My Photography Equipment for Birds

Since 2016, my camera gear has changed and evolved to help me better capture images of birds.

Generally, bird photography presents several challenges to cameras and lenses.

  1. Birds are small subjects, and not inclined to allow people to get too close. In order to get a large high detail image, a super telephoto lens of 400mm or higher is desirable. These lenses are designed to bring far away action close. In addition, high resolution sensor cameras help by allowing some cropping during editing of the pictures to retain more detail of the small subjects.

  2. Capturing images of birds in flight demands a highly responsive autofocus system in the camera capable of tracking fast action. High frames per second rates also help by increasing the potential for “keeper” shots.

  3. This is field photography. Mud happens and rain doesn’t mean the game is called. Weather sealing and robust build are highly desirable traits to have in cameras and lenses.

I’ve used Sony gear since 2019…

The Sony Alpha A1 camera and the FE 600 f/4 lens are my most often used combination - 30 frames per second, 50 megapixels, and completely silent. It’s the camera/lens combo on the far left in the image.

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Sony Alpha A7RIV Camera and FE100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens.

The A7RIV is a 61 megapixel (9504 x 6336 pixels) full-frame (35mm equivalent) mirrorless camera. It can capture extreme details and do so at 10 frames per second with a mechanical shutter or completely silently with its electronic shutter. Mine is equipped with a battery grip holding 2 batteries and providing a larger more balanced handle. Unlike a conventional DSLR with a mirror and an optical viewfinder, the viewfinder on this camera is electronic and lag-free. The only downside to this camera is the high resolution sensor needs a lot of light to produce low noise images - not a good fit for low light situations.

The FE100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens is an excellent match to the A7RIV camera for photographing birds in flight. The lens can zoom from 100mm to 400mm (400mm = 8X zoom). It is external zoom so the lens extends as it zooms. Normally, I will use a camouflage cover on the lens in the field to make it less noticeable.

Sony A9 and 70-200 f/2.8 GM lens (not pictured)

Sony’s A9 mirrorless camera is the action camera benchmark. It has a 24 megapixel stacked sensor with high-speed readout. The A9 can take 20 frames per second in complete silence. In the case of the A9, the electronic (silent) shutter is blackout free and the autofocus performance is well-suited to bird in flight photography. The 70-200mm f/2.8 GM lens has internal zoom, a constant aperture, and works well with any of my Sony cameras. It comes in very handy in low light situations where the f/2.8 aperture is beneficial.

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Sony Alpha A7III Camera and FE200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens

The A7III is a 24 megapixel (6000 x 4000 pixels) full-frame mirrorless camera. It is also capable of 10 frames per second with mechanical shutter or silent electronic shutter. The features and controls are very similar to the A7RIV, and mine is equipped with a battery grip. While it does not have the higher resolution of the A7RIV, it does work well producing clean images in low light. The sensor is the same area on both cameras, but the larger pixels allow for more light per pixel making this a good choice for low light situations. I call this my “Indiana Winter Camera” due to the many sunless days we have until Spring.

The FE200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens works well on either camera. Unlike the 100-400mm, this lens is an internal focus design that can go from 200mm to 600mm in about half a turn of the zoom ring and the lens does not externally extend. 600mm = 12X zoom. On the A7III, I will often use this lens with a 1.4X teleconverter that fits between the lens and camera to effectively make it a 280mm - 840mm lens (up to 16.8X zoom). In the field, it is normally fitted with a camouflage cover.

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“Did you take that picture with your cell phone?

Often, I am asked this question when I show someone a picture of a bird I took. While it is true that the best camera is the one you have with you, cell phone cameras are not competitive when it comes to bird photography. The picture at right shows an iPhone 11 which has two cameras including a 12 megapixel one with a 26mm equivalent f/1.8 lens. Beside it is a 24mm f/1.4 full-frame Sony GM lens that I use for landscapes. Note the size difference despite similar specs. The reality is that the phone camera only achieves this equivalency when its small sensor is scaled to 35mm level. The full-frame camera will have over 37 times the sensor area size. This isn’t just about megapixels - 12 megapixels is respectable. The small phone camera sensor cannot absorb much light and will not rival the noise-free detail of the larger format cameras. Still, a phone is what we are most likely to have with us when spontaneous events happen and allow us a chance to capture those moments. Message - better than nothing for bird photography, but that’s about it.

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Nikon Coolpix P1000 Digital Camera

The Nikon P1000 is more of a digital spotting scope than anything else for me. If you took a small cell phone camera sensor and married it with a powerful zoom lens - you would have the P1000. Most point-and-shoot cameras have sensors the same size as cell phone cameras. In terms of scale and equivalency, it has a very powerful zoom well beyond that of a full-size camera and my largest lenses. However, the image quality is poor in my opinion. What it does is allow for long-range identification shots of static subjects. The 4K video quality is quite good even with the zoom. The other caveat with this type of camera with super long zoom is that a good tripod is necessary to get good results. This is a better tool for bird watching/identification than bird photography. It would be totally useless for photographing birds in flight. Cameras of this type are available from different brands and are priced much lower than a DSLR or mirrorless camera with an interchangeable lens. As stated, I wouldn’t recommend for photography.

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ProMediaGear Tripod and Gimbal

The ProMediaGear TR424L tripod is carbon-fiber and can hold 125 pounds while only weighing about 6 1/2 pounds. I purchased it used and got a good deal otherwise it is overkill for my needs. The ProMediaGear Katana gimbal however, is the bees-knees for aerial photography of birds. It is a large aluminum machined gimbal that allows the camera/lens to track smoothly birds in flight. As good as it is, it is best-suited for placement in an area with plenty of subjects nearby - like wetlands in Florida. Often, here in Indiana, I opt to hand-hold the camera/lens to have more freedom of movement. A great set of tools when you need them especially if you have 2 equipped cameras and can place one on the gimbal yet have another handy for flexibility. MADE IN THE USA by ProMediaGear!

Equipment Recommendations

I will likely add a guide later on, but here are some equipment tips if you are thinking to try bird photography…

  1. A good basic budget starter outfit would be a 20-24 megapixel crop-sensor DSLR and a 70/75-300mm f/5.6 zoom lens. Purchase used, because there is a lot of good equipment on the market due to people (like me) switching to mirrorless cameras. This outfit will give you about 450mm effectively (9X zoom) and will set you back about $500 used.

  2. An intermediate kit - capable of birds in flight photography would be either a Canon 7D Mark II + EF400mm f/5.6L USM lens or a Nikon D500 + AF-S 200-500mm zoom lens. Get either of them used. These cameras and lenses are robust and plentiful on the used market. The damage? About $1700 - $1900 used. If birds in flight isn’t your thing, you could save money by just adding these lenses to a more basic Canon Rebel camera or Nikon camera body. Highly recommended for growth potential as many very premium lenses for DSLRs are available for good prices on the used market.

  3. Advanced kit? Hello Sony Mirrorless. Plan on $2000 - $4500 for a camera and $2000-$2500 for a lens. The used market is sparse but worth checking as this is the latest technology. Sony’s top cameras now are the A9 II and the A7RIV. The A9 and A9 II can do 20 frames per second with a 24 megapixel stacked sensor - probably the only camera in the world that can track an Osprey through a dive all the way through. The A7RIV is the high resolution monster with greater range and cropping potential. Not cheap, but neither is golf, boating, etc. when you add all the accessories, do-dads, and the like.

A good place to try some bird photography is near a bird feeder - Yes… bribery. Get a feeder and place it near a source of water or a fountain. Place some dead branches near the feeder to capture better images. (Get the picture of the bird, not the feeder) Your best results will come when you can get within 10-12 feet of the subjects. Good luck!