Lens Tutorial

Photographing wildlife is an experience that every photographer should have at least once in his life. But to get impressive photos of elephants, lions or birds, you'll need a good telephoto lens that can show the full splendor of the scene happening before your eyes. In this post, we'll talk about the best lenses for photographing wildlife. Photographing wildlife: the essential telephoto lensesMany photographers have started out taking pictures of birds, then landscapes and then tried astrophotography. But without a doubt, photographing wildlife is a unique experience. In addition to seeing wildlife in action, you will be able to show the natural scenes of these parks. As you must imagine, telephoto lenses are the best option for photographing wildlife, as they allow you to take first shots of scenes that are far away. But not all telephoto lenses allow us to take exceptional photos. You will also need additional accessories that will allow you to get as close as possible to the desired result. Equipment for photographing wildlife First of all, you need to consider the camera you will be working with to take wildlife photos. 1. Take into account the sensor of the cameraAs you know, there are different types of sensors that record the scene with more or less information. If you want to know which sensors exist, check out our article. In general, it is better to work with Full Frame cameras, because they have more photo cells, which allows to record a scene with greater color fidelity. However, APS-C cameras have another advantage when photographing wildlife. By applying the crop factor, a lens with a fixed focal length of 200mm can extend to 320mm with an APS-C camera, which will allow us to shoot even further. We will get very, very distant foregrounds. This is important because photographing wildlife can put us in danger. So the further away we are from the scene, without losing any detail, the better for us. 2. Take into account the advantages of the lensAs I said at the beginning of this article, not all telephoto lenses are going to give you impressive pictures of birds or wildlife. That's why before you invest in a new lens, there are some features to consider. Focal lengthAs you might have imagined, focal length is fundamental when you want to photograph wildlife. You won't get the same results with a 100mm lens as you would with a 900mm lens. The latter will give you results with more impact, although the former will be suitable for other modalities such as portraits. Telephoto lenses are perfect accessories for taking landscape photos, here we give you the 10 reasons why. So, you will have to think about whether you need a versatile lens or one more specific to landscape photography. So I come to this question: is it better to use a lens with a fixed focal length or a zoom lens? Just like the focal length, it will depend on how you want to use it. Zoom lenses are the most versatile lenses on the market because you can go from wide angle to telephoto in seconds. However, lenses with a fixed focal length will allow you to get sharper pictures. Aperture sizeAs you can already imagine, in the same way as for insect photos, the animals will be the protagonists of your wildlife shots. They won't pose for you, so you'll need equipment that reacts quickly to get the best results. You will need to work with very fast shutter speeds so that the animals are not blurred in your shots. When working with high shutter speeds, the camera will not have time to capture the light in the working area. You will have to play with the aperture to get the correct exposure. This means that you will also have to work with very bright telephoto lenses. An aperture of f/2.8 will be ideal to let in the light you need to photograph wildlife. Other advantagesBefore purchasing a lens for photographing wildlife, there are other factors that will help you choose one or another model such as the waterproofing of a lens. You should also consider the fact that you are working in places with external threats such as savannahs or forests, where dust, moisture or water will be present. For this reason, your lens must have a waterproof structure, which will not only allow you to work with peace of mind but will also ensure that your lens is safe. The other factor to consider, which will be of great help when shooting wildlife, is the image stabilizer. Not all lenses have this built in, but if you are lucky enough, use it. It will help reduce vibration in your photos. If your lens doesