What to look for in cameras and lenses suitable for bird photography.

The latest high-end cameras, like the Nikon Z 8 used by Dani Webb of Camera House Croydon in Victoria to record this shot of a tiny Welcome Swallow in flight, provide subject-detection autofocusing and tracking to aid photographers in such situations. Being in the right place, setting the right exposure parameters and tracking the subject are also keys to success. Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 600mm, ISO 800, 1/2500 second at f/6.3, spot metering. © Dani Webb.

While any camera can be used to capture images of birds, some features can make it much easier. Fast, accurate autofocus tracking and snappy burst speeds can help you grab the shot, while a sharp lens and adequate resolution ensure it looks good. Many recent cameras include subject-detection autofocus, which can recognise subjects like birds. For ‘bird in flight’, or BIF photography, this can be a true game-changer.

Realistically, high-end, professional cameras won’t suit most people because of their high prices and complexity. Better options can be found when you quantify your real requirements.

Understand your needs
Choosing the right camera generally comes down to three basic questions:
1. What kinds of pictures do you want to take?
2. What are your budget limits?
3. How will you share your images (and videos, if they’re part of your requirements)?

There are some additional constraints for bird photography:
1. You must get close enough to subjects for pictures to be meaningful.
2. You often need to use the equipment hand-held so you can move about, particularly where hides aren’t available.
3. The camera and lens must respond quickly when you aim at a subject.

While the latest smartphones can be used for bird photography, as shown in the top picture of this Fairy Wren, they won’t give you results as good as a mirrorless camera with an appropriate lens like the gear used for the lower image. Exposure details for lower image: OM-1 Mk II camera with M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens at 600mm (1200mm equivalent in 35mm format), IS0 200, 1/640 second at f/6.3.

Consider what kind of camera will be best for you, personally. While smartphones are convenient and can often achieve telephoto focal lengths, the resulting images are often degraded by JPEG artefacts and colour may be poorly reproduced.

Interchangeable-lens cameras deliver better images and provide a much wider choice of lenses. But you must decide between full-frame, APS-C or Micro Four Thirds (M4/3) formats.

A full-frame camera can provide slightly better image and video quality in challenging lighting because its larger photosites can collect more light for a given resolution. However, full-frame equipment is usually larger, heavier and costlier than smaller formats.

Interchangeable-lens cameras with smaller APS-C or M4/3 sensors give you a ‘crop factor’ advantage which can be utilised to record portrait shots like this stunning close-up of an Emu by Morgan Jackson of Toowoomba Camera House in Queensland. The APS-C sensor in the camera meant the 300mm focal length of the lens was extended to an effective focal length of 480mm which, at the aperture of f/5.6 produced soft and attractive blurring to isolate the subject from the background. Canon EOS 70D with EF 70-300mm lens at 300mm, ISO 400, 1/400 second at f/5.6. © Morgan Jackson.

Cameras with smaller sensors are usually smaller and lighter than full-frame models – and so are the dedicated lenses for them. They provide the advantage of a ‘crop factor’ that extends the effective focal length of a lens, and they may also be cheaper – depending on build quality and weather-resistance.

Cameras with APS-C sensors (measuring approximately 23.5 x 15.6 mm for Fujifilm, Nikon and Sony and 22.3 x 14.9 mm for Canon) have crop factors of 1.5x for Fujifilm, Nikon and Sony or 1.6x for Canon. So if you fit a 200mm lens to a Fujifilm, Nikon or Sony camera, the field of view you see will be the same as you’d have with a 300mm lens. (On a Canon camera, the effective focal length becomes 320mm.)

Micro Four Thirds cameras and lenses are a little smaller still, because of smaller (17.3 x 13.0mm) sensors. Many are robust and highly weather-resistant. These advantages – plus the benefits of the 2x crop factor – make M4/3 equipment particularly popular with serious birders.

Camera ‘must haves’

Disregard the promotional materials and focus on acquiring a camera that includes the following capabilities:

1. The ability to record raw (RAW) files – preferably at 14-bit depth. This allows you to reveal details in highlights and shadows that would normally be lost in 8-bit JPEGs and is worth having in lighting with wide (and unpredictable) brightness ranges.

Menu settings for selecting raw file capture in four different camera brands; clockwise from top left: Canon, Sony, OM Systems, Nikon.

2. Fast and accurate autofocusing is vital. ‘Hybrid’ phase- and contrast-detection systems are faster and more accurate than contrast detection alone. Your camera needs at least 100 AF points, preferably mostly ‘cross-type’ which can detect contrast both vertically and horizontally.

The more focus points you have across the sensor, the easier it is for your camera to focus on a bird in flight. Bird detecting AF modes have a real advantage here – for both stills shooters and videographers.

Dani Webb used a professional Nikon D5 camera and 200-500mm f/5.6 (vintage 2015) lens for this action shot of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, taking advantage of the camera’s sophisticated AF system. Exposure details: 500mm focal length, ISO 1600, 1/640 second at f/5.6. © Dani Webb.

3. Image stabilisation built into both the camera and lens, or IBIS (in-built image stabilisation), lets you work much more flexibly. You can shoot with the camera hand-held in challenging lighting and shift your position if your subject moves or the lighting changes. Tripods are great when you need greater steadiness, such as when you’re shooting from a hide.

Integrated stabilisation in both the Nikon Z8 camera and Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens enabled Lachlan Cooper of Lismore Camera House to capture this great close-up portrait of a tiny Spotted Pardalote in the  Border Ranges National Park in northern NSW. Exposure details: 470mm focal length, ISO 1400, 1/640 second at f/7.1. © Lachlan Cooper.

4. Burst shooting can be handy, although it’s not always fail-safe. Cameras with pre-capture burst recording modes allow you to record frames from the time you half-press the shutter release (which activates the AF system) until the shutter button is pressed right down – and often after that. Some cameras can save up to 70 buffered images before and after the shutter is released.

Menu settings for continuous shooting should offer a range that starts with at least 7 fps but can go as high as 20 fps for stills shooting.

Lens ‘must haves’

Most birders recommend a telephoto lens with an effective focal length of at least 300mm to start with – but be guided by how much weight you can hold steadily. Lens speed, which comes with larger lens elements, influences the overall weight of a lens. For example, the Nikkor Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S super telephoto lens, which is classed as ‘the lightest in its class’ for full-frame cameras weighs almost 1.4 kilograms, while the much slower Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM lens weighs only 930 grams.

Canon’s RF 800mm f/11 IS STM lens is the lightest in its class, weighing just over 1.24 kilograms, which is less than half the weight of the faster RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM lens, making it much easier to use for handheld shooting. (Source: Canon.)

Zoom lenses are more versatile than prime (single focal length) lenses and often more affordable, although they may be a stop or two slower. Lenses with a constant maximum aperture maintain their ‘speed’ throughout their focal length range but can cost more and be heavier than lenses with variable maximum apertures.

Weight is important if you need to carry your camera for long distances; anything over two kilograms will slow you down and tire you out. It’s less important when you can drive up close to a hide or photograph birds from the comfort of a vehicle. But, even then, lenses weighing more than 2.5 kg can be difficult to keep steady and should be used on a tripod.

The autofocus on/off switch (A) and the focus limiter (B) on a Nikkor 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens. (Source: Nikon.)

Most telephoto lenses have slider adjustments for switching between auto and manual focus plus a focus limiter switch (to minimise back-and-forth ‘hunting’ for focus), as shown in the illustration on page ??. An on/off IS switch may also be included – unless stabilisation is controlled by the camera. A lens hood is another essential; don’t buy a lens without one.

Teleconverters can provide a cheap way to extend the effective focal length of lenses. Most manufacturers offer 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, which increase the effective focal length of a lens by a factor of 1.4x or 2x, respectively. Find out more about them in Chapter 7.

Don’t worry about…

Disregard the megapixel count. For most people, a 20-megapixel camera will be more than adequate – as long as you don’t zoom by cropping. If you shoot raw files and have adequate editing skills you can print your images as large as A2 size – even if they were taken with a cropped-sensor camera.

This close-up of a perched Welcome Swallow was recorded using a 16-megapixel M4/3 camera and a 400mm telephoto lens, which effectively became an 800mm lens due to the sensor’s crop factor. There is enough detail recorded to print the image at A3+ (483 x 329 mm) size – or slightly larger. OM-1 camera with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 lens at 400mm, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/7.1.

Useful links

Choosing a lens kit

Useful accessories

This article by Margaret Brown is an excerpt from Bird Photography pocket guide – click here to order print or ebook edition.

Pocket guide Partner: Camera House