Equipment for Wildlife Photography
In RMSP’s February Newsletter I discussed bird and wildlife photography. This article covered light, composition, and among other things, location. Now it’s time to think about the best equipment for this sometimes wet, sometimes sunny, always exciting job. I have grouped my recommendations under five categories: Camera Bodies, Lenses, Filters, Tripods, and Bags.
Camera Bodies. Photographing animals in the wild requires a camera that can take multiple shots in rapid succession. While an amateur body does a great job, a professional quality camera boasts the following advantages:
|
• |
|
Rugged and Durable Construction |
|
• |
|
Weather-proof Body |
|
• |
|
Larger, Brighter View Finder |
|
• |
|
100 % View Finder. In other words, what is seen through the view finder is the same thing the sensor records. |
|
• |
|
Faster Focus and Shooting. This is ideal for action shots. Many cameras can capture 8-10 frames per second. |
|
• |
|
Larger Buffer. More photos can be taken before the camera needs to take a break, which means that you can work quickly.
|
|
• |
|
Long Battery Life. Always a perk, but especially helpful when you are outdoors for extended periods. |
Lenses. The following lenses are broken into type of lens, and lens length. These are the most appropriate lenses for wildlife photography.
|
Zoom |
|
• |
75-300 mm (or in that range). On a budget, this range is a good bet. It may not, however, be as sharp for larger images. These lenses are also slower. |
|
• |
70-200 mm F 2.8. Lenses in this range are extremely high quality—they are very sharp and very fast. With the smaller sensors found on most DSLRs, these lenses will optically appear to be 50 % longer than they really are (or more like a 300 mm).
|
|
• |
100-400 mm or 80-400mm for Nikon. This is a classic long lens that is sharp and high quality, but not as fast as the 70-200 mm. These lenses give the equivalent of 800 mm when shooting with a digital body that has a smaller sensor and a 1.4x extender. |
|
Fixed Long Lenses. 300mm, 400mm, 500mm, and 600mm. These lenses are always sharp and usually fast. They are expensive, however, and many amateurs don’t like the fact that they don’t zoom. |
|
1.4x Extenders. If these are custom made to fit your long lens, they are worth the price. Your lens will be optically 40 % longer, but you lose one stop of light and possibly a fraction of quality. Use the same brand of extender as your lens. |
Before purchasing a lens for wildlife photography, I want to mention some important features to take into consideration:
|
• |
|
Professional quality |
|
• |
|
Weather-proof Construction |
|
• |
|
Speed. A faster lens such as F2.8 gives you extremely fast shutter speeds and the wider aperture allows you to blur the background—a great feature for wildlife photos. |
|
• |
|
Image Stabilization/Vibration Reduction. This feature allows you to hand hold your lens from 2 to 4 shutter speeds slower than normal—a giant advantage in lower light. |
|
• |
|
Fast & Silent Focusing |
|
• |
|
Glass. For ultra sharp images, you want high quality glass, such as that used in the Canon L-series lenses and Nikon ED lenses. |
|
• |
|
Brand. Most people prefer a lens that is the same brand as their camera. However, there are some great, reasonably-priced lenses out there by Tamron, Sigma and Tokina. |
|
• |
|
Lens Hood. Although not a lens element, this is an important lens accessory. You should always use a lens hood for protection and to reduce flare. |
Filters. With digital cameras, filters are not usually needed for wildlife. A polarizing filter is the exception, but it will cut out two stops of light.
Tripods. It’s always a good idea to bring a tripod along even with image stabilization or vibration reduction in lenses. In many situations there is no replacement for a tripod. Professional tripods come in two parts: the legs and the head. For legs, I recommend Gitzo and Manfrotto, the latter of which can be purchased for not much over $100. (Both companies offer carbon fiber for extreme lightness, but you pay for this.) For heads, several brands make good models, including Gitzo and Manfrotto. My favorite is one made by Kirk Enterprises and is used by many nature photographers. It is a ball head with a quick-release plate made specifically for your camera. The model I use is the BH3.
Bags. A camera backpack is great for wildlife photography. My favorite bag is made by a company named Kata. The R103 comfortably fits my camera and gear, including my tripod. It even has a padded sleeve for my laptop.
All of the above suggestions have been made with wildlife photography in mind. However, this equipment is also great for other types of photography, including sports and landscapes.