Here’s another look at a Sally Lightfoot crab — this one on Santiago Island. These bright orange and blue crabs create quite the contrast against the black volcanic rock of the Galapagos Islands. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/800th of a second
Great shot Sean. I am off to the Galapagos in April and am always looking for inspiration. How did you find lugging your 200-400mm around? I’m not sure if I should take my 200-400mm or go lighter and take my 80-400mm. I don’t want to regret not having a lens when I get there, but I also want to be able to move around easily. I can hand hold the larger lens, but not for long lengths of time. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks very much.
Thanks Liz. You’ll love the Galapagos. I think that the 80-400 will probably be a better option for you. The islands are very wide open with few trees, and landing times are generally after sunrise (unless you’re on some sort of a rare specialized tour that is allowed to land earlier). You also generally have to be off the islands before the sun sets, so low light isn’t much of a problem. You will want fast focusing, however, for birds in flight. That being said, most of the birds are quite large and slower flyers so the 80-400 should be up to the task. It’ll also be easier to manage while on the zodiac boats, patrolling the rocky shorelines for penguins, etc. You don’t necessarily need a longer lens in the Galapagos, but if you’re like me and want to be able to cover all the options, you’ll want one. I did take a good majority of shots with my 17-35 and also my 70-200. Incidentally, with my 200-400, I replaced the small tripod foot with the much larger one from Really Right Stuff (I also replaced the small neck strap that came with the camera with a longer, stretchy one). I hook that to my waist belt so that all the weight of the camera is on my hip. I can hike all day like this without getting tired, and pull the camera off my hip whenever I want to shoot. Hope this helps. Good luck, and have a great trip.
Thanks Sean. I also replaced the Nikon foot on my 200-400 with a RRS one, much easier to use as a handle. I have Blackrapid strap and just love it. I can hike for miles with it and my long lens, and it is so convenient. If I am doing some more extreme hiking, where I need my hands, I use a Cotton Carrier chest strap. It only works with shorter lenses though, and can be kind of hot. Thanks for your lens advice for my trip. I will take my 80-400mm, 24-70mm and my fisheye, and probably some extension tubes for any close up work. I am lucky enough to be able to bring two bodies, so one will have the long lens and the other the will have the wide angle. My husband will be using a cropped sensor camera with my 70-200, so I can always borrow that back from him if I need it. Look forward to your posts every day.
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Great shot Sean. I am off to the Galapagos in April and am always looking for inspiration. How did you find lugging your 200-400mm around? I’m not sure if I should take my 200-400mm or go lighter and take my 80-400mm. I don’t want to regret not having a lens when I get there, but I also want to be able to move around easily. I can hand hold the larger lens, but not for long lengths of time. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks very much.
Thanks Liz. You’ll love the Galapagos. I think that the 80-400 will probably be a better option for you. The islands are very wide open with few trees, and landing times are generally after sunrise (unless you’re on some sort of a rare specialized tour that is allowed to land earlier). You also generally have to be off the islands before the sun sets, so low light isn’t much of a problem. You will want fast focusing, however, for birds in flight. That being said, most of the birds are quite large and slower flyers so the 80-400 should be up to the task. It’ll also be easier to manage while on the zodiac boats, patrolling the rocky shorelines for penguins, etc. You don’t necessarily need a longer lens in the Galapagos, but if you’re like me and want to be able to cover all the options, you’ll want one. I did take a good majority of shots with my 17-35 and also my 70-200. Incidentally, with my 200-400, I replaced the small tripod foot with the much larger one from Really Right Stuff (I also replaced the small neck strap that came with the camera with a longer, stretchy one). I hook that to my waist belt so that all the weight of the camera is on my hip. I can hike all day like this without getting tired, and pull the camera off my hip whenever I want to shoot. Hope this helps. Good luck, and have a great trip.
Thanks Sean. I also replaced the Nikon foot on my 200-400 with a RRS one, much easier to use as a handle. I have Blackrapid strap and just love it. I can hike for miles with it and my long lens, and it is so convenient. If I am doing some more extreme hiking, where I need my hands, I use a Cotton Carrier chest strap. It only works with shorter lenses though, and can be kind of hot. Thanks for your lens advice for my trip. I will take my 80-400mm, 24-70mm and my fisheye, and probably some extension tubes for any close up work. I am lucky enough to be able to bring two bodies, so one will have the long lens and the other the will have the wide angle. My husband will be using a cropped sensor camera with my 70-200, so I can always borrow that back from him if I need it. Look forward to your posts every day.
great color, and great pic, it looks fake, because, it is colorful, but I know it is real. great color and great backp ground.
Thanks Michael. They are cool looking crustaceans.
have you try the new double sling harness, that goes over the shoulder.
Hey Michael, I haven’t tried anything like that, but as I explained to Liz above, I keep all the camera weight on my hip.
Nature’s beauty still confounds mans best efforts.
Beautiful Contrasting and complementing colours with extraordinary anatomy.
A little bit of heaven on a rock.
It’s a pleasure to see it.
I see a family resemblance in the smile.
And check out that gold crown on its head.
ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME? How could I not? VIVID!
No doubt Peter, one of the most colorful creatures I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in nature.
I met a guy in Costa Rica who made his wife lug all his photo equipment. Good for him,probably not for the marriage.
That definitely would not work in my particular case.
I agree with Sally from Gloucester about the family resemblance…..right up to the blonde head! Who knew. Beautiful specimen, Sean.
Ah, yes, I just mentioned the gold crown, as someone pointed out on my Facebook page today.
She’s one gorgeous lady alright..Aint she just soooo pretty. Sort of “shabby chic”.
yeeeeeeees
Like her.