For wildlife photography, faster mirrorless cameras with better auto focus such as the latest ‘eye af’ and up to 30 frames a second really do make a difference.

A year ago I bought my first mirrorless camera, a Canon R5 before switching to a Sony A1. The auto focus systems are so good with both systems, that they enabled me to take different kinds of shots to my previous Nikon D850 DSLR. Nikon have since released the Z9 mirrorless camera which is meant to be very good indeed.

Camera, Lenses, filters.

I currently use a Sony A1. I previously used a Canon R5 and Nikon D850. I know all these systems well and feel they all have their pros and cons. The Sony though is my current choice.

For wildlife work my current lenses are:

Sony 100-400, Sony 200-600 and Sony 600mm f4 including 1.4 and 2x tele converters…..

Tripods and supports.

I either shoot hand held, or when needed, use a tripod with a ‘Flexshooter Pro’ head which is smaller and therefore more portable than a gimble type support.

1. I use a ‘Gitzo traveller’ tripod when travelling light, and have a ‘Gitzo GT4553S’ when i need something more sturdy.

Editing

Gear:

1. Apple macbook pro 16” 2021 with both an “ASUS ProArt PA329C 32 Inch Professional Monitor” and “BenQ SW2700PT” as a third monitor.

2. Wacom Intuos tablet and pen (Medium). I could not edit in the way I want to without one. For me, this is an essential piece of equipment, giving the fine control of a painter but in the digital realm.

Software:

1. DXO PURE RAW

2. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

3. PHOTO MECHANIC

3. NIK AND TOPAZ PLUGINS