First, it appears clear that the already existing equipment of a photographer has an inordinate weight in everybody’s choice (you can dream of the Canon 300mm f/2.8; But if you are a Nikon lover, this may stay quite theoretical). Nevertheless, we must not mix our priorities: The presence of three or four “normal” lenses and of one or two SLR bodies in your photo bag, will not weight a lot in the decision to buy a 300mm or a 400mm prime lens. Do the math! You’d better sell everything if the aim is to get the best photo gear. Worse, it may seem hard but if you’re in Olympus gear (maybe with Pentax too, except if you’re both optimist and patient), your only path goes through “moving from that brand”.

Even more, we are often immoderately attached to our SLR bodies while they are obsolete after five years (and already late after a year). Sorry, but an SLR body is nothing more than consumable. On the opposite a good lens is bought for a long time (a kit zoom lens may be also considered as with no value on the second-hand market).

This is more or less the question that Sony is personally asking me. While I have a nice set of excellent lenses from Minolta-Sony-Zeiss, I start to hit the limits of the currently offered lens range that Sony moves only very slowly to the pro side. However, it’s still of small importance while my main body is a Sony Alpha 700 which can easily be described as “no longer top technology”. Since its launch, it has been distanced by the competition and Sony should seriously replace it as soon as possible.

It is often said that buying an SLR photo camera is more or less contracting a marriage. This is less and less true now that most people buy a kit including a long-range zoom and that they are ready to do the same three or five years later. On the opposite, investing a few thousand Euros (or Dollars) in lenses to satisfy your wildlife photo passion does not allow a quick and easy change of opinions. It’s not enough to see the launch of the EOS 5D MkII to leave Nikon or to discover the D7000 to drop Canon. Or you would have to seriously consider (and why not? We may may come back later to this) reselling all old gear on eBay.

We could see that Canon and Nikon are nearly perfectly armed to satisfy the wildlife/nature photographer. Maybe Canon has a slightly richer (or slightly more finely cut) range than Nikon. Sony is still quite insufficient and can only survive here with the enormous help of the second-hand market of Minolta. But a simple poll in the SUV/trucks of Objectif Nature, Amawanda or Terres Oubliées, in the hides of the Pyrénées or the Carpathian Mountains will confirm it: Canon and Nikon are the real masters.

This being said, let’s go and shoot some photos!

The articles themselves:

• Top SLR lenses for Canon
• Top SLR lenses for Nikon
• Top SLR lenses for Sony

You can also request the assistance of many web sites to evaluate the quality of SLR photo lenses.

Today, Sony extended this to include the excellent lenses from Carl Zeiss, but it is less significant than the already large set of tele-lenses from Minolta. Actually, this company had designed an impressive set of long focal prime lenses and a nice set of pro zoom lenses.

Wildlife photographers will actually find a wealth of very good quality lenses even if some of them are either second-hand lenses or re-branded Minolta lenses incorporated into the Sony line-up. But the best news for them is that since Sony incorporates Image Stabilization in the body rather than the lenses, all old Minolta glass immediately got IS when used on a Sony SLR camera like the Alpha 700 or the Alpha 900. A real treat for people willing to use second-hand lenses from eBay…

Amateur

If your priority is to keep the total budget at a rock bottom level, there are two interesting lenses to watch for. The first and most impressive one if the 70-400mm f/4-5,6G SAL-70400G. A recent design from Sony, this is widely considered as the best zoom lens of this category (Canon 100-400mm offering is just not as good and Nikon’s 80-400mm is clearly of lower quality). The price is not small but it gives quite a focal length range.

Interestingly, there is another lens that Sony wildlife SLR photographer should also consider: The 500mm f/8 Reflex SAL-500F80 is a mirror (or reflex) lens, so it brings all the good and bad of such a technology.

Good: Impossibly light 500mm lens (stabilized by the SLR body, of course) with a reasonable quality.

Bad: The fixed aperture is forcing to choose shutter speed against ISO sensitivity.

Bonus: While most mirror/reflex lenses do not allow AF, this is the only reflex lens on the market that can auto-focus on all the Alpha-series SLR bodies.

