Whale Photos

[BillW]

When photographing whales, how crucial is stabilization in capturing clear shots, especially with the varying distances they might be from the boat?

I think shutter speed is more important. Your subject is moving and possible fast if breaching. VR wont help with that. There are also other sources of motion. The boat may be under power or drifting. And the boat may be rocking on the swell or waves. VR might help a bit with some of that, but I suspect often it may not be enough on its own.

I tend to leave my cameras VR on in sport mode for my Z9/Z8. At higher shutter speeds, you may not need it to keep the photo sharp, but helping to stabilize the viewfinder can still be helpful.

 

[Flyboy]

Going to HI and hope to spot some whales from a cruise I am taking. Any suggestions are appreciated
I have all Nikon 600, 500, 300, 70-200 (Z and FX) and 2x converters

Wear a GOOD life preserver!

 

[Anjin San]

Long is the most important consideration because most of the time the whale isn’t very close to the boat. Shutter speed is next…

 

[Flyboy]

As the saying goes "It Depends". I shot these breaching whales from a small boat. I used a 300mm /w D4s. If you are going for the breaching whales there isn't much time. Maybe 3 seconds, to spot the whale breaching, find it in the viewfinder focus, and shoot. I saw many breaching whales, but was only able to capture a few. You have no idea where they are going to come up, simply scan the ocean, then when one pops up try to get on it before it's gone. Of course this is done from a small boat that is always moving. In my case a longer lens would have been impossible.

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#2 is a Whale of a photo! Well Done! Pardon me...I just couldn't help it!