He shot the picture.

Via Peta Pixel

photo credit: Tarun K Photography

Then, there is only one solution: Be prepared!

• Explore the location: Know where you go, use Google Maps and Google Earth to discover the topography, the terrain, the location of monuments, roads and streets leading from one place to another.
• Orient yourself: the same tools will allow to see on what side you want to go to make the back-lit photos you want or to have the best angle at sun rise.
• Let inspiration come to you: There is nothing wrong in using Flickr to know what the other travelers have brought back from the place you don’t know yet. Discover the usual pictures that everybody gets and find some that are less common or more surprising : You’ll get the images that everybody expect back at home and a few good surprises too (even if you will not stay long enough to explore all aspects of a single subject).

But there is also a mean to speed preparation up and to go much further: Get a guide. It has many advantages:

• A guide knows every square meter of your destination: You will never be as prepared as he is.
• Choose a guide who knows what photography is. Most will only lead you to the place. This is even more important for difficult photo subjects like a safari photo trip: Your guide must be able to place himself (or place the car) at the right location, he will have to accept to stay longer in one location, near one animal; He should accept to leave early and stay late on the spot. You will avoid most of the tourist-run places. for this, the best is to find photo-oriented travel agents or to talk to the guide (even using Skype).

photo credit: SPM435
• You will be able to concentrate on photography without worrying too much about the rest (he’s not a body guard, but you shouldn’t have to keep an eye on your back and on your bag while you shoot).
• In some cases, the guide is the only mean to reach some locations: He’s the key to some religious ceremonies, to isolated places, to off-road tracks only accessible under precise conditions, etc.

Nevertheless, also think about keeping time to breathe, to think and to take the place in. Don’t stick to eye to the viewfinder all day long. Look around, widen your personal landscape. If your traveling with your family, also bring them into the photo business: I recommend making sure that everybody has a camera and you dispense some advice and make sure children participate (for example, a friend of mine had a real golden wooden frame that kids would use to frame themselves with monuments during specific photo games).

Be visible

To start with, if your camera is not visible, it may not be stolen. Wear it high and proud. Even more when you go across a Brazilian favella or a Summer croud.

Don’t look around

It’s best to never know where you are, who’s around and what is happening. Walk with the eyes in sky and the surprise will be delighting!

Don’t hold your camera

A lash or a strap or any other link would be a very bad idea: Any hurdle impeding the flight of your photo camera could limit the possibilities of a snatch-and-grab robbery. Handle it in one hand, without any strap; It’s a surer way.

Be proud of its performance and its price

You have to admit that some robbers are not perfectly aware of the photo gear brands and models. Canon, Nikon or Sony are easy to sell by they don’t know it for sure, you must help them recognize the type of camera you have for them. I saw photographers using gaffer (or any other black scotch tape) to mask the brands, logos and model markings of their cameras. This is much too hard on the thieves! They hesitate, they are no longer sure what you have… Forget it! Even when somebody will explain that gaffer is thick enough to protect the camera body or lens against small hits or that it can help maintain the traps and openings perfectly close even in humid or dusty environments. This is for pussies! You’re a real photographer! Don’t be timid. The more expensive the camera, the more important everybody knows.

photo credit: Let Ideas Compete

Similarly, always use the camera strap from your camera (It is littered with logos and markings that will attract even the shorter-sighted thieves: Remember that with this dwindling economy even the older thieves cannot retire).

I hesitate to propose the most effective technique (it’s normally used only by the elite of stolen photographers): Keep your photo bag half open on your shoulder. If it has a recognizable logo, it will lift hesitations from robbers willing to limit themselves to banks and trains: They just have to take the bag and run. Much more productive than stealing a single camera.

Demonstrate your purchasing power

If you go to a photo trip, you’d better bring Armani jeans, Chanel scarves, Rolex watches, and any other expensive and recognizable accessory which will confirm to the would-be thief that you certainly have both something to steal and the means to purchase it again later.

