Foto at top: Holland sun Common Tern (visdief) size qqcm distance 35m Z50 Nikkor 500mm f/5.E PF VR equivalent 1500mm total camouflage 1/1000 f/11 ISO qqq qqqEV. Crop qqqq x qqqq.

F11: Full screen !!!

Lightweight digital camera’s, lenses and converters

We are using mainly Nikon equipment for our “lightweight affordable” bird photography as described in this blog. However this type of bird photograhey could very well be applied when using for example Canon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Zeiss or other brands od equipment and settings thereof. We chose Nikon as described at this page.

Nikon has always been offering high quality (semi) professional equipment ideally suited for affordable lightweight bird photography:

• Long time ago: Nikons simple digicompact: Coolpix 5100, however mind you: RAW support!

• Thereafter affordable semi pro APS-C sensor format (“DX”) camera’s DSLR D300, D300S and D500, ideal for serious lightweight bird photography and semi pro full frame (“FX format” DSLR’s D700, D750, D800, D850.

• Pro quality telezoom Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II.

• Ultra light high optical quality tele Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF VR 770 gram, featuring Phase Fresnel technology producing rich detail even at larger distance, one of our favourites!

• Another ultra light high optical quality Phase Fresnel tele Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF VR 1450 gram, another favourite! (Moderately expensive but when regarded as lifetime investment quite acceptable (about 50 euro/month over 10 years usage; renting a bike costs more).

• High quality converters TC-4E II and III and our favourite aspherical TC-20E III, producing high 35mm equivalent up to 1500mm: exceptional reach (bereik) in bird photography!

• Series 1 Mirrorless camera’s with daring 2.7 crop factor (hindsight: too daring!) and continued support of classic F-mount lenses via FT1 adapter: V1, V3 and J5 (same sensor architecture as D500)

• Ultra light high quality lightweight telelens Z Nikkor 400m f/4.5 S (1245 gram)

• Z mirrorless system camera’s with world’s largest cross section light transmission opening for system camera’s and a collection of top quality lenses &s continued support for classic F-mount lenses, including EISA award winner Z50 (sensor architecture D500 crop factor 1.5), ideal for affordable lightweight bird photography and Z5, Z6, Z7, Z7 II, Z8, flagship Z9 and in 2024 Z50 II ((sensor architecture D500 and part of functionality Z9).

Example pictures:

Lesbos sun Little Bittern (Woudaap) size 33cm distance 25m handheld D300 Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II TC-20E III equivalent 600mm substantial camouflage.

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