One of the most frequent questions I receive has to do with the camera gear I use to get my bird photographs.
I will start with my most used setup for bird and wildlife photography in the past few years that yield the most of the photographs you can see on this website:
Prior the Fall of 2019, I was shooting with:
- Canon 1DX mark II camera - http://amzn.to/2E0RIAV
- Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II Super Telephoto lens - https://amzn.to/2NEINus
- Canon 1.4x mark III teleconverter - http://amzn.to/2EcwVxn
- Canon 2x mark III extender - http://amzn.to/2DZGagZ
Gearing up for a busy Winter season 2019, I decided to switch to Sony mirrorless system, mainly for its better autofocus capabilities. Man oh man, am I glad I’ve done so! From the very first use of the Sony A9 II, I knew that I’ve made a right call. The reason, was very simple. The speed of AF acquisitions and reliable tracking across the frame. The only reason I’ve waited that long, was the lack of “long” telephoto lenses in the Sony’s line up - until 2019.
As of early 2022, this is my current setup:
- Sony A1 camera - https://amzn.to/3333Enq
- Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS Lens
- Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5–5.6 GM OSS - https://amzn.to/2SqgGmj (great for scouting excursions as well as including more habitat into my shots).
- Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter - https://amzn.to/3f6gpyL
- Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter - https://amzn.to/2xngih8
It took almost 1 year to convince my wife to switch the systems and now she regrets of not doing so earlier :) Here is her’s very capable setup:
- Sony A9 mark II camera - https://amzn.to/2VQTeRc (my first Sony camera)
- Sony 200-600mm lens - https://amzn.to/3Guf0yg
Long telephoto lens often requires a sturdy support. For years, I’ve been using this tripod with great success:
- Gitzo 3543 XLS carbon fiber tripod- https://www.bhphotovideo.com/
Because I started to record more videos, I switched from a regular gimbal head to a proper video head:
- Manfrotto Nitrotech N8 Fluid Video Head http://amzn.to/2FIs98a - this fluid head allows me to get more stabile video clips with my 600mm lens. Currently, it is the cheapest video head that supports this kind of weight, at this price range.
If I go out with only photographs in mind, I mount my long-time favorite gimbal head:
- Jobu Jr. 3 gimbal head http://amzn.to/2EFGdzX - I like it for its small and lightweight design when compared to other, full size, gimbals on the market like Wimberley WH-200 http://amzn.to/2FIX6sE
When taking low angle photographs, especially of shorebirds on the beach, I use a homemade "Skimmer Pod" - http://amzn.to/2E1GT1j with any of above tripod heads mounted to it.
Since I'm mostly shooting with a 600mm lens, the perfect bag to carry most of my gear used to be the Gura Gear G32L backpack: http://amzn.to/2E1qH04 - the lightest backpack on the market than can fit this lens, as well as other items, and still fits carry-on restrictions when traveling. Unfortunately, they don’t make this bag anymore and also I came into realization that I prefer opening form the back. For that reason, since 2019, I’ve been happily using Think Tank Mindshift Backlight 36L bag: https://amzn.to/3sfQjAN It is a bit smaller and about 1lb heavier but is more versatile and has some interesting features than the old GuraGear bag.
When scouting locations, I often use Nikon 7578 MONARCH 5 12x42 binoculars http://amzn.to/2DZQy8I image quality of these binoculars is very good considering their relatively low price. Just keep in mind that 12x magnification requires a very steady hand and might not be suitable for everyone. Therefore, I would suggest to start off either with a 10x42 or 8x42 binoculars from the same line: http://amzn.to/2GO33pO
If you have more questions regarding my gear, do not hesitate to either email me or leaving a comment on my blog: www.greggard.com/blog