Keep your bag open

My pro advice: An open bag with hanging straps is an open invitation. Be polite and make it. It works even with shy or young thieves. Temptation will be too strong to forget.

photo credit: marc kjerland

Overall, ignore the advice of some seasoned travelers who are also ugly penny-pinchers when they tell you that they use those little plastic wires to close their bags. They are complicated to handle by a thief in a hurry and you could easily open and close them. That’s counter-productive, for sure! And remember that this would be a very bad idea for checked-in plane luggage. Remember not to use a padlock (which would be an issue for Customs) and prefer to keep expensive gear in open bags. As we are here, think twice before keeping expensive things with you. checked-in luggage has the triple advantage of being stolen, lost or totally crushed during airport handling.

Your hotel is your friend

If nothing worked in the airport, you still can ask for help in the hotel: Leave your unused equipment well visible on the bad in your hotel room. If there is even one less-than-delicate people, he will be tempted. Even a surprise visitor could take advantage of the opportunity to offload you of your new hardware already used for a couple of weeks and will provide a good reason to go and buy a new camera.

With this tips list, I sincerely hope that you will go and travel with a light mind. I will be happy to have participated to the non-commercial exchange of goods that you were trying to promote by your tourist activities. What a lovely thought just before leaving for holidays.

To honor it, I have the pleasure to present a few stunning pictures demonstrating clearly what it is possible to do with a photo camera when passion is meeting the availability of such an impressive model (and, here, the meaning of “availability” has to be taken with quite some flexibility).

First, Paolo Nespoli, astronaut in the space station shot the arrival of the shuttle. Nice depth of field (down to Peru 360 km below) but also notice the shadow cast by the station itself. (Should this be classified as bad lighting or as the inclusion of a second model in the picture?)

Discovery shuttle - Image credit: NASA

But Paolo Nespoli was perfectly located: A window, a nice lighting (great direct sun with no cloud cover), a nice background, the model cooperating politely under direct and precise commands. But, exactly at the opposite end of the easiness spectrum, if you’re down here on Earth, you can see the space station with you own eyes (and maybe recognize more or less its shape with good binoculars). So, why not try and shot it?

This is a rather exceptional snapshot taken by Rob Bullen on Saturday night with a relatively small telescope (22 cm or 8,5″). Even worse or even better, instead of using a fully automated guidance/pointing setup, this craftsman of an astro photographer aligned his telescope and his photo camera by hand. I’m stunned!

But this is not all. If you want even more, you must go and see the great photo sequence of Thierry Legault, French engineer living near Paris who assembled 900 photos into a little accelerated video sequence where we can clearly see the International Space Station and the approaching shuttle.

All those photographers aiming their cameras at the same model nearly exactly at the same time!

Kudos to all of them! And my warm thanks to Xtian who put me on the track of the articles of Phil Plait in Discover Magazine.

photo © 2010 US Army Africa | more info (via: Wylio)

photo © 2008 Nicolò Bonazzi | more info (via: Wylio)

photo © 2010 US Army Africa | more info (via: Wylio)

photo © 2010 Frank Kovalchek | more info (via: Wylio)

Venice Carnival: From February 26th to March 8th, this year.

We must go there next year.

photo credit: Dinh Huynh

So, let’s not forget the basic advice for the photographer in cold weather and we’ll bring good pictures back from the near-Arctic zone of our holidays.

1. Protection against mist and water vapor: Cold generates mist any time hardware moves quickly from one place to another one, violently changing temperature. In a house, it’s warm with a lot of humidity; Outside, it’s cold and the air is dry. Use a plastic bag for freezing food. You’ll close the camera and lenses with outside dry air before getting back in. Don’t forget to remove the battery and/or memory card on the doorstep, of course.
2. Protection against snow: As for rain, you must be wary of the bad consequences of humidity directly one the photo equipment. If the camera is weather-sealed, you’ll forget about it, mostly. But, if not, don’t let snow fall onto it. It’s so much nicer, but it will short-circuit electrical contacts in about the same time.
3. Electrical storage: Be prepared: You need more batteries. In the cold temperatures, all batteries seem to loose a lot of their autonomy. It is advisable to keep unused batteries near your body (for body heat), but above all double all your habits for additional energy storage. You need twice the spare batteries.
4. Protection of the photographer: Hardware is not the only one sensitive to cold. The software photographer also gets cold. Remember to always be clothed more than adequately. You will not shoot good pictures if your are frozen to immobility and get a cold. Remember that it’s always more difficult if you are not moving for a long time.
5. Protection of the photographer: More specifically, choose cautiously your gloves. They must be as warm as possible and as thin as possible (to keep a good finger sensitivity on the controls). You’ll find excellent technical products in shops specializing in outdoor and alpine sports.
6. Don’t forget the light: This is the most common problem with snow, you must over-expose by 2 stops when snow is visible in the viewfinder. The metering sensor and system will try to render some kind of medium light grey color, and with all this white snow, it will strongly under-expose. You must compensate and OVER-expose.

Snap nice frozen photos! And show us them on the Facebook page, or in the Flickr group.

« 2011, Neiges et Glaces du Monde » (2011, Snows and ices of the world) is a project of Marion Jonchères, French mountaineer, sportswoman, adventurer to the end of the world. During a full year, this frail young woman will face cold and altitude while climbing icy summits all over the world, on all continents.

But Marion is also a photographer ; This is why we asked her to share her tips and tricks with us for a better photography in (high) altitude. They will be applicable under 6000m too, of course.

You can follow her 2011 adventure on her blog at ice-altitude.org.

When Yves asks me about the peculiarities of mountain photography, I ask back: What mountain photography? The pictures of the admiring tourist using his photo camera from an outdoor café facing the snowy peaks? Maybe not… Or the pictures of an assiduous practitioner, whose camera is a part of the mountaineering gear? Of course, this goes with some constrains… Here are the lessons I draw from my modest amateur experience.

• Focus on a camera body as compact and lightweight as possible

  Don’t forget that you must carry the photo gear and that it must not limit your progression. The photo hardware is stored in the backpack or carried, inside the clothes or on a shoulder strap. Forget about sensitive equipment!
  If you leave for a trekking or a long expedition, remember the spare batteries or solar battery chargers. The most farsighted mountaineer will have several memory cards, just as insurance against losing all the pictures in case of the long fall of the camera into a crevice or a river…

• Use a UV filter

  Ultra-violet (UV) light density will increase with altitude. Snow has a blinding effect. The UV filter (Skylight 1A or 1B) helps moderate these effects. Moreover, it will protect the lens if, like I do to speed up operation, you never cover the lens between shots.

• Favor a wide-angle lens and leave the telephoto home

  A wide-angle lens (up to 18 mm) will allow to step back from the somewhat imposing mountains and will better capture your feeling in front of a mountain range… Sometimes, one would wish being equipped for panorama photography!

  To capture pictures of your climbing partner in action, forget the telephoto lens except if you intend to check on his ice spikes or his climbing helmet. However, a slightly longer focal length (135 mm) is useful to isolate an individual while keeping some image depth.

  And if you want to track the progress of your partners on a mountain side or define an itinerary, you’d better have binoculars ; It’s less heavy and more powerful.

• Of the difficulty to capture the actual inclination of a rock / snow / ice slope

  The rock wall is vertical and snow slope is inclined to more than 60 degrees, and your leader, above you, still seems to be crawling on all fours? This is the main difficulty for a picture or the progress of your leader. You’d better try to shoot pictures of a person roughly on the same level as you (be sure to catch his best profile!), the sky or other mountains being a background to highlight the position of your model and the slope he/she’s working on. Some low angle shots may be successful too if you keep composition lines or a focal point (an ice tongue or a moraine…).



