Surf Photography: Which Lens?

**UncleVanya** · 06-14-2015, 05:11 PM

You Tube

Wild Mark · 06-14-2015, 06:23 PM

gnarly dude!

Neville · 06-15-2015, 11:50 AM - **1 Like**

I decided to dust off my old Sigma 170-500mm lens and took the following shots at a local surfing spot this morning.

None of the shots were cropped and all were shot at 1/2000 sec and at f/8.

I was pleasantly surprised at the image quality of the photos - I think I need to use this lens more often!

**crewl1** · 06-15-2015, 11:55 AM

Good work. I felt a 500mm would be better for this, its great you already have a one in the arsenal.

Wild Mark · 06-15-2015, 03:08 PM

Very nice work. That lens is working a treat. I agree re: FL - the reach is really important as cropping only enhances the flaws.

narual · 06-18-2015, 12:48 PM

Nice! Surprised how much noise there was at 100% for it being only 400 ISO. Are those JPG out of the camera with noise reduction turned off?

What was your keeper rate like? Did you use a tripod/monopod?

Neville · 06-18-2015, 08:16 PM

Originally posted by narual

Nice! Surprised how much noise there was at 100% for it being only 400 ISO. Are those JPG out of the camera with noise reduction turned off?

What was your keeper rate like? Did you use a tripod/monopod?

Thank you. I don't think there's any noise in the images - I think it's the fine water spray as a result of the high shutter speed. The light conditions were very bright.

All the shots were in RAW and converted into JPG in Lightroom, with no noise reduction turned on in camera.

I think my keeper rate was almost 100% - I simply deleted the images that were too similar to the others or the composition was not quite right.

I took all the shots hand-held, standing up at the edge of the water.

MD Optofonik · 06-19-2015, 01:41 AM

Originally posted by rawr

300mm would give you about a 5 degree field of view, which will probably be the minimum you want, particularly with surfing, since you are unlikely to be able to get close to the action.

An ideal lense would be something like the new Pentax 150-450, of course.

BTW Shutterdial is a fun site to punch in some lens parameters, and find some surfing results from, for example, 300mm f5.6, off flickr.

Just checked out Shutterdial and...

You Tube

Neville · 06-20-2015, 09:28 AM

I went to a surfing competition yesterday and took some photos with my old Sigma 170-500mm lens - here is the link to the photos: https://goo.gl/photos/ohZtGauAQg31RWrj7

osv · 06-20-2015, 01:36 PM

it looks like you needed every bit of that 500mm, well done.

got some good lighting at times, that really helps.

alamo5000 · 06-20-2015, 08:57 PM

Originally posted by UncleVanya

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PabX8tIC9Hk

I was there on the beaches of the North Shore of Oahu on that day. I lived there for quite some time.

That day was pretty crazy.

Neville · 06-28-2015, 11:51 AM

This morning I watched Day 1 of the Ballito Pro Surfing Champs and I used my Sigma 170-500mm lens with my Pentax K-5II. Rather than upload all the photos in this thread, here is a link to my album on Google Photos - https://goo.gl/photos/Ljo6aUASR3mdCBNV6

I was, once again, pleasantly surprised at the capabilities of the lens. The light was great, which certainly helped.

slip · 07-01-2015, 08:08 AM

I used a Sigma 70-200 2.8 taking surf shots in Puerto Rico and found it to short for closer up. It would be your best for fast autofocus though.
Go with the 300 if it performs well on your K3ii. Remember you also have plenty of Mpixels to crop with

Good luck

Randy

audiobomber · 07-01-2015, 08:28 AM

I agree, try a shoot with the 300mm. I expect you will end up with nicer colours and sharper images than the Sigma.

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06-14-2015, 06:23 PM	#32
Wild Mark Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Newcastle Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,954	gnarly dude!

06-15-2015, 11:50 AM - 1 Like	#33
Neville Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Durban, South Africa Photos: Gallery Posts: 561 Original Poster	I decided to dust off my old Sigma 170-500mm lens and took the following shots at a local surfing spot this morning. None of the shots were cropped and all were shot at 1/2000 sec and at f/8. I was pleasantly surprised at the image quality of the photos - I think I need to use this lens more often!

06-15-2015, 11:55 AM	#34
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	Good work. I felt a 500mm would be better for this, its great you already have a one in the arsenal.

06-15-2015, 03:08 PM	#35
Wild Mark Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Newcastle Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,954	Very nice work. That lens is working a treat. I agree re: FL - the reach is really important as cropping only enhances the flaws.

06-18-2015, 12:48 PM	#36
narual Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: South Bend (Notre Dame), Indiana Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,988	Nice! Surprised how much noise there was at 100% for it being only 400 ISO. Are those JPG out of the camera with noise reduction turned off? What was your keeper rate like? Did you use a tripod/monopod?

06-18-2015, 08:16 PM	#37
Neville Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Durban, South Africa Photos: Gallery Posts: 561 Original Poster	Originally posted by narual Nice! Surprised how much noise there was at 100% for it being only 400 ISO. Are those JPG out of the camera with noise reduction turned off? What was your keeper rate like? Did you use a tripod/monopod? Thank you. I don't think there's any noise in the images - I think it's the fine water spray as a result of the high shutter speed. The light conditions were very bright. All the shots were in RAW and converted into JPG in Lightroom, with no noise reduction turned on in camera. I think my keeper rate was almost 100% - I simply deleted the images that were too similar to the others or the composition was not quite right. I took all the shots hand-held, standing up at the edge of the water.

06-20-2015, 09:28 AM	#39
Neville Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Durban, South Africa Photos: Gallery Posts: 561 Original Poster	I went to a surfing competition yesterday and took some photos with my old Sigma 170-500mm lens - here is the link to the photos: https://goo.gl/photos/ohZtGauAQg31RWrj7

06-20-2015, 01:36 PM	#40
osv Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: So Cal Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,080	it looks like you needed every bit of that 500mm, well done. got some good lighting at times, that really helps.

06-20-2015, 08:57 PM	#41
alamo5000 Pentaxian Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 2,962	Originally posted by UncleVanya https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PabX8tIC9Hk I was there on the beaches of the North Shore of Oahu on that day. I lived there for quite some time. That day was pretty crazy.

06-28-2015, 11:51 AM	#42
Neville Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Durban, South Africa Photos: Gallery Posts: 561 Original Poster	This morning I watched Day 1 of the Ballito Pro Surfing Champs and I used my Sigma 170-500mm lens with my Pentax K-5II. Rather than upload all the photos in this thread, here is a link to my album on Google Photos - https://goo.gl/photos/Ljo6aUASR3mdCBNV6 I was, once again, pleasantly surprised at the capabilities of the lens. The light was great, which certainly helped.

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07-01-2015, 08:08 AM	#43
slip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 2 hours north of toronto ontario canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,535	I used a Sigma 70-200 2.8 taking surf shots in Puerto Rico and found it to short for closer up. It would be your best for fast autofocus though. Go with the 300 if it performs well on your K3ii. Remember you also have plenty of Mpixels to crop with Good luck Randy

07-01-2015, 08:28 AM	#44
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	I agree, try a shoot with the 300mm. I expect you will end up with nicer colours and sharper images than the Sigma.