Quick Visit to Caldwell Zoo

[JohnT]

The White Tiger shot is awesome! However, I don't care for the crop as it makes the image seem off balance.

[jeffkohn]

Thanks to everyone for the comments, I really appreciate it.

Mike (MRCPix) - It's definitely worth a visit. Some of the exhibits are tough to shoot due to the plexiglass, but they've got a surpisingly nice variety of animals.

Joe - He mostly regarded me with indifference (aside from the yawn I captured here), but it was somewhat amusing to watch this huge cat freak out and cower when an older man drove up in one of those scooter chairs, he didn't seem to like that at all.

So far I'm using the 11-point AF selection, and for the zoo I had the 51-point tracking enabled but didn't really do much in the way of tracking since the animals weren't too active. I did seem to get a better in-focus hit rate than I have in the past with the D2x though.

Steve - I remember meeting you, that was was two years ago on my first visit to Caldwell zoo.

Wayne - It's a pretty nice zoo, they've definitely improved it since when I went there as a kid. I didn't realize you were in the Tyler area, we'll have to meet up and go shooting some time, we go to Longview at least 3-4 times/year since both of our parents are there.

Jim - I used the 200-400vr for all of these. The D300 has really impressed me. It's no D3, but ISO 1600 is _very_ useable. I never would have gotten any keepers from the Bobcat exhibit with the D2x due to the heavy shade (I tried on a previous visit and failed). I mostly shoot low ISO, but it's nice knowing that with the D300 and I can go higher if I need to.

John - I agree about the crop on the white tiger shot. It was a struggle to get the composition I wanted between the patchy sunlight/shade in the exhibit and reflections on the plexiglass. I have some shots that aren't as tight, but they're ruined by reflections.

Thanks again to everybody for the feedback, it means a lot.