Speaking of cameras, Sony has a large choice (too large?) of SLR cameras. I will risk a recommendation of the Alpha 55. Despite being really flawed for video capture (an overheating sensor is strongly limiting the length of video clips), it offers an excellent 16MP digital APS-C photo sensor with good AF and amazingly fast continuous shooting rates (10 fps) if you can tolerate the ugly electronic viewfinder.

For landscape photography, use the Sony 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 DT SAL-1870 that will probably come in kit with your camera bosy. This is a bargain.

Enthusiast

The expert photographer will take advantage of second-hand lenses and this is the real good surprise of the Sony solution for wildlife and nature photographers. Prices can drop significantly here while I recommend taking advantage of the exceptional prime lenses available.

Your first choice must be second-hand since these are only from Minolta: Select the 300mm f/4 APO G and the 400mm f/4,5 APO G (two of the “white primes” of the pro G line of Minolta). Relatively light weight and impressively good quality makes these obvious choices. The only real issue is that the 400mm is very rare. You may have to spend some real time looking for it even on eBay. Despite that, prices stay at a reasonable level.

Quite significantly, all the APO G tele-lenses have been designed by Minolta with the focal multipliers in mind, to the point that the focal doubler doesn’t degrade images as much as doublers for Canon or Nikon brands). I recommend strongly the 1,4x multiplier from Sony (or the older Minolta branded if it is a mint-quality second-hand).

Currently, Sony problem is that there is no SLR body that can seriously be recommended here: The Alpha 55 electronic viewfinder will not satisfy any of the enthusiast photographers. The only reasonable choice is between the Alpha 850 (or Alpha 900) and the upcoming/promised replacement for the Alpha 700. A full frame SLR like the A850/A900 is tempting because of its exceptionally good price (under 2000$) but you will loose the focal extension provided by APS-C sensors while the A850/A900 are not very reactive (relatively slow AF and limited continuous shooting). The Alpha 700 is still a good camera at a very good price, but it is now ready for a replacement in 2011. If Sony does not install in it one of their (successful but ugly) electronic viewfinders, the Alpha 750 (tentative name) will be a better choice.

Complementing the initial prime tele-lenses, you would add a Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-2470Z (same as before) and possibly a Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-1635ZA. Both are expensive and heavy gear, but you can’t get any better.

In between, a Konica Minolta 200mm f/2.8 APO G AF would be a nice complement for a relatively short tele lens.

Pro

Unfortunately, Sony does not provide a perfect solution set at the pro level. The camera body choice will be limited by the same constraints as above for the expert/enthusiast (either A850/A900 or future A750). 2011 may also bring a new pro-level SLR camera body but nothing is really certain here.

Nevertheless, the long prime lens choice is relatively easy: Go for the Sony 300mm f/2.8 G SAL-300F28G which has all the bells and whistles of the top-quality glass deriving from the original Minolta design updated to the latest standards (including SSM smooth focus).

While you could keep the good old Minolta 400mm f/4,5 APO G previously mentioned, I am sure you are thinking about a 500mm. Unfortunately, while Sony has been showing models, we are still waiting for this lens (probably in February 2011). Quality should be there, since price and weight will be no issue.

As for the expert, before, these tele-lenses will be complemented with a Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-2470Z and a Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* SAL-1635ZA. I would also add the pro-level (G-series) Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G SAL-70200G zoom lens, for its quality and its SSM focus.

Conclusion

Really, Sony takes full advantage of the existing Minolta line-up of lenses. For example, the Minolta 400mm f/4,5 APO G is simply impressive for a cost usually under 2000$ and a weight compatible with most back-packs.

However, the mix of new technologies and relative lack of understanding of pro photographer needs for the SLR camera bodies, puts Sony is a dire position. It is no surprise that, currently, Sony cameras are not often seen in the bags of photo-safari travelers.

However, the arrival of new 2011 SLR bodies and of a world-class 500mm f/4 prime lens could gradually change this.

