June 7, 2013
Black Bears in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and my Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II USM

The light was fairly good (mostly bright overcast) yesterday afternoon in Yellowstone National Park when I took my trusty Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS USM out for the next to last time. Jan and I spent most of the afternoon with the black bear sow with two cinnamon yearling cubs. The 500 f4 with 1.4x III was sufficient to capture the three crossing a sagebrush-covered hillside (above) on their way to a tree where they sought refuge for a nap, some nursing, and a general escape from the paparazzi. I really wished I had had my 600 f4 II so I could have used the 2x III when they were around the tree because they were clustered together so a narrower field of view would have been great.

Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II USM

I picked up my Canon EF 600mm f4 L IS II USM around noon today and then promptly removed the stock tripod foot so I could install a Lens Coat. It's the first time I've used a Lens Coat, but decided to go with it because it would be easier to install than my usual wrap-your-own using McNett Camo Form. The Forest Green Camo that I have is a bit dark, and I think the lighter tonality of the Realtree Max 4 might be better. However, almost everyone here in Yellowstone has the Realtree Max 4 pattern and I'm a bit of a contrarian. Then I installed a Really Right Stuff replacement foot. It includes an integral Arca-Swiss plate and provides a lower-profile mounting solution than using an Arca-Swiss plate attached to the stock foot. The Really Right Stuff foot is really the right stuff for this lens because the Arca-Swiss place extends towards the body enough to balance the lens on a Wimberley Head with a 2x III and a 1D X. The Kirk replacement foot has a similar shape as the stock foot and doesn't extend far enough towards the body. The Wimberley replacement foot would also provide a good balance, but the Arca-Swiss plate is so close to the lens that it can't be used as a handle.