Capturing wildlife in the Arctic is both challenging and rewarding. The extreme conditions and stunning scenery offer unique opportunities for photography. An insane 1200mm lens can help, though.
Coming to you from Pangolin Wildlife Photography, this fun video tests Canon’s RF 1200mm lens in Svalbard. This lens, with its impressive focal length, allows for close-up shots of distant subjects, a critical feature for photographing subjects like polar bears. The video highlights the challenges of using such a powerful lens, including the need for higher shutter speeds to avoid vibration and the effects of atmospheric haze even in the cold Arctic environment.
In this video, you see how the 1200mm lens captures polar bears at distances others might miss. It explains that the lens' weather-sealing is a crucial feature in such harsh conditions, also demonstrating the benefit of using a 1.6x crop on the Canon EOS R5, extending the focal length to nearly 2000mm, perfect for those far-off shots. However, this comes with its own set of challenges, such as the amplified effect of even the slightest movement, requiring shutter speeds over 1/2,500th of a second to get sharp images.
Even though it’s highly specialized, it can be used to capture detailed close-ups when bears come too close, something most lenses can't achieve due to their minimum focus distances. The lens’ ability to produce sharp images, even in difficult lighting conditions, is impressive. However, it does struggle with heat haze and low light, making timing critical for the best shots.
Using such a long lens in the field requires careful planning. The video discusses the practicalities of carrying and using the lens, noting its size and weight. Despite its bulk, the lens is relatively light for its size, but it still doesn't fit in most camera bags, making it a niche tool for specific situations. This lens isn't for every trip, but when distance is a factor, it can capture images that would otherwise be impossible. Check out the video above for the full rundown.
Interesting photographing in an adverse climate. His remarks about using high lens speeds was a learning bit for me. FWIW, I would wear white when photographing polar bears. Anything dark can be seen as prey.
They’re going to have to add another ‘n’ to the name Canon.
Yep! Or run faster than those with you? Adding: Can't recall the name but there is a town in either Canada or Alaska that has a regular visitation of polar bears. Just open the window and snap away!
Save some money and just get the Sigma 150-600 plus a 2x teleconverter. But the one thing with a mirrored camera Nikon/Canon was it was manual focus above f/8. But Sony mirrorless was AF above f/11 just tracking But I had no problem in my early days with it. When Sony finally came out with the FE 200-600mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS and just add a 2x teleconverter you get 1200mm then just push your APS-C button and you get 1800mm, the moon at 1800mm will fill the frame. No need to carry a 1.4 Teleconverter for just pressing the APS-C button you get 1.5X, yes cropped on sensor but you can upsize with most any program if needed. The cost $1,900 and $549.99 for the 2X teleconverter. Again no worry with a mirrorless camera for yes you lose some stops but ISO noise is minimal and again every post program has noise reduction, it is no longer the old days!
#2 Sigma 150-600 but needed an adapter for it was a Canon mount and got bad META data.
#! at1800mm
#3 cropped from 1800mm
#4 Capturing the whole lunar eclipse at 1800mm then resizing but with great detail and showing the moon wobble from start to end.
I think the new Canon Mirrorless will get the same.
There is more you can do with a shorter bazooka.
Also IBIS + OSS is the deal maker.