A few years ago I used to shoot at the Zoo about 2-3 times per week. Back then I lived about 10 minutes away from the Phoenix Zoo and had a season pass so I was ALWAYS there. I would spend the day walking and shooting with a Nikon and 70-200 zoom lens. I thought I had some kick ass equipment and after reviewing my shots I was impressed with what I was able to get. When I shot with a Nikon D2h years ago I actually won an award for one of my shots of a Orangutan and that was pretty exciting for me.

This past week I visited the Zoo with my Leica M8.2 rangefinder and found out that even without a big Zoom lens  you can get some pretty nice shots of the animals at the Zoo.

Below is a shot of a Lion I snapped with the 90 Summicron. I did not have enough reach to get a head shot but I actually like the way this turned out better as it shows the Lion in his environment, and he is there sleeping like a baby enjoying the cool weather and slight misty rain.

Due to the rain I was unable to shoot outside (one fault of the M8.2, no weather sealing) so I ventured into the indoor exhibits to shoot and it was DARK so I cranked up the ISO to 1250 and set the 90 to F2.

What I managed to capture are some of my best Zoo shots ever as they are unlike most images from the Zoo, and I feel they are pretty unique. When I shot them I seriously thought they would be unusable to the dark and ISO 1250 but I was pleasantly surprised. Now I can not wait to go back and get more! The M8.2 really came through for me here.

I posted these shots to show my continued enthusiasm with my Leica M8 system as I have yet to find a situation where it does not do well! Here are my favorite shots from my 1st attempt at Zoo photography with the M8.

As always, thanks for looking! Next week I will have my Zeiss Sonnar 50 lens review and it will include an interesting comparison with the Leica 50 Summilux ASPH. Be sure to check back for that as well as a Canon G10 review (working on it now and comparing it with the compact king, the D-Lux 4) and a Leica 24 Elmarit lens review. Lots of exciting stuff coming, starting on Monday!