It’s spring migration right now, and bird photography is at the top of the list for many wildlife photographers. Who can resist those colorful warblers? Cree and I are in the middle of a month of bird photography… just shot in the Texas bird blinds for two weeks and rattled off 40,000 images. I’m sure by the end of the month we will be over 100,000 bird photos…let the culling begin! I mean a few of those shots have to be good…right?!
Super telephoto lenses get a lot of consideration for wildlife photographers. Focal length, wide open aperture and weight all are important factors. But don’t forget another really important aspect…lens minimum focus distance. I’ll be photographing a lot of warblers this month, and sometimes they land six feet in front of me chasing insects. But here is the million dollar question…what lens do I own that can focus this close? Believe it or not, it is not one of my big prime lenses like the 400 F2.8 or 600mm F4, it is the 100-400mm.
It is a great problem to have…your subject is so close you need to back up, or have a lens that can focus that close. Knowing your minimum lens distance will affect your shooting strategy for wildlife. Bison in Yellowstone can be right out the car window, reptiles can be three feet away. And birds are especially challenging. If you are photographing a feeder, or even warblers that are swarming a boardwalk, these birds can be six feet away or even closer.
Here is are some Nikon lenses and minimum focus distances (approx.). 600mm F4 Z…14 feet…400mm F2.8 Z 8 feet…600mm F6.3 Z 13 feet…800mm F6.3 Z 16 feet…100-400mm Z 2.5 feet. My strategy for close warblers is using my 400mm F2.8 Z at 8 feet as my primary lenses. Being able to shoot at F2.8 blurs backgrounds and brings my ISO down…and with the built in converter I can shoot at 540mm F4 at the same 8 feet. I will also have my 100-400mm with me for its incredible ability to shoot at under three feet for any birds that practically land on my camera.
That’s not to say the other lenses aren’t amazing…they are. And honestly I find I wish I had more focal length for a lot of my bird photography…600mm and 800mm are great to fill the frame with a warbler. One thing I do is bring extension tubes with me to allow shooting closer using my 600mm and 800mm PF. In the Galapagos this was really handy since so many of the subjects are very close and unafraid of people.
Before you head out on your next wildlife photo shoot, make sure to know your minimum focus distance…and don’t forget to set your focus limiter switch to ‘Full’ so you can use the close range of your lens. Happy shooting!