In between, Since we don’t often see wildlife photographers equipped with Sony gear, here is a David Bittner video clip where you may find some of the lenses lenses and camera bodies listed above. Will you be able to recognize the 300mm f/2.8 lens or the 70-200mm zoom?

Amateur

Since animals are always hard to approach (in an African safari as well as in a European forest), you must have a lens with the adequate focal length: As long as possible. 300mm is the strict minimum (400mm would be better). But if you want to stay in a tolerable price range (isn’t the amateur defined by his/her high sensitivity to cost issues), it would be better to purchase a zoom lens rather than a prime lens (with fixed focal length). It’s true that a zoom is also easier to handle and use when the distance is imposed by the approach conditions and limits).

Taking these into account, Nikon offers two actual possibilities, despite being very different ones. The first is a 70-300mm f/4,5-5,6 ED IF AF-S VR zoom. Its focal range is quite extended, it’s stabilized, it has super-sonic motor assisted AF, but -over everything else- its picture quality is an excellent surprise (considering its price: You can get it under 500€ on eBay – second-hand).

However, there is a second possibility to reach longer focal lengths: The 80-400mm f/4,5-5,6 D ED AF VR has an optimal focal range, a perfect weight (and handling) and vibration reduction (image stabilization). But the image quality is not totally there. This lens suffers from a relatively old design which will force you to strong post-treatment or to systematically work at f/8 with the longest focal (The most important and most often used one, of course).

Personally, I would prefer the 70-300mm (for its sharpness). But the choice is still difficult. One future event could make it easier and re-shuffle cards: All leaked informations indicate that Nikon is currently working on a new version of the 80-400mm (two recent patent applications are proof of it). We can easily imagine the arrival of an excellent 80-400mm at the end of 2011. If the price stays at a reasonable level (but certainly not under 1000€ anyway), the balance will be tipped toward this newer lens.

Whatever the tele-lens used, the amateur will nearly automatically attach it to a Nikon D7000. This successor to the glorious D90 is so well balanced and brings such an image quality that it’s difficult to recommend anything else right now (end of 2010, beginning of 2011).

In order to also allow landscape photography, I recommend to also bag an 18-70mm f/3,5-4,5 G ED IF AF-S DX. You’ll notice that it shares the same filter diameter (67mm) with the 70-300mm (a cent is a cent, right?). But, more importantly, this will be a well-balanced set for image quality.

Enthusiast

The photographer claiming to be an expert or willing to chase a more ambitious goal will not be contented with the above zoom lenses recommended to the amateur. Here again, I will have to ideas to share according to the depth of your pockets. If you want to go low in costs, look at a 300mm (possibly a second-hand one) like the 300mm f/4 IF ED which despite the lack of stabilization (no VR) has a great image quality to show.

Unfortunately, Nikon has nothing very convincing in terms of both quality and price around 400mm. It will be around and over 5000€ (second-hand!) that we will find the next two lenses despite their very different feature sets.

• If you favor a wide aperture (and its associated nice and soft backgrounds), you will look at the beautiful (but heavy) 400mm f/2,8 D IF-ED II AF-S (or the 400mm f/2,8 G ED AF-S VR which is slightly less expensive and stabilized). It has many fans for a good reason.
• Personally, I fall for the surprising 200-400mm f/4 G IF-ED A-S VR. Its sharpness stays quite homogeneous (and very high) over the focal range and over the aperture range. It’s only drawback: You’re not the only one to know it and the price does not drop much on the second-hand market.

One specificity of the Nikon lens offering is to include excellent focal multipliers. Like nearly all its competitors, the doubler (x2.0) sacrificed too much of image sharpness but the x1.4 and also x1.7 multipliers are impressively good tools.

If you limit yourself to a maximum f/4 aperture and if you use a focal multiplier, it is important to have an SLR body able to produce nice pictures up to 1600 ISO. The Nikon D7000 is still the best candidate here. It’s only drawback is the small size of its image buffer which will limit the number of pictures stored in continuous shooting mode (you will have to keep a light finger on the shutter button)

Add to that solution a low focal length complement. The exceptional 70-200mm f/2,8 G AF-S ED VR II is strongly recommended for this; And complement it with a 17-55mm f/2,8 G IF-ED AF-S DX, very beautiful lens for landscape photography on the excellent DX sensor (in “APS-C” size) of the Nikon D7000.

