I was really excited for Mike's Camera Demo Day at the Denver Zoo this year. They typically do this event twice a year (once in the spring and once in the fall), but last year Mike's Camera and the Denver Zoo couldn't come to an agreement on the days. So when I noticed that they were planning on doing it, I knew I had to go!
This was the first real time that Katherine and I had been to the zoo since going to South Africa. A few weeks ago we came to the zoo because we were in the area (for the Denver Botanical Gardens free day, which is just down the road from the zoo). We weren't quite sure how much we would enjoy the zoo after being on safari in South Africa. The animals were, to say the least, not as photogenic as the ones in Africa.
We both rented the same camera body, Canon 5D Mark IV. We were able to use it the entire day - which usually isn't the case. The first set of lenses that we rented was a Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS II USM and a Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS USM. I loved the 70-200 because of the low aperture. When we returned those lenses, we opted to try something different and headed to the Tamron booth. We rented two Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens. We walked around taking pictures of the blooming flowers. We enjoyed doing that a lot more because after going to South Africa, the animals were pretty boring. The last set of lenses that we rented was a Tamron 100-400 f/4.5-6.3 and a Tamron 15-30 f/2.8 wide angle. I was shooting with the wide angle the entire time, but there weren't many opportunities at the zoo to really use that lens. I would love that lens on a photo walk through the city or even on a hike up in the mountains.
In total, we rented over $13,000 worth of camera equipment. Additionally, they had 2 crews of people with bigger lenses throughout the zoo at different exhibits that had single lenses that retail $12,000! All you had to do was walk up and attach your camera. All for the low cost of FREE, I think we'll be going to this again.