Photo Marion Jonchères

• Forget about back-lighting

  Except if you want to draw the different planes of ranges up to the horizon, mountain is usually quite ugly when back-lit, crushed in light, rock will become black, without any of the contrasts brought by a more favorable lighting.

• Which is the nicest light?

  Very personal question… If the sunsets can give you magnificent colors, most notably in rosy tints, still prefer the colors of sunrise. The morning orange will be warmer than in the evening and the atmosphere will be clearer. Also notice with interest the pastel lights so peculiar in a Winter afternoon, drawing into apricot or peach: Quite a treat (figuratively speaking)!

• To dazzle your friends

  You just climbed a snow couloir still somewhat unimpressive? So, climb down quickly and shoot the couloir while facing it from a little distance: Your friends may feel that it is now near vertical!

• Despite all your talent and the quality of all your gear… be ready for frustration!

  Stopping to get your camera out of your jacket will quickly become annoying when you also have to concentrate on your progress. How many times did I feel I had shot 100 pictures to discover only 30 in the camera when the climb is done and most of them uninterested or not spectacular enough or not worth taking… It is somewhat hard to simultaneously climb, admire and shoot! Choose your partner cautiously: On top of his mountaineering qualities, he must be patient to stop whenever you want and whenever the safety conditions are met (certainly not under a serac or in the middle of a snow bridge…)

Copyright (C) 2010 - Yves Roumazeilles

First, it appears clear that the already existing equipment of a photographer has an inordinate weight in everybody’s choice (you can dream of the Canon 300mm f/2.8; But if you are a Nikon lover, this may stay quite theoretical). Nevertheless, we must not mix our priorities: The presence of three or four “normal” lenses and of one or two SLR bodies in your photo bag, will not weight a lot in the decision to buy a 300mm or a 400mm prime lens. Do the math! You’d better sell everything if the aim is to get the best photo gear. Worse, it may seem hard but if you’re in Olympus gear (maybe with Pentax too, except if you’re both optimist and patient), your only path goes through “moving from that brand”.

Even more, we are often immoderately attached to our SLR bodies while they are obsolete after five years (and already late after a year). Sorry, but an SLR body is nothing more than consumable. On the opposite a good lens is bought for a long time (a kit zoom lens may be also considered as with no value on the second-hand market).

This is more or less the question that Sony is personally asking me. While I have a nice set of excellent lenses from Minolta-Sony-Zeiss, I start to hit the limits of the currently offered lens range that Sony moves only very slowly to the pro side. However, it’s still of small importance while my main body is a Sony Alpha 700 which can easily be described as “no longer top technology”. Since its launch, it has been distanced by the competition and Sony should seriously replace it as soon as possible.

Copyright (C) 2010 - Yves Roumazeilles

It is often said that buying an SLR photo camera is more or less contracting a marriage. This is less and less true now that most people buy a kit including a long-range zoom and that they are ready to do the same three or five years later. On the opposite, investing a few thousand Euros (or Dollars) in lenses to satisfy your wildlife photo passion does not allow a quick and easy change of opinions. It’s not enough to see the launch of the EOS 5D MkII to leave Nikon or to discover the D7000 to drop Canon. Or you would have to seriously consider (and why not? We may may come back later to this) reselling all old gear on eBay.

We could see that Canon and Nikon are nearly perfectly armed to satisfy the wildlife/nature photographer. Maybe Canon has a slightly richer (or slightly more finely cut) range than Nikon. Sony is still quite insufficient and can only survive here with the enormous help of the second-hand market of Minolta. But a simple poll in the SUV/trucks of Objectif Nature, Amawanda or Terres Oubliées, in the hides of the Pyrénées or the Carpathian Mountains will confirm it: Canon and Nikon are the real masters.

This being said, let’s go and shoot some photos!

The articles themselves:

• Top SLR lenses for Canon
• Top SLR lenses for Nikon
• Top SLR lenses for Sony

You can also request the assistance of many web sites to evaluate the quality of SLR photo lenses.