Pro

But Nikon really shines when you want the best possible quality. If your budget has no limit (or if your dad is Ben Bernanke), Nikon has it all. The fame of the yellow brand is made exactly out of this, and it shows. But, be ready to invest sums that are really not available to mere mortals.

The professional range of tele-lenses of Nikon no longer needs to be presented; You only have to choose from it. I have difficulties recommending the 600mm f/4 D EF-ID II AF-S because of its 4.8 kg / 10.7 lb. weight. Laurent Baheux is the only one I know who uses it without a tripod (often on some kind of support anyway). But he is a wildlife photographer trained as a sports pro photographer. It could be associated to a 400mm f/2,8 D ED-IF II AF-S.

But I would rather be tempted by the more reasonable weight association (Still, make an appointment with your physiotherapist) of a 300mm f/2,8 ED AF-S VR II and a 500mm f/4 D ED-IF II AF-S (The latter also is no less than 3.4 kg / 7.5 lb.) which will be complemented with a x1.4 focal multiplier for a very extended coverage.

Since we’re no longer afraid of anything, the SLR body will naturally be a Nikon D3s for its enormous sensitivity (ISO 6400 is OK for beautiful pictures and it’s not frightened of ISO 102,400).

Do you still have some space left in your bad? Add a 70-200mm f/2,8 G AF-S ED VR II zoom and a 14-24mm f/2,8 G ED AF-S zoom for settings less strongly under the wildlife influence.

Conclusion

As you easily noticed, the Nikon range is more extensive for (or more well targeted to) the pro photographers than the amateur or even the enthusiast. We could be tempted to chose another brand, but, with Nikon, we do long-time investments (which is a major permanent recommendation when speaking about purchasing lenses). Moreover, the NIKON offering of SLR bodies is currently the most impressive and the most powerful on the market (It will change for sure).

The wildlife photographer will be easily contented at Nikon.

Amateur

The obvious priority of the amateur will be, for sure, to completely master his/her budget, while keeping in mind that wildlife photo requires a large focal length.

So, at Canon, there is no doubt about the lens to select; This will be the famous 100-400mm f/4-5,6 L IS USM. After all, for a price somewhat reasonable (taking into account the maximum focal length of 400mm), it is a good lens. Not perfect (it does not have the quality of the prime tele-lenses from the same brand and the maximum aperture has nothing to impress while still compatible with auto-focus), but terribly powerful (the focal length variation is done just by pushing the “pump“).

photo credit: damir.ME

I should also say that this the zoom that its owners love to hate. There are some real issues, but they can be handled:

• The useful “pump” earns its name when working in a dusty environment. The sensor will be copiously dusted even without removing the lens from the body.
• The stabilization is using Canon’s first generation technology. It would be good to upgrade it now. But Canon does not seem to be ready to prepare a version II yet.
• This is all the more annoying because this stabilization has the bad reputation of breaking down (too?) often. And Canon, considering that this is a wearing part, excludes it from the warranty and will charge more than 400€ for repair.
• Last but not least, this 100-400mm also has the bad fame of being subject to sample variation in quality. Some go to the extreme of recommending not to buy it online without a return warranty.

All in all, this is not a surprise that this lens is so frequently present in safari cars and in bird hideouts.

In order to provide an SLR body up to the task, I would suggest the Canon EOS 60D (rather than the Canon EOS 550D) for its reactivity, its well contained price and its weather resistance always needed for outside operation. Moreover, the 18MP sensor will be perfect to support significant re-framing without too much quality loss.

As you will also take some time to do some landscaping, put a 24-105mm f/4 IS USM in your bag. It will ideally complement the tele-zoom in terms of focal length and it has a nice price.

