Bird Photography - the Hardware
Text and photographs © Nigel Dennis
 It is often said that bird photography is the
most difficult field of nature photography. Certainly compared with photographing game in
reserves where they are habituated to vehicles, then bird photography may seem a tough
proposition. Most of us, after buying our first telephoto lens, are dismayed to find that
birds almost invariably fly away before you can get close enough for a picture!
Bird photography is primarily about technique. There are numerous tricks of the trade that
can make bird photography very productive indeed. In fact, I find that often I take more
worthwhile bird pictures in a day than animal pictures during a game drive. In subsequent
features, I will be discussing some of these techniques but a logical place to start this
series would be to look at hardware first and in particular telephoto lenses.
The ultimate lens for bird photography is probably a 600mm F4. At 600mm you get an
impressive 12x magnification. The "fast" F4 aperture gathers enough light to
shoot action with a 100ASA fine grained film. However, this is a huge piece of equipment
weighing 6 kilos or more and unfortunately carries an equally hefty price tag - at local
prices equivalent to a perfectly acceptable new car! Apart from the very wealthy or a
person intending to make a living from photography, I think few could justify this kind of
expenditure.
I have certainly never been in the very wealthy category (and as a wildlife photographer
equally certainly never will be!) and had to wait almost ten years before I could save
enough to part pay for a 600mm F4. I borrowed the rest and repayments kept me poor for the
following three years.
Fortunately there have been some remarkable advances in optical technology in recent
years. This means it is now possible to get quality super telephoto magnification at a
fraction of the cost of a hefty 600mm F4.
Teleconverters - also known as tele-extenders - are an additional series of optics placed
between the lens and camera to increase magnification. Until a few years ago these were
regarded as a very poor substitute for a big prime lens. So much sharpness was lost along
with contrast and colour saturation that few serious photographers would want one in their
camera bag. Today most of the main camera manufacturers are producing teleconverters
matched to their tele lenses of such superb quality that it is difficult to tell if a
teleconverter has been used. If you start with a 300mm F2.8 lens and add a 2x converter,
the combination effectively becomes a 600mm F5.6 lens. At F5.6 it still has enough light
gathering power to shoot action.
 My wife and I
photograph together and sometimes shoot the same subjects using a 600mm F4 and the 300mm
F2.8 with 2x converter. I must admit I always commandeer the 600mm F4! When we have our
films processed, there is often some dispute over who took which pictures. The 300mm F2.8
and converter costs less than half of the 600mm F4 and yet the results are virtually
indestinguishable. I know of several photographers getting a lot of work published with
this outfit including Warwick Tarboton whose superb portfolio was published in the first
edition of "Africa - Birds and Birding".
Moving along in the affordability stakes, a slower 300mm can be combined with a
teleconverter. If you add a 1.4x converter to a 300mm F4 lens, it becomes a 420mm F5.6.
The 5.6 aperture is nice and fast and although not quite as powerful as the 600mm, the
magnification is still a useful 8x, comparable to a good pair of binoculars. An added
advantage is that this is a lightweight portable outfit that can be easily carried all
day. An excellent choice for anyone wishing to combine some serious photography with
serious birding! The cost should be less than one eighth of the 600mm F4 lens. It is
possible to put a 2x converter on a 300mm F4 but the two stop light loss from the
converter makes the combination a 600mm F8 which is a bit slow for anything other than
static portraits. If you buy new or at least latest technology equipment made by a prime
camera manufacturer, this ouftit will also give outstanding results.
Autofocus is a topic I would like to discuss at length in a later feature. However, with
so many keen photographers changing to autofocus, it means that there are a lot of
perfectly good manual focus lenses on the second hand market. These could be a worthwhile
option for those on a tight budget but always insist on testing a second hand lens
thoroughly before purchase. It might look OK but a bad knock may have upset the alignment
of internal optics. Remember also that very old equipment will have old technology and so
may not work well with a teleconverter which is our "cheap" way of getting
super-magnification.
For supermagnification at a real budget price, you should look at a second hand Novaflex.
Once the mainstay of many wildlife photographers, the Novaflex, which incidentally is a
long focus lens rather than a true telephoto, has been somewhat overtaken by the new
generation optics. There are many perfectly servicable second hand Novaflexes on the
market and in the right hands can still produce very acceptable results. In fact, I know
of quite a few photographs published in this magazine that were taken on a Noveflex.
The last word on lenses is that if you are at all serious about bird photography or think
you may become so in the future, always buy the best you can afford. Otherwise you are
pretty sure to want to upgrade in the future. I have done a lot of buying and selling of
lenses in the past and, goodness knows, it can become an expensive business!
Text and photographs © Nigel Dennis
 Nigel
Dennis is the author of several spectacular nature photography books on
African wildlife. You can purchase these titles available from Amazon com by clicking on
the images or links below. To see some of Nigel's stunning images visit the Nigel Dennis Wildlife Photography web site.
 |
The
Kalahari – Survival in a Thirstland Wilderness
Published 1997. Struik New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1 86872 019 5. Hardcover 29cms x
26cms. 168 pages. The Kalahari Gemsbok Park is one of our favourite photographic
destinations. Wendy and I spent fourteen months there over a two year period when
collecting pictures for this book. My aim was to portray the diversity of life in the
Kalahari throughout the seasons. Includes coverage of rare and seldom seen species, such
as the prehistoric looking pangolin. Excellent well researched text by Michael Knight and
Peter Joyce. |
 |
National
Parks and Other Wild Places of Southern Africa
Published September 1999. Struik New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1 86872 212 0. Hardcover
30cm x 24cm. 176. Co – photographed with Roger de la Harpe. Our aim was to produce
not only a strong visual portfolio, but also a book packed with useful information for the
traveller. The reader friendly narrative, by Brian Johnston Barker, highlights the
subcontinent's finest ecotourism destinations. Maps and fact-filled boxes compliment the
text. |
 |
The
Ultimate Wildlife of Southern Africa
Published September 1998. Sunbird Publishing (Cape Town). ISBN 0 62022 614 5. Hardcover
37cms x 29cms. 160 pages. Text by Brian Johnson Barker. This large format coffee table
book showcases a selection of my favourite pictures taken over the last decade. The
selection was made from tens of thousands of images in my photo library. I paired this
down to about 800, and the publisher and designer then had a tough job deciding what to
include in the book! Shows many rare and seldom photographed species, as well as the more
familiar big game. |
 |
The
Kruger National Park – Wonders of an African Eden
Published 1995. Struik New Holland. ISBN 1 85368 593 3. Hardcover 30cms x 27cms. 176
pages. Also the result of a two year photographic project, this book has proved very
popular and is soon due to go into a fifth reprint. The photographs show the animals,
birds, reptiles, flora, trees and varied habitats of South Africa premier National Park.
Comprehensive text by Bob Scholes gives a wonderful insight into the ecology of the
region. Don't visit the Kruger Park without a copy of this book! |
|
