, but will have to assemble/disassemble the combo a lot. Given the likely hood of wet weather in second and third week of November, I will face a challenge of keeping the lens out enough without stressing itss weather sealing..
I developed the idea of getting the 300GM with both converters to have an assembled combo at the ready, the 200-600G would be a bit dim is my thought.
But for such a unique trip I guess I would regret not taking the 600GM, so should probably suffer the impracticalities
I would suggest getting a bag that allows you to carry the 600GM attached to the camera. I use a ThinkTank Airport Security bag; it is the official carry-on size for almost any jet airplane you will ever get on and I can carry the 600 attached to one body and the 400 and a second body as well as all of my chargers, teleconverters, etc. in the bag. Very secure and safe as well, even if they were to force you to check it.
ChrisMak wrote:
Hi Joshua, yes it will be a dedicated birding/wildlife trip. Taking the 600GM in a small carry-on friendly backpack means I will not be able to carry the lens with camera attached, but will have to assemble/disassemble the combo a lot. Given the likelyhood of wet weather in second and third week of November, I will face a challenge of keeping the lens out enough without stressing its weather sealing..
I developed the idea of getting the 300GM with both converters to have an assembled combo at the ready, that I can also easily tuck away when needed, the 200-600G would be a bit dim is my thought. The 300GM with 1.4TC at f4 would suit the rainforest better.
But for such a unique trip I guess I would regret not taking the 600GM, so should probably suffer the impracticalities
Enjoy your trip!! ...Show more →
Hi Chris, for transfer during transits and to the hotel I put all my camera gear in my roller bag. But it is not especially made for photo gear but more a Samsonite/Delsy or American Tourister of the world kind of roller bag. Like I mentioned previously, both my long lenses have protective camo and tthe cameras and some other smaller stuff in various padded pouches. While on actual birding I carry either a single set or both sets using their respective straps with the camera mounted on my shoulder. Sometimes, the guide’s assistant helps me carry one or even the guide while I was using the other. While transit from one bird sanctuary to the other, I put one setup on the (empty) seat next to me and the other on my lap. Many times we encountered wildlife/bird and stopped to shoot along the road. So, I was pretty much always ready to shoot that way. I put everything back in the roller bag at the end of the day.
I don’t know the circumstances you will encounter there but I am just telling you my experience. And, and, there is no way I would leave the GM 600mm lens behind on a birding trip, that’s for sure.
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My first encounter of this bird…ever
Black crested coquette
ILCE-1FE 600mm F4 GM OSS lens600mmf/4.01/1000s400 ISO0.0 EV