Enthusiast

However, the expert photographer will not be satisfied with the quality of the 100-400mm (it shows its limits on the EOS 7D). He/she will look at the prime lenses. Canon has a superb offering but you need to have very deep pockets and strong shoulders to haul most of the L-series gear. Otherwise, there are some possibilities to check thoroughly, tele-lenses that are no longer in the news but which kept there excellent image performance.

In order to keep a good coverage, I recommend to select the 300mm f/4 L IS USM and the 400mm f/5,6 L USM. These two lenses are often ignored (the 400mm because it does not have the image stabilization) but they have optimal quality). Their maximum aperture is nothing great but this won’t be an issue with the high sensitivity of today’s sensors. Moreover, they can accept the x1.4 focal multiplier (The focal doubler from Canon will be left alone because it degrades images too much).

Now, about the body, Canon has exactly what you need to power these tele-lenses: The Canon EOS 7D. It brought a clear progress for auto-focus and continuous shooting to a range that was in dire need compared to Nikon’s most recent offering. Its ability to produce good pictures at ISO 1600 will be appreciated to compensate for the limited aperture of the selected tele-lens primes.

The only thing left is to complement this with shorter focal length. The excellent 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II USM cannot be beaten. And we will add the nice EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM which, while not part of the L series has the needed definition to correctly feed the strong needs of the Canon EOS 7D sensor.

There’s more: The advantage of slightly old tele-lenses is that they are relatively easy to find on the second-hand market (for example on eBay). This will reduce the tab too; It was already climbing quite high.

Pro

Now, we need to go from tabs to major invoices. The pro photographer has requirements widely over the limits of most wallets, even the more enthusiast ones. If you don’t want to be frightened here, you should no longer look at the prices: Most people will buy a car for the kind of prices we are going to reach to equip a pro wildlife photographer, but we cannot be greedy if we need top quality.

Canon L-series tele-lenses are at the top of the shopping list. First and foremost, the 300mm f/2,8 L IS USM is king here. It has been considered by most reviewers as simply the best lens ever. The price is scary but the weight is also frightening: 2.55 kg / 5.6 lb. Its successor is coming around the beginning of 2011, with a slightly lower weight but the cost will climb toward 7000€.

It will probably be associated to a superb 500mm f/4 L IS USM, despite being even heavier and more expensive; But you will feel like Michel and Christine Denis-Huot when they wander on the Masai Mara plains in Kenya.

The recommended body will also be a Canon EOS 7D (Yes! It has seduced many pros including those mentioned above). But if you are attracted to large sensors, a Canon EOS 5D MkII will add very pro video capture.

As before, the tele-lenses will be complemented with the 70-200mm f/2,8 L IS USM and EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM.

But, if you went the Full Frame way, you’ll need some changes. To start with, the 17-55mm wide-angle zoom does not cover the field of the large sensor, it will be replaced with a EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM. Then, if you don’t want to compromise quality with a x1.4 focal multier, the 300mm and 500mm will probably be replaced with a 400mm f/2,8 L IS USM and a 600mm f/4 L IS USM. But the weight is becoming really astounding (prohibitive?) and the tripod is now unavoidable.

Conclusion

It is easy to admit that the choice offered by the lens offering from Canon is impressive and this explains how anybody can find what they want, what they need, what they can pay.

Photo Marc Wunderlich – I’m on the left, along with Alain Saunier, our photo guide from Objectif Nature.

Photo-shooting big mammals (mainly in Africa) is one of these activities which feed the fire of passion in many photographers (me included), and have most others dreaming. But you soon discover that lenses are more important (or critical) that the camera itself. If light conditions are often favorable (except in forests), getting top-quality pictures while staying far from the subject is requiring nice glass gear with long focal length. This is why so many wildlife photographers are equipped with enormous tele-lenses. Of course, most professionals will simply choose the best gear for their needs. But most of us mere mortals, up to the Big Cash Prize on our next casino rampage, will be willing to optimize the investment (we will be speaking in thousands of Euros, mind you).

