As expressed in our introduction, your output expectation and wallet will inevitably dictate how you choose a "getting started" kit. If you intend to move up to better quality equipment as time progresses, you will inevitably face the Canon - Nikon controversy. This is akin to the Mac - PC debate. We don't really feel there are any other serious contenders if wildlife photography is your bias. We chose Canon. Initial good results with a borrowed Canon D30 (at the time a leading edge digital camera body) was the deciding factor for us. If you already possess or have access to an EOS lens selection, interchangeability between film and digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera bodies will definitely influence your decision.

Camera Body

From our perspective, achieving a good initial result is simply a function of utilizing a quality "mid-range" long lens with a digital SLR camera body that has a basic feature set needed to photograph wildlife. Although equipment choice is seemingly endless, we would argue that it is simply a waste of time to start wildlife photography with a minimally featured camera body and poor quality lens.

When choosing a camera body, you will need a basic feature set that is essential if you want to achieve any degree of success early on. Besides autofocus, some camera definites are exposure compensation (essential as you learn to interpret colour and lighting conditions), a wide selection of ISO settings (required for lighting extremes), a good frame rate and buffer capability (to facilitate action shots), highlight alert (for instantly assessing exposure problems), mirror lockup (to reduce vibration at low shutter speeds), a depth-of-field preview button and a viewfinder conducive to your eyesight. A good first choice given current technology is the Canon EOS 40D.

Lens

As there are few digital cameras capable of capturing the equivalent of one frame of 35mm film, you will also want to assess the camera sensor size as it will have a multiplying affect on the focal length of the lens you are using. A good resource for understanding lens choice and functionality is the Lens Product Overview available from Canon. As you will encounter wildlife in varying degrees of light, distance and movement, you should ensure your initial lens choice has a specific set of adaptive features. From a practical perspective, this should be predicated on nothing more than "all purpose" unless you have decided to specialize, for example, in macro photography. In our opinion, this is easily satisfied with the Canon EF 100-400mm, F/4-5.6 IS USM lens. For us, there is no other logical starting point.

Flash

A pop-up flash will be largely a useless feature. We use a Canon Speedlite 580EX on the camera hot shoe for distances up to roughly 6 meters and attach a Better Beamer flash extender for longer shots. Ensure your camera and flash have "high-speed sync" capability. This feature is almost "always-on" when flash is required and has significantly reduced much of the complexity inherent with past systems. Although volumes have been written about flash, we would suggest the appropriate starting point would be a recent article at Naturescapes by Ralph Paonessa (High-Speed Sync For Flash At Any Shutter Speed). While you're there, check out Greg Downing's article on "Getting The Most From Your "Better Beamer" Flash X-Tender. Both can be found in the Archives.

Upgrading

We have actually evolved through several camera bodies and made other lens choices over time. This is simply a function of field experience and frustration as technology changes. For example, on an early trip to Hyder, Alaska we discovered how difficult it was to photograph moving subjects in low light with our initial digital camera body and telephoto lens in terms of getting a sharp image with sufficient depth of field to make a pleasing Web graphic or print. It was becoming patently obvious that we needed both a faster lens and a digital body with a better focus algorithym. We opted for a Canon EF 300mm, F/2.8L IS USM and Canon EOS-1D Mark II N respectively. The former is not a heavy lens and is absolutely a gem for hand held flight photography. The latter was an easy choice as it has arguably the best autofocus available in that price range. Moreover, on an earlier course where we experienced "controlled" perch photography, many of the course participants convinced us that the Canon EF 500mm, F/4L IS USM was a good all-round natural progression for gaining light-weight distance advantage.

As we progressed through more challenging field situations, it was also becoming obvious that we needed a broader lens selection in order to have any chance of taking advantage of the myriad of new and exciting opportunities that inevitably present themselves. This is especially true for certain portrait situations where larger subjects dictate the need for a shorter focal length. Moose or larger birds are good examples as they often come so close that a long lens is simply rendered ineffective. A good choice here is the Canon EF 70-200mm, F/2.8 L IS USM. You will also encounter many situations where the subject is close and the opportunity to include panorama backgound such as snow-capped mountains presents itself. Either the latter lens or a Canon EF 24-105mm, F/4L IS USM would be a natural choice.

When photographing Brown Bears at Brooks River we definitely missed some good action shots that were just out of range for our existing equipment. Photographers using a long lens with Canon 1.4 or 2.0 X II Extenders were having a field day! These are absolutely essential as they provide the ability to overcome distance in situations where it might be too dangerous to approach closer or when moving forward will unnecessarily stress the subject.

As we generally shoot in separate locations, we felt not having a backup body was becoming a definite drawback as wildlife generally move quickly and, more often than not, don't wait for you to change to a more appropriate lens. It's especially frustrating using a long lens when the subject suddenly decides to take a closer route, leaving little for you other than to change the lens or quickly compose close-ups. A handheld backup with an intermediate lens makes life a lot easier. We now utilize both a Canon EOS 40D and 5D for this purpose. It's worth noting that many advanced wildlife photographers simply deploy a redundant approach and carry two matching camera bodies.

The above hopefully gives you an indication of what logical progressions you will undoubtedly encounter as you gain field experience. As you can see, we share our base equipment using a main and backup concept and consider each essential as we travel and experience new locations.

Accessories

Choosing peripheral equipment is a matter of what you deem essential to supporting yourself in the field. In our experience, having the right equipment at hand, being dry and comfortable will definitely enhance your field experience. Here are a few things to think about.

Uppermost is the use of a long lens, usually 500mm or greater. Here you will need a sturdy tripod and head. Without exception, the preferred choices appear to be Gitzo and Wimberley respectively (we use a Gitzo GT3530LSV Carbon Fibre 6X and a Wimberly II with Arca-Swiss quick release lens plates). For our lighter and smaller lenses, we change the head to a Mongoose M-262.

You will also need to pack for air travel, day hikes and protect your equipment from habitat and the weather. As noted below, we each have a Think Tank Airport Security carry-on bag to guaranty our equipment is well packed and on our person when we travel. We carry a Lowepro Pro Trekker AW II back pack for day trips and protect our equipment with a combination of OP/TECH Cylindrical neopreme lens hood hats, LensCoat camouflage battern breaks and waterproof storm jackets.

Safe storage for data cards is also a must. We use Gepe Waterproof CardSafe Extreme holders. It is prudent to format cards rather than erase old files as it is best to use a new directory structure for each session. We are in the habit of placing empty cards face up in the card holder, reversing their position when full. We also decided to add some extra storage for use with the laptop that we use in the field to download, sort and ensure our production is backed up on a daily basis. We can't over emphasize the need to carry adequate disk space. External hard drives are cheap, provide redundancy and ensure any kind of disk failure won't ruin your trip. We use a Western Diagital 80GByte that stores easily and relies solely on USB connectivity (doesn't require a separate power supply). We actually carry two units to be completely safe. In the same vein, it's also practical to have fully charged spare batteries for your camera body and flash unit on hand. You'll be surprised at the number of people you will encounter that are unprepared for catastrophy, especially with dead batteries or depleted flash cards or other storage media.

We use a BLUBB (Big Lens Ultimate Bean Bag) when we shoot from our truck cab and keep an Ameristep Doghouse portable blind behind the seat with a couple of collapsible Walkstool's for seating.

A great place to buy peripheral equipment online is the Naturescapes Store. You will find their prices competitive and the proceeds help to offset the costs of running the Forum's and other venues.

Micro Computer, Monitor And Printer

Exiting the field and post processing output are definitely not separate environments. It is virtually axiomatic: