Jock Elliott
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Troy, NY
I have this crackpot theory that I call “wildlife photography for the rest of us.”
Conventional wisdom says that if you want to photograph wildlife, you need an APS-C or full frame DSLR and a long lens or you need a mirrorless camera and a long lens. We’ll get back to that thought in just a moment.
Since my purchase of “The two-camera solution” – a Panasonic FZ200 (my long range camera) and a Panasonic LX100 (my see-in-the-dark camera) – I have thankfully not been plagued by gear acquisition syndrome (GAS).
I like to shoot at the margins of the day. The light is just gorgeous at dawn or dusk, so a fast lens is very handy, and a zoom lens is very helpful for framing subjects at distance when it is impossible to “zoom with your feet.” On my way to purchasing the two camera solution, I tested a number of DSLR and mirrorless cameras in combo with long lenses, and I also like to keep my eye on what’s new, just in case there is something out there that might potentially meet my needs better.
It seems to me that right now, wildlife photographers with interchangeable lens cameras are faced with choosing a fast (f/2.8 or f/4) fixed focal length telephoto lens or a zoom lens that winds up at f/6.something at the long end. DP review recently published a superzoom shoot-out. Some offer astonishing reach, but all wind up with f/6.X at the long end.
There are two exceptions to this. The Panasonic FZ200 offers f/2.8 throughout the zoom range and can deliver up to 1200mm (e) if you are happy with the IQ at full optical and digital zoom. The FZ1000 doesn’t offer quite as much reach, but has a much bigger sensor and offers f/4 at the long end. Currently the FZ200 is under $400 in America, and the FZ1000 is well under $800.
Since I already own the FZ200, I am not tempted by the FZ1000, but either offers an interesting choice if you want to do wildlife photography for your own enjoyment and don’t want the limitations of the current crop of ILC long lenses.
If I have missed something along the way, I would be glad to hear of it.
Cheers, Jock
Conventional wisdom says that if you want to photograph wildlife, you need an APS-C or full frame DSLR and a long lens or you need a mirrorless camera and a long lens. We’ll get back to that thought in just a moment.
Since my purchase of “The two-camera solution” – a Panasonic FZ200 (my long range camera) and a Panasonic LX100 (my see-in-the-dark camera) – I have thankfully not been plagued by gear acquisition syndrome (GAS).
I like to shoot at the margins of the day. The light is just gorgeous at dawn or dusk, so a fast lens is very handy, and a zoom lens is very helpful for framing subjects at distance when it is impossible to “zoom with your feet.” On my way to purchasing the two camera solution, I tested a number of DSLR and mirrorless cameras in combo with long lenses, and I also like to keep my eye on what’s new, just in case there is something out there that might potentially meet my needs better.
It seems to me that right now, wildlife photographers with interchangeable lens cameras are faced with choosing a fast (f/2.8 or f/4) fixed focal length telephoto lens or a zoom lens that winds up at f/6.something at the long end. DP review recently published a superzoom shoot-out. Some offer astonishing reach, but all wind up with f/6.X at the long end.
There are two exceptions to this. The Panasonic FZ200 offers f/2.8 throughout the zoom range and can deliver up to 1200mm (e) if you are happy with the IQ at full optical and digital zoom. The FZ1000 doesn’t offer quite as much reach, but has a much bigger sensor and offers f/4 at the long end. Currently the FZ200 is under $400 in America, and the FZ1000 is well under $800.
Since I already own the FZ200, I am not tempted by the FZ1000, but either offers an interesting choice if you want to do wildlife photography for your own enjoyment and don’t want the limitations of the current crop of ILC long lenses.
If I have missed something along the way, I would be glad to hear of it.
Cheers, Jock