lense for pictures of jumping fish?

[jemche]

what lense would you recomend for jumping billfish.

i am getting a canon rebel xs for christmas.

comes with two lenses. 18-55mm and 75-300mm. which one will be better?

[Tenacious]

Jake,
Go to kenrockwell.com he has some great reviews on lenses and cameras.

[sanchoco]

the 75-300 will be the better of the two.

you will want to use a shutter speed of at least 1/500 or faster to stop the action. 1/750 or 1/800 is better but you may not have enough light with your lenses for that.

for the future think about canon 70-200 f2.L and 300 f.L. they are expensive but that is what the pros use. nothing longer than MM is advised on a moving boat. the f2.8 will give you the light to shoot 1/800 or 1/1000 at f4 / f4.5.

good luck and shoot often.

[Squidnation]

If you keep the picture taking on the 75-300mm lense to inside the riggers you should be close enough to work with the max 3.4f on that lense. As you zoom out further you will be closer to 5.6.. I actually started getting better shots on the 18-55mm lense and waited for the fish to jump closer to the boat. But Sancocho is correct on the ultimate lense. but $$$$$$$$$$

[Bird Dog]

Both those lenses will be slow when focusing on something that is as fast as a jumping fish. The Canon 75-300 will obviously be better for something that is farther away but will be harder to see in the view finder when you're zoomed in that much. The 70-300 Canon IS is a nicer lens but the ultimate would probably the 70-200 f2.8 IS but that lens is very, very expensive. Your best pictures would come with fish that are very close to the boat. Put the camera setting on Tv mode and speed up the shutter speed to at least 1/640, 1/800, or 1/1000 if you can get away with it with the light situation. I think the XS is 3 frames per second, so just hold down the shutter button and hope for the best.

[Sterling]

Great advice here. I use a 17-85 mm to give both wide and some zoom with a fish on, then a 70-300 when taking scenery or other boats. I find that I change lenses regularly out there. If you're taking shots of another boat the longer lense will be desired. For fish off your own boat, between those two lenses I think you'll generally use the 18-55 lense and wait for them to come in closer. The fish will be easier to find in your viewfinder and you'll still be able to take shots at the boat. At 75mm it's difficult to get a shot at the side, or on, the boat.

Seems like I read some reviews on the 18-55 that weren't great. If you shop around sometimes you'll find different lense options included in the package, if you decide you would prefer something else.
Good luck

[BoundForGlory]

The quality of your lens means everything to a great picture. Yes the lenses Canon or even Nikon put in those kits work but they are by far the best lenses made, thus the great unbelievable kit price. Don't look at it as the IS 2.8L lens is $1600, look at it as it's the right tool for the job. What do we spend on our boats & electronics?, rods & reels?, gas & bait? How important is getting that great shot for your wall and the memories and conversations your going to have about that catch? One question I have is what ISO(ASA) are you guys using. I see shutter speeds and apertures, but no "film" speed. Try shooting at a higher speed(number-200 to 400+) in order to give you a higher shutter speed and a smaller aperture(larger number- 5.6+). The smaller the aperture the more depth of field you'll have and the sharper the image (between f5.6-f8).

[Squidnation]

i try to shoot at around 400. anything higher really screws up the shot.

[jemche]

i try to shoot at around 400. anything higher really screws up the shot.

thanks for the help every one. bill, when you say 400, what are you talking about? shutter spead?

[Dave Sikorski]

thanks for the help every one. bill, when you say 400, what are you talking about? shutter spead?

ISO...or essentially the sensors sensitivity to light. The higher the number the more sensitive....ie...higher the number required the less light there will be.

I shoot Av mode on my canon and adjust the ISO to get the proper shutter speed. You want the shutter speed to be at least the same as your focal length(lens mm.) so if you're shooting on 100mm you want the speed to be an absolute minimum of 1/100. The higher the better, but that will depend upon how much light you have.

-D