Sony SLR lenses

Today, Sony extended this to include the excellent lenses from Carl Zeiss, but it is less significant than the already large set of tele-lenses from Minolta. Actually, this company had designed an impressive set of long focal prime lenses and a nice set of pro zoom lenses.

Wildlife photographers will actually find a wealth of very good quality lenses even if some of them are either second-hand lenses or re-branded Minolta lenses incorporated into the Sony line-up. But the best news for them is that since Sony incorporates Image Stabilization in the body rather than the lenses, all old Minolta glass immediately got IS when used on a Sony SLR camera like the Alpha 700 or the Alpha 900. A real treat for people willing to use second-hand lenses from eBay…

Amateur

If your priority is to keep the total budget at a rock bottom level, there are two interesting lenses to watch for. The first and most impressive one if the 70-400mm f/4-5,6G SAL-70400G. A recent design from Sony, this is widely considered as the best zoom lens of this category (Canon 100-400mm offering is just not as good and Nikon’s 80-400mm is clearly of lower quality). The price is not small but it gives quite a focal length range.

Minolta 500mm mirror

Interestingly, there is another lens that Sony wildlife SLR photographer should also consider: The 500mm f/8 Reflex SAL-500F80 is a mirror (or reflex) lens, so it brings all the good and bad of such a technology.

Good: Impossibly light 500mm lens (stabilized by the SLR body, of course) with a reasonable quality.

Bad: The fixed aperture is forcing to choose shutter speed against ISO sensitivity.

Bonus: While most mirror/reflex lenses do not allow AF, this is the only reflex lens on the market that can auto-focus on all the Alpha-series SLR bodies.

Speaking of cameras, Sony has a large choice (too large?) of SLR cameras. I will risk a recommendation of the Alpha 55. Despite being really flawed for video capture (an overheating sensor is strongly limiting the length of video clips), it offers an excellent 16MP digital APS-C photo sensor with good AF and amazingly fast continuous shooting rates (10 fps) if you can tolerate the ugly electronic viewfinder.

For landscape photography, use the Sony 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 DT SAL-1870 that will probably come in kit with your camera bosy. This is a bargain.

Enthusiast

The expert photographer will take advantage of second-hand lenses and this is the real good surprise of the Sony solution for wildlife and nature photographers. Prices can drop significantly here while I recommend taking advantage of the exceptional prime lenses available.

Your first choice must be second-hand since these are only from Minolta: Select the 300mm f/4 APO G and the 400mm f/4,5 APO G (two of the “white primes” of the pro G line of Minolta). Relatively light weight and impressively good quality makes these obvious choices. The only real issue is that the 400mm is very rare. You may have to spend some real time looking for it even on eBay. Despite that, prices stay at a reasonable level.

Minolta APO white prime lenses

Quite significantly, all the APO G tele-lenses have been designed by Minolta with the focal multipliers in mind, to the point that the focal doubler doesn’t degrade images as much as doublers for Canon or Nikon brands). I recommend strongly the 1,4x multiplier from Sony (or the older Minolta branded if it is a mint-quality second-hand).

Currently, Sony problem is that there is no SLR body that can seriously be recommended here: The Alpha 55 electronic viewfinder will not satisfy any of the enthusiast photographers. The only reasonable choice is between the Alpha 850 (or Alpha 900) and the upcoming/promised replacement for the Alpha 700. A full frame SLR like the A850/A900 is tempting because of its exceptionally good price (under 2000$) but you will loose the focal extension provided by APS-C sensors while the A850/A900 are not very reactive (relatively slow AF and limited continuous shooting). The Alpha 700 is still a good camera at a very good price, but it is now ready for a replacement in 2011. If Sony does not install in it one of their (successful but ugly) electronic viewfinders, the Alpha 750 (tentative name) will be a better choice.

Complementing the initial prime tele-lenses, you would add a Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-2470Z (same as before) and possibly a Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-1635ZA. Both are expensive and heavy gear, but you can’t get any better.