Generally speaking, if you can’t buy true monsters like the 600mm f/4 from Canon or Nikon, the use of an APS-C digital photo sensor (instead of a Full Frame) is assuredly recommended. But what are the best solutions offered by the major brands on the market?

In several posts, I am going to propose recommendations (it could be easy since I won’t pay the final bill) for one of the following photographers: An amateur willing to go on safari but going light (both on the shoulders and the credit card); An expert shooting for the best image quality (often ready to switch to prime lenses instead of the all-in-one zoom lens); or a Pro grabbing the best of the best.

As a matter of fact, in the coming days, we will be publishing a series of articles, one for each of the big brands:

• Top SLR lenses for Canon
• Top SLR lenses for Nikon
• Top SLR lenses for Sony

photo credit: davidgsteadman

When buying a photo camera, we often research in order to decide if this is the best camera, if its features will be goo enough, but will it be robust enough? Will it be useful or necessary to purchase a warranty contract extension? Will it fail very soon?

When somebody asks me these questions (and it happens quite often since I consider myself some kind of photography expert), I am usually without good answers; Nobody really speaks about this dirty little secret: Reliability of photo cameras is a taboo issue. In most cases, talking only happens for very extreme situations (I will not mention any pro camera events in the past few years). But on a daily basis, will my camera follow me everywhere? will it survive the bad treatment I will apply? Or will it fail at the sight of the first cloud (of dust or rain)? Preferably just a couple of days after the end of the warranty period?

photo credit: Orin Zebest

So, I decided to collect more than the usual information to try and answer these questions with more than: Entry-level cameras are too cheap to be robust, are less protected than pro cameras; And, mechanics fail more than electronics.

And, I found a few interesting articles with adequate documentation. Of course, they are the rightful product of the business of some shops repairing or renting equipment and accepting to share their data with us.

And I found interesting data. For example, there is nearly no information on photo cameras, or camera bodies. But SquareTrade published rather detailed report about the repairs they did in the recent years (though mostly on point-n-shoot cameras) with some frightfully clear conclusions, like:

• More than 10% of the cameras failed before 2 years
• The statistical projection tells that there are/will-be more than 15% failure within 3 years
• Accidents are a major cause for failure: 40% of cameras were broken in such a way; We are rougher than our cameras!
• The more expensive, the more robust
• For SLR cameras, Canon and Nikon go hand-in-hand

And to think that the failure rate of major brands is around 4% within two years for a camera whose price is nearing 1000€…

But, look at the graph below:

I would like to believe that you can extend these figures out of point-n-shoots and into the SLR market, but my own professional experience with quality and reliability management (in the automotive world, if you want to know) tells me that we should not even try.

On the opposite, I found additional data about interchangeable lenses to plug into our SLR cameras. Two studies from LensPlay and LensRentals bring some more light to the issue.

From LensPlay, hundreds of lenses and users have been analyzed: among the voluntary answers provided for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Minolta/Sony, Tamron, Tokina and Sigma, only Minolta/Sony produced less than 200 answers (a pretty nice representation of the market).

LensRental gives us a finer status because they go down to a model-by-model level. So, it’s no longer necessary to compare brands, but you can get a good idea of which glass piece is more fragile or more sturdy than others, forgetting about the good (or bad) fames.

We also appreciate a lot some of the additional comments like:

• The super tele prime lenses (300mm f/2.8, 400mm f/2.8, 500mm f/4, 600mm f/4) from either Canon or Nikon are among the more reliable lenses (their simplicity is probably a good reason for such a score).
• The Sigma 120-400mm & 150-500mm had a 45% repair rate (as long as they were included in the LensRentals catalog of products).
• The Canon 50mm f/1.2 and Sigma 100-300mm are well under 10% (which is considered a good level in LensRentals)

Of course, these raw figures must be taken with a grain of salt: Rentals are often more mis-handled than bought parts, but the relative results are quite certainly representative of the underlying reality. And for example, the Canon 100-400mm seems to have an unfair bad fame about the reliability of its stabilization mechanism.

All in all, many reasons to treat your photo hardware with some care…

Sources:

• PetaPixel
• LensPlay
• LensRentals