equipment for wildlife photography

Hello,

I will be going to Canada soon and wanted to know what would be the best equipment to rent.

I am a small person and want something not too heavy but will pack a punch.

I am thinking of renting the Sony A7ii

Sony EF 70-200 lens

and possibly a 1x4 or 2x extender.

I was hoping the sigma 100-400 lens would work instead (for cost reasons)

would the extender auto focus with the camera body?

Or is there something else just as good?

Hoping to capture bears and other wildlife that I do not have to get to close. Also something quiet.

Thanks so much for any help!!

Denise

Denise, I can't speak for the Sony equipment, as I'm a Nikon shooter. Based on my own experiences in Yellowstone I would seriously question if 400mm is sufficient, but less 200mm. I've played with 55-200mm, 70-300mm, 150-600mm, and 2200-500mm lenses on both APS-C and full frame bodies, with and without teleconverters. I've found the sweet spot to be in the 500-600mm range with good quality (but not necessarily pro-quality) glass on bodies with both good resolution and very good high ISO performance. Excellent and fast autofocus is also very desirable, but becomes more critical with birds and predators than larger mammals. Beware of teleconverter performance claims. They tend to be highly variable in IQ depending on the lens being used, and rarely will a TC not degrade an image measurably, versus simply cropping the original. For example, on my Nikon D810 and D7100, with my Nikkor 200-500mm/6.6 and a TC14 (1.4x), even with the D810's excellent IQ at 36MP, the images obtained using the lens with TC on the D810, versus the native resolution on the 24 MP D7100, the D7100 images are noticeably sharper.

Sony's latest pro-grade telephoto lenses look to be excellent, but very pricey and big/heavy. Old reviews for the A7ii suggest it has good high ISO performance, but the focus speed and accuracy are wanting, as is the continuous frame rate, both of which are highly desirable features for wildlife. Others with more experience on this camera will know better how it works in the field.

I am a small person and want something not too heavy but will pack a punch.

Keep in mind that a very large fraction of your sightings of large mammals and/or predators will take place in dim light. There are several mirrorless, fixed-lens, light-weight cameras that have excellent zoom and resolution, but perform less well in low light than full-sized DSLR's or their mirrorless cousins. As a Nikon guy, if I were assembling a kit for a wildlife-specific trip, I'd combine a D500 with the 200-500mm/5.6 as my main kit, and back it up with my D810 plus various other lenses and filters. None of this fits into the "not too heavy" category, however. Don't forget to take a good tripod you can use while standing full height, most preferably with a gimbal head. Good luck and have fun!

Do you have a camera kit now? Do you still have a Canon DSLR - the 50D and a set of lenses? If yes, why are you thinking of renting Sony gear?

In any case, I've recently returned from 3 weeks driving through northern Canada, a lot of the time hiking. For "Wildlife" I used APS-C Format and leveraged the narrow Field of View using a (relatively) light weight EF70 to 200/2.8L and the Canon Extenders EF.

If you still have your 50D then I'd reckon renting a suitable lens, (perhaps the 100 to 400L), and using it on an APS-C camera (or system) that you already know, would be better than renting a 135 Format Camera and lens that you (possibly) don't know.

Being "small" doesn't mean that carrying a 100 to 400L is onerous, provided you carry it balanced and don't carry a lot of other unnecessary gear too - I see many tourists who carry gear, that they hardly ever use.

The selection of gear depends on your mode of travel and your ability to roam (i.e. whether or not you are attached to a group, etc), and how adventurous you are apropos walking/hiking and approaching the 'wildlife': in many situations I used my standard zoom (24 to 70) - this below was made at FL= 66mm using an APS-C body, it's cut on the sides to a square crop only, there is no enlargement.

Co-incidentally, posted this (below) last night to the No Words Forum, "Heaven (To You)" - there are lots of bit of heaven to photograph in Canada, I suggest that you take the time to ferret them out.

"The Three of Us" - 2019

Have a great trip.

WW

Denise, I can't speak for the Sony equipment, as I'm a Nikon shooter. Based on my own experiences in Yellowstone I would seriously question if 400mm is sufficient, but less 200mm. I've played with 55-200mm, 70-300mm, 150-600mm, and 2200-500mm lenses on both APS-C and full frame bodies, with and without teleconverters. I've found the sweet spot to be in the 500-600mm range with good quality (but not necessarily pro-quality) glass on bodies with both good resolution and very good high ISO performance. Excellent and fast autofocus is also very desirable, but becomes more critical with birds and predators than larger mammals. Beware of teleconverter performance claims. They tend to be highly variable in IQ depending on the lens being used, and rarely will a TC not degrade an image measurably, versus simply cropping the original. For example, on my Nikon D810 and D7100, with my Nikkor 200-500mm/6.6 and a TC14 (1.4x), even with the D810's excellent IQ at 36MP, the images obtained using the lens with TC on the D810, versus the native resolution on the 24 MP D7100, the D7100 images are noticeably sharper.