In between, a Konica Minolta 200mm f/2.8 APO G AF would be a nice complement for a relatively short tele lens.

Pro

Unfortunately, Sony does not provide a perfect solution set at the pro level. The camera body choice will be limited by the same constraints as above for the expert/enthusiast (either A850/A900 or future A750). 2011 may also bring a new pro-level SLR camera body but nothing is really certain here.

Nevertheless, the long prime lens choice is relatively easy: Go for the Sony 300mm f/2.8 G SAL-300F28G which has all the bells and whistles of the top-quality glass deriving from the original Minolta design updated to the latest standards (including SSM smooth focus).

While you could keep the good old Minolta 400mm f/4,5 APO G previously mentioned, I am sure you are thinking about a 500mm. Unfortunately, while Sony has been showing models, we are still waiting for this lens (probably in February 2011). Quality should be there, since price and weight will be no issue.

As for the expert, before, these tele-lenses will be complemented with a Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-2470Z and a Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-1635ZA. I would also add the pro-level (G-series) Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G SAL-70200G zoom lens, for its quality and its SSM focus.

Conclusion

Really, Sony takes full advantage of the existing Minolta line-up of lenses. For example, the Minolta 400mm f/4,5 APO G is simply impressive for a cost usually under 2000$ and a weight compatible with most back-packs.

However, the mix of new technologies and relative lack of understanding of pro photographer needs for the SLR camera bodies, puts Sony is a dire position. It is no surprise that, currently, Sony cameras are not often seen in the bags of photo-safari travelers.

However, the arrival of new 2011 SLR bodies and of a world-class 500mm f/4 prime lens could gradually change this.

In between, Since we don’t often see wildlife photographers equipped with Sony gear, here is a David Bittner video clip where you may find some of the lenses lenses and camera bodies listed above. Will you be able to recognize the 300mm f/2.8 lens or the 70-200mm zoom?

Amateur

Since animals are always hard to approach (in an African safari as well as in a European forest), you must have a lens with the adequate focal length: As long as possible. 300mm is the strict minimum (400mm would be better). But if you want to stay in a tolerable price range (isn’t the amateur defined by his/her high sensitivity to cost issues), it would be better to purchase a zoom lens rather than a prime lens (with fixed focal length). It’s true that a zoom is also easier to handle and use when the distance is imposed by the approach conditions and limits).

Taking these into account, Nikon offers two actual possibilities, despite being very different ones. The first is a 70-300mm f/4,5-5,6 ED IF AF-S VR zoom. Its focal range is quite extended, it’s stabilized, it has super-sonic motor assisted AF, but -over everything else- its picture quality is an excellent surprise (considering its price: You can get it under 500€ on eBay – second-hand).

However, there is a second possibility to reach longer focal lengths: The 80-400mm f/4,5-5,6 D ED AF VR has an optimal focal range, a perfect weight (and handling) and vibration reduction (image stabilization). But the image quality is not totally there. This lens suffers from a relatively old design which will force you to strong post-treatment or to systematically work at f/8 with the longest focal (The most important and most often used one, of course).

Personally, I would prefer the 70-300mm (for its sharpness). But the choice is still difficult. One future event could make it easier and re-shuffle cards: All leaked informations indicate that Nikon is currently working on a new version of the 80-400mm (two recent patent applications are proof of it). We can easily imagine the arrival of an excellent 80-400mm at the end of 2011. If the price stays at a reasonable level (but certainly not under 1000€ anyway), the balance will be tipped toward this newer lens.

Whatever the tele-lens used, the amateur will nearly automatically attach it to a Nikon D7000. This successor to the glorious D90 is so well balanced and brings such an image quality that it’s difficult to recommend anything else right now (end of 2010, beginning of 2011).

In order to also allow landscape photography, I recommend to also bag an 18-70mm f/3,5-4,5 G ED IF AF-S DX. You’ll notice that it shares the same filter diameter (67mm) with the 70-300mm (a cent is a cent, right?). But, more importantly, this will be a well-balanced set for image quality.

