In the Field

Enter Stage Left. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada. June 3, 2026.

I think most wildlife photographers would agree with me that most of the time wildlife tends to do the opposite of what we want. You want those ducks to take off and fly directly to you - but they give you a nice shot of their butts instead. Or that wolf on a beautiful ledge refuses to look "into the scene". This bear - and this shot - shows the exception to the rule: it did exactly what I wanted and walked along this thin ridge between the main channel of the river and a small stream that feeds it. Will wonders never cease...

I captured this image using a Sony 600mm f4 lens -and the image was shot at f4 (i.e., wide open). At the time of this writing (Nov 2, 2026) Sony has just released a high-end (high end enough to sport the G Master designation) - and extremely small and light - 600mm f6.3 lens. I have a copy of it and have already tested it sufficiently to say it is of very high quality - both its optics and its AF are simply excellent. In fact, both its sharpness and the quality of its Out-Of-Focus (or OOF) zones rival its much larger and heavier cousin the FE 600mm f4 GM OSS (when you compare images shot at the same aperture on both lenses).

So the question becomes "Why keep and use a 600mm f4 lens when there's a smaller, lighter, and much cheaper alternate that produces very high quality images?" Well...the first reason you often hear is "...because the f4 lens is more effective in low-light scenarios". While of course there is some truth to this, for me that is less of a concern simply because of the ridiculously good ISO performance in professional cameras these days as well as how amazingly good some software (such as DxO's PureRaw and PhotoLab) is at both noise reduction and capture sharpening. I can honestly say that if the only difference between the Sony 600mm f4 and 600mm f6.3 was low-light performance I would NOT own the pricey, large, and relatively heavy 600mm f4.

Two other differences between the lenses are much more important to me in influencing my decision to keep and use a 600mm f4 lens. The first is the much, much thinner Depth-of-Field (or DoF) you have with a 600mm lens shot at f4 versus when shot at f6.3. In the field this means you have a much stronger ability to isolate the subject from its surroundings (both in the foreground and the background, as this image nicely illustrates). That enhanced subject isolation often means your subject really "pops" and it can make or break a shot. This is the strongest reason for me using fast (and big and normally heavier) super-telephotos and why I own a 600mm f4, 400mm f2.8, 300mm f2.8 and a 200mm f2.

The second reason is how much more effective teleconverters (and in this case the 1.4x TC) are with a f4 lens then they are with a f6.3 lens. With a 600mm f4 lens plus 1.4x TC you functionally have a 840mm lens with a maximum aperture of f5.6. Which is very usable (and in the case of the Sony 600mm f4 plus 1.4x TC you also have a combination which is very strong optically). But with a 600mm f6.3 lens plus 1.4x TC you functionally have a 840mm with a maximum aperture of f9. And, as most wildlife photographers know, having a maximum aperture of f9 definitely limits the real-world usability of any lens.

So...while I will be using the new Sony FE 600mm f6.3 GM OSS lens whenever portability supersedes subject isolation and the possible need to use a 1.4x TC, I won't be parting with my Sony FE 600mm f4 GM OSS any time soon!

Here's a larger version (4800 pixel) of this cooperative female grizzly:

• Enter Stage Left: Download 4800 pixel image (JPEG: 4.5 MB)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1. These images - in all resolutions - are protected by copyright. I'm fine with personal uses of them (including use as desktop backgrounds or screensavers on your own computer), but unauthorized commercial use of the image is prohibited by law. Thanks in advance for respecting my copyright!

2. Like all photographs on this website, these images were captured following the strict ethical guidelines described in The Wildlife FIRST! Principles of Photographer Conduct. As such, no baiting or any form of attractant was used and, as always, we attempted to minimize our impact on the ongoing behaviour of the subjects. I strongly encourage all wildlife photographers to always put the welfare of their subjects above the value of their photographs.

3. This image was captured during my Spring in the Southern Great Bear Instructional photo tour in late spring of 2026. Each year I offer photo tours into the Great Bear Rainforest and, every other year, photo tours into the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (to photograph grizzlies, of course!). Details about these trips can be found on the Photo Tours page of this website.

Behind the Camera

Enter Stage Left. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada. June 3, 2026.

Compressed RAW (ARW) format; ISO 6400.

Sony A1 II paired with Sony FE 600mm f4 GM OSS lens. Hand-held from floating Zodiac inflatable boat. OSS on and set to Mode 1. Expand Spot (tracking) AF area mode with subject recognition mode set to Animal.

1/2500s @ f4; -0.7 stop compensation from multi-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Enter Stage Left. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada. June 3, 2026.

Initial noise reduction and capture sharpening on the .arw (raw) file using the DeepPRIME XD3 algorithm of DXO PhotoLab 9.5 Elite (using the appropriate camera/lens module).

Subsequent adjustments to the adjusted linear DNG file (exported from PhotoLab) and conversion to 16-bit TIFF file (and JPEG files for web use) - including all global and selective adjustments - made using Capture One Pro (build 16.8). In the case of this image I made only one global adjustments - a slight decrease in overall brightness (= mid tone exposure). Selective local adjustments performed using Capture One Pro's layers and masking tools. In this case numerous small adjustments and minor tweaks were made on 4 separate layers, with the tweaks being associated with "exposure balancing" and contrast adjustments (such as adjustments to brightness, clarity, highlights, shadows, blacks, etc.).

Photoshop modifications included insertion of the watermark and/or text.

Conservation

Enter Stage Left. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada. June 3, 2026.

Species Status in Canada*: Special Concern (May 2002).

While Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) are not technically listed as "Endangered" in Canada, they have been extirpated from most of their historical range. Grizzly Bears are far more sensitive to intrusion/disturbance in their habitat than are Black Bears and are being increasingly forced into marginal habitat by human encroachment. The Great Bear Rainforest along the central and northern coast of British Columbia is one of the last strongholds of the Grizzly Bear in Canada, and even this population is coming under increasing pressure.

On December 18, 2017 the government of British Columbia banned grizzly hunting across the entire province. This major conservation victory came after decades of tireless work by many dedicated conservationists and ecologists and, most importantly, it reflects the opinion of the vast majority of British Columbians. And, it means that AT LEAST while the current government remains in power grizzlies are finally "safe" in British Columbia.

Now that we've at least temporarily won the battle to save grizzlies in BC, it's time to re-focus our efforts toward protecting ALL of BC's carnivores, including Gray Wolves, Black Bears, Cougars, Wolverines, and more! Simply put, there are no ecological, economic, or ethical arguments supporting the trophy hunting of carnivores.

*as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada