Buying advice

Wildlife and birds: reach and speed for sensible money

For wildlife, you need reach. I’ll show you how to get it on a sensible budget and what to watch out for on the used market.

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Wildlife and birds are demanding genres that ruthlessly expose any weaknesses in your gear. Truly fast telephoto lenses and top bodies with quick autofocus cost a lot of money. But the path to good shots doesn’t have to be as expensive as it seems.

The key isn’t having the most expensive gear, but knowing how to work around its weaknesses and make use of what the market has to offer right now.

Pairing body and lens

If you’re after reach, an APS-C body is your biggest ally. Thanks to the crop factor (1.6× on Canon), a 300 mm lens gives you framing equivalent to about 480 mm. For bird photography, that’s a huge difference.

Full frame isn’t an obstacle, though. A body with fast autofocus, such as the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, tracks birds very well and makes up for the missing reach by cropping – just at the cost of lower resolution in the final image.

What matters is that the autofocus can track eyes and is fast enough.

What from my stock fits the bill

Truly fast telephoto lenses rarely show up on the used market. Don’t wait for a lens that may never turn up – fast, accurate autofocus in the body will give you more.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II or Sony A7 IV – top-notch subject tracking. These are full-frame bodies, so expect a bigger body and plan on cropping instead of relying on a crop factor.
Sony FE 100–400 mm f/4.5–5.6 GM OSS – covers birds as well as larger mammals from a safe distance.
Sony FE 70–200 mm f/4 G – a more compact option for all-round use in nature.

The cards below the article show what I have in stock right now.

Practical tips for buying used

On a lens, check for spots inside when looking through it against the light.
On a body, test all the buttons and ports, and find out the shutter count and the condition of the dust and moisture sealing.
Don’t be fooled by “like new” descriptions on older models. The overall condition of the mechanics and electronics matters more than the year of manufacture.

If you have an APS-C body, you don’t need to invest in the most expensive telephoto lenses. One quality zoom and a body that can track movement are enough.

Tell me what and where you shoot (birds, woodland wildlife) – I’ll recommend a specific telephoto zoom to add to your kit.