Lenses For Wildlife Photography
Now we're going to talk about the gear wildlife photographers love and lust over the most – lenses. A good wildlife lens will - and probably should – be the biggest gear investment you make so let's talk about some of the more important features and options to look for in lenses.
Wildlife photography can be done with any lens – from wide-angle to super-telephoto – depending on the situation and what you're trying to communicate with your photo. But the vast majority of shooting opportunities you'll encounter will require a telephoto lens of some sort. The reasons?
It's natural for wild animals to stay as far away from humans as possible. A telephoto lens can reach out to magnify your wildlife subject in the viewfinder so you can count each whisker on that lion's face if that's your wish.
There are some animals with which you don't want to get too close. Keeping a respectable distance is good and safe for both the photographer and the animal.
The perspective a telephoto lens produces is especially pleasing for animal portraits as it creates separation between your subject and the background. Also, the narrow-angle of view makes it much easier to control the background content.
Depending on the species, most wildlife photography work requires a focal length of at least 400mm to keep animals calm and relaxed while keeping you at a safe enough distance. Telephoto lenses of 400mm and longer are referred to as super-telephoto lenses, and they are generally large, heavy, and expensive.
Major Considerations:
The focal length of a lens, in practical terms, refers to its reach. I'll skip the technical explanation here. To photograph small birds or very shy wild mammals, a focal length of 400mm minimum would be necessary, and 600mm or 800mm would be even better.
For large mammals in national parks where your subjects are used to people, a range of focal lengths of 200mm to 400mm will usually be adequate.
The maximum diameter of a lens is referred to as the maximum aperture, which is confusing since the number is represented as a f-stop number. Some refer to it as the lens' minimum f-number. Either way, the larger the maximum lens opening – the smaller f-stop number – the "faster" the lens is considered to be since it would correspond to faster shutter speeds. f/2.8 and f/4 would be considered fast telephoto lenses while f/5.6 and f/8 slow.
Faster lenses perform better in low light conditions – faster shutter speeds and lower ISOs – and create a shallower depth of field when used wide open, producing a smoother, out-of-focus background.
Primes are lenses with a fixed focal length; for example, 400mm or 600mm. These lenses are best for small birds or timid animals at a distance, such as snow leopards in the Himalayas. Being constrained to only one focal length, you will have a problem if the animal you're shooting moves closer to you. You'll have to zoom with your feet or change lenses and possibly miss shots.
Zooms offer a range of focal lengths in a single lens – 100- 400mm, for example - and give more flexibility for the problem I just described – you can zoom out and not worry about changing lenses and missing shots. There are also more opportunities for creatively framing your wildlife subject in the viewfinder. If you plan on doing photography from a fixed position where getting closer or farther away is not an option – like a vehicle, dock, or large cruise ship – a zoom lens will serve you much better for that reason.
It used to be true that prime lenses were considerably sharper than zooms, but it's not necessarily the case anymore. If there is much of a difference, primes lenses are not worth the lack of flexibility zoom lenses can offer.
Since telephoto lenses have an extremely narrow-angle of view, they exaggerate and amplify any movement or camera shake, leaving you with an unsharp of a blurry photo. This is best tempered with faster shutter speeds, solid tripod support, and image stabilization or vibration reduction in the lens.
Each lens has its own name for its proprietary technology, but by whatever name, it's highly recommended that this switch is turned ON, even if you're using the camera and lens on a tripod. Depending on the make and model of the lens, these features can reduce shake and allow handholding of the lens by 5 stops.
A lens can have all the technical specifications you like, but if it doesn't feel right in your hands, you won't be nearly as productive as you might hope. Notice where your hands naturally sit on the lens when you hold it to shoot, where the AF/MF switches and zoom ring are located in relation to where you might hold it. Is the lens too heavy for you to operate or even carry around? The lens – and camera also – need to feel comfortable and intuitive as if it was an extension of your own hands. If you're not sure, rent one for a week before you invest.
If you already own a telephoto lens and think about replacing it with a longer focal length, consider a teleconverter first. Tele-converters -also known as extenders or teleconverters - are lenses that fit between the camera body and your existing telephoto lens. They increase the focal length of the primary lens. The magnification effect depends on the converter's multiplication factor, usually 1.4x, 1.6x, or 2.0x, depending on the particular model. For example, if the primary lens is 300mm, adding a 1.4x teleconverter will magnify the focal length to 450mm, and a 2.0x model will result in a focal length of 600mm.
If this seems too good to be true, it's because teleconverters do come with a couple of drawbacks. First, adding a teleconverter results in a loss of resolution and image quality. If the lens and teleconverter are properly matched – ideally the same lens brand - the loss of quality might be small, but it's still real. Also, using a teleconverter reduces the maximum aperture of the primary lens. Two examples would be a 1.4x teleconverter cuts the widest aperture by one stop while a 2.0x does so by two. A 300mm f/4 prime lens becomes 450mm f/5.6 with a 1.4x extender and a 600mm f/8 with a 2.0x. Not all lenses are compatible with teleconverters, and you may lose your autofocus too, depending on the camera system and the maximum aperture of the lens being used. You'll want to research that before purchasing one. Some newer telephoto zoom lenses have built-in teleconverters, which can engage with the simple flip of a switch on the lens. This is more than just a convenience. This saves valuable time from switching lenses or adding a teleconverter, which might make the difference between getting the shot and missing it.
Filters are not nearly as important with wildlife photography as they are in other genres, such as landscape photography. Still, there are some shooting situations when they can be a helpful addition to your camera bag.
One filter that can be especially useful when shooting wildlife is a polarizing filter. A polarizing filter removes glare from wet surfaces, which can help when shooting wet animals whose skin or fur produces intense glare and reflections. For example, wet seals reflect a lot of distracting glare that a polarizing filter can help eliminate. Removing glare from water surfaces can be another situation where the polarizer is helpful. The downside to using one is that you lose approximately two stops of light when a polarizing filter is added. Wildlife photography is so often about speed and available light, so it's critical to understand the balance between the need for polarization and the need for speed for each situation.
Neutral density filters are darkened optical glass pieces that absorb some of the light before reaching your camera's imaging sensor. In other words, they purposefully reduce light to get longer shutter speeds. This is hardly helpful for most wildlife photography situations, but if you want to capture the illusion of motion with an animal or bird by panning the camera, you might need a neutral density filter to get that desired shutter speed.
If your telephoto lens has a front element size of 77 millimeters or smaller (a 300mm f/4 or 100-400mm lens, for example), you should use a screw-in polarizing filter attached to the front of the lens. For larger lenses - 400mm f/2.8, 500mm, 600mm, and 200-400mm f/4, as examples - there's a filter slot near the lens base for a drop-in filter.
Now let's recap what we just read:
The lens is the single most important decision when purchasing wildlife gear.
A telephoto lens is your most essential tool when photographing wildlife.
Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, so you must zoom with your feet. Zoom lenses allow for much more flexibility and creative compositions.
Lenses with a large maximum aperture are considered fast since they correspond to faster shutter speed, particularly in low light.
If you don't know a lens, rent it before you buy it.
Use Image Stabilization or Vibration Reduction on your lens.
You want a telephoto lens that is comfortable in your hands and is not too heavy.
Tele-converters can extend the reach of your lens but cost you some available light.
Filters, while not necessary, can be helpful in limited situations.
With cameras and lenses now under our belt, we're going to talk about different types of camera and lens supports when you're in the field in the next blog post so you can get the sharpest wildlife images possible.