Enthusiast

The photographer claiming to be an expert or willing to chase a more ambitious goal will not be contented with the above zoom lenses recommended to the amateur. Here again, I will have to ideas to share according to the depth of your pockets. If you want to go low in costs, look at a 300mm (possibly a second-hand one) like the 300mm f/4 IF ED which despite the lack of stabilization (no VR) has a great image quality to show.

Unfortunately, Nikon has nothing very convincing in terms of both quality and price around 400mm. It will be around and over 5000€ (second-hand!) that we will find the next two lenses despite their very different feature sets.

• If you favor a wide aperture (and its associated nice and soft backgrounds), you will look at the beautiful (but heavy) 400mm f/2,8 D IF-ED II AF-S (or the 400mm f/2,8 G ED AF-S VR which is slightly less expensive and stabilized). It has many fans for a good reason.
• Personally, I fall for the surprising 200-400mm f/4 G IF-ED A-S VR. Its sharpness stays quite homogeneous (and very high) over the focal range and over the aperture range. It’s only drawback: You’re not the only one to know it and the price does not drop much on the second-hand market.

One specificity of the Nikon lens offering is to include excellent focal multipliers. Like nearly all its competitors, the doubler (x2.0) sacrificed too much of image sharpness but the x1.4 and also x1.7 multipliers are impressively good tools.

If you limit yourself to a maximum f/4 aperture and if you use a focal multiplier, it is important to have an SLR body able to produce nice pictures up to 1600 ISO. The Nikon D7000 is still the best candidate here. It’s only drawback is the small size of its image buffer which will limit the number of pictures stored in continuous shooting mode (you will have to keep a light finger on the shutter button)

Add to that solution a low focal length complement. The exceptional 70-200mm f/2,8 G AF-S ED VR II is strongly recommended for this; And complement it with a 17-55mm f/2,8 G IF-ED AF-S DX, very beautiful lens for landscape photography on the excellent DX sensor (in “APS-C” size) of the Nikon D7000.

Pro

But Nikon really shines when you want the best possible quality. If your budget has no limit (or if your dad is Ben Bernanke), Nikon has it all. The fame of the yellow brand is made exactly out of this, and it shows. But, be ready to invest sums that are really not available to mere mortals.

The professional range of tele-lenses of Nikon no longer needs to be presented; You only have to choose from it. I have difficulties recommending the 600mm f/4 D EF-ID II AF-S because of its 4.8 kg / 10.7 lb. weight. Laurent Baheux is the only one I know who uses it without a tripod (often on some kind of support anyway). But he is a wildlife photographer trained as a sports pro photographer. It could be associated to a 400mm f/2,8 D ED-IF II AF-S.

Nikon lenses

But I would rather be tempted by the more reasonable weight association (Still, make an appointment with your physiotherapist) of a 300mm f/2,8 ED AF-S VR II and a 500mm f/4 D ED-IF II AF-S (The latter also is no less than 3.4 kg / 7.5 lb.) which will be complemented with a x1.4 focal multiplier for a very extended coverage.

Since we’re no longer afraid of anything, the SLR body will naturally be a Nikon D3s for its enormous sensitivity (ISO 6400 is OK for beautiful pictures and it’s not frightened of ISO 102,400).

Do you still have some space left in your bad? Add a 70-200mm f/2,8 G AF-S ED VR II zoom and a 14-24mm f/2,8 G ED AF-S zoom for settings less strongly under the wildlife influence.

Conclusion

As you easily noticed, the Nikon range is more extensive for (or more well targeted to) the pro photographers than the amateur or even the enthusiast. We could be tempted to chose another brand, but, with Nikon, we do long-time investments (which is a major permanent recommendation when speaking about purchasing lenses). Moreover, the NIKON offering of SLR bodies is currently the most impressive and the most powerful on the market (It will change for sure).

The wildlife photographer will be easily contented at Nikon.