 

Sony's latest pro-grade telephoto lenses look to be excellent, but very pricey and big/heavy. Old reviews for the A7ii suggest it has good high ISO performance, but the focus speed and accuracy are wanting, as is the continuous frame rate, both of which are highly desirable features for wildlife. Others with more experience on this camera will know better how it works in the field.

 

 

Keep in mind that a very large fraction of your sightings of large mammals and/or predators will take place in dim light. There are several mirrorless, fixed-lens, light-weight cameras that have excellent zoom and resolution, but perform less well in low light than full-sized DSLR's or their mirrorless cousins. As a Nikon guy, if I were assembling a kit for a wildlife-specific trip, I'd combine a D500 with the 200-500mm/5.6 as my main kit, and back it up with my D810 plus various other lenses and filters. None of this fits into the "not too heavy" category, however. Don't forget to take a good tripod you can use while standing full height, most preferably with a gimbal head. Good luck and have fun!

Thank you David for your response. I mostly shoot Canon and do have a Sony 6000 camera as well. Hoping to take my Sony and another one for heaviness reasons.

I have some research to do.

Do you have a camera kit now? Do you still have a Canon DSLR - the 50D and a set of lenses? If yes, why are you thinking of renting Sony gear?

 

In any case, I've recently returned from 3 weeks driving through northern Canada, a lot of the time hiking. For "Wildlife" I used APS-C Format and leveraged the narrow Field of View using a (relatively) light weight EF70 to 200/2.8L and the Canon Extenders EF.

 

If you still have your 50D then I'd reckon renting a suitable lens, (perhaps the 100 to 400L), and using it on an APS-C camera (or system) that you already know, would be better than renting a 135 Format Camera and lens that you (possibly) don't know.

 

Being "small" doesn't mean that carrying a 100 to 400L is onerous, provided you carry it balanced and don't carry a lot of other unnecessary gear too - I see many tourists who carry gear, that they hardly ever use.

 

The selection of gear depends on your mode of travel and your ability to roam (i.e. whether or not you are attached to a group, etc), and how adventurous you are apropos walking/hiking and approaching the 'wildlife': in many situations I used my standard zoom (24 to 70) - this below was made at FL= 66mm using an APS-C body, it's cut on the sides to a square crop only, there is no enlargement.

 

 

Co-incidentally, posted this (below) last night to the No Words Forum, "Heaven (To You)" - there are lots of bit of heaven to photograph in Canada, I suggest that you take the time to ferret them out.

 

"The Three of Us" - 2019

 

Have a great trip.

 

WW

Thank you Michael for your response.

I have a Canon 7d and a 100-400 lens already. I may just take that along with my Sony 6000 24-240 lens and call it good.

I was just hoping to have a lighter camera with a good lens with fast AF since I will be having 2 on me. I really like the Sony being light weight.

The Canon 100-400 lens has pretty good AF but I find I have to fine tune it manually.

I did try to rent a 1x4 extender for my 7d and that lens but found out it did not auto focus with that camera.

Maybe I should rent a Canon camera body that will AF with an extender for my 100-400 lens? If so, what would you recommend?

Love your photos by the way! I can't wait for my trip and hope to get some great shots!

. . I did try to rent a 1x4 extender for my 7d and that lens but found out it did not auto focus with that camera. Maybe I should rent a Canon camera body that will AF with an extender for my 100-400 lens?

I am not sure of any APS-C Canon Body will AF accurately with the 100 to 400L plus Extender. The issue is you have effective F/8 min Aperture and, (I think) only some 1 Series bodies and maybe later model 5D Series bodies will AF at F/8 Min Aperture, and then it is only centre point AF I think. So the issue is that you lose the FoV advantage of the APS-C format.

The 50D, even though old, still makes good files: you might be better of using the 100 to 400 naked and crop tighter when necessary. Watch your exposure and never underexpose when you push to high ISO - I reckon I pushed 3200ISO out of my 50D easily - with the caveat of nailing accurate exposure.

WW

I am not sure of any APS-C Canon Body will AF accurately with the 100 to 400L plus Extender. The issue is you have effective F/8 min Aperture and, (I think) only some 1 Series bodies and maybe later model 5D Series bodies will AF at F/8 Min Aperture, and then it is only centre point AF I think. So the issue is that you lose the FoV advantage of the APS-C format.

 

The 50D, even though old, still makes good files: you might be better of using the 100 to 400 naked and crop tighter when necessary. Watch your exposure and never underexpose when you push to high ISO - I reckon I pushed 3200ISO out of my 50D easily - with the caveat of nailing accurate exposure.

 

WW

I do like some photos I take with my 7d and the 100-400 lens. Just am hoping to get fairly close but not too close to photograph the wildlife. I may just use it and be happy with it. I have to start working out to carry it. lol.

Thank you for your advice.