Lens for Polar Bear

[jacky8087]

I am going to a cruise tour to Arctic Circle for polar bear but I dont know how far will they gonna be, the guidance suggests to bring 10x to 25x binoculars. And I just realized I dont have any long focal length lens for my 6D mark I. My original thought was to buy a canon 100-400mm II paired with the extender 2x, but after I did research found out that this combination is not practical.

I would like some sugguestions for new lens and probably extender, also is the tripod necessary as I never use these large lens before?

Thanks in advanced.

[kvbarkley]

Did anyone look at the link I provided with Michael Reichman's discussion of gimbals above? He is talking about this exact situation - but penguins instead of polar bears 8^).

[Waddizzle]

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@TCampbell wrote:

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"I think I will get the Tamron G2 and monopod with a gimbal."

You don't really need any head on a monopod.  You can get a ball head but it isn't necessary.  Just bolt the monopod to the lens.  Less is more sometimes.

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I agree... since it's a monopod, you can tilt it as needed.  If you want to do some extreme tilting... then maybe a ballhead would be an nice addition.

 When you're on a monopod without a head, you can also swivel or tilt as needed ... just not as extreme on the "tilt" side of things.  e.g. to point "striaght overhead" would require that you lay the monopod down on the ground.  That's the limitation.  But as you're unlikely to need to point to anything nearly overhead, that's usually not an issue.  

If you want to be able to tilt it up or down to more extremes without having to lean the monopod so much, you can add a ballhead to it (I use a ballhead that has a "tension" know in addition to the brake knob.  This allows me to apply some friction so I can push it around without needing to lock it in place and it still gives me support.

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I would disagree with using a ball head. 

With a monopod, you want movement along two axis, panning and tilting.  A ball head will introduce a third axis, roll, which can mean an unlevel horizon.  You would need a ball head with a very strong friction control, such as Tim alluded to, and even then that will not stop the camera/lens from rolling.

Yes, a monopod can be used without a head in many scenarios, probably including shooting polar bears from a moderate distance.  One drawback of using no head is that tilting will mean moving the camera towards or away from you.  If you go with no head, you might consider purchasing a quick-release clamp, though.  The Tokina lens is made for one.

With a tilt head, you can tilt without moving the camera towards or away from you.  Good tilt heads do not cost as nearly as much as good ball head.  The Kirk MPA-2 is one of the best out there, due mainly in large part to its' very good friction control. I used to use a Benro B3 on my monopod, which is very strong ball head, but not as fast and easy to use as the MPA-2.

[Waddizzle]

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@kvbarkley wrote:

Did anyone look at the link I provided with Michael Reichman's discussion of gimbals above? He is talking about this exact situation - but penguins instead of polar bears 8^).

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Yeah, he is using the gimbal as if it were a tilt head.

[jacky8087]

Hello everyone

apart from manfrotto 685B, is there any alternative monopod as good as that one?

Jacky

[ebiggs1]

Its OK.  There isn't much to a monopod.  Its just a pole that can hold a camera/lens.  But if I were going to spend that much money on a mono, I would get something like the Manfrotto Carbon Fiber XPRO.

You don't need that goofy head that comes with the other one.  Remember you won't be using it all the time.  But you will be carrying it all the time.  Light weight is worth a lot.

[davidandjess]

I agree. Either one, a Tamron or Sigma 150-600mm super zoom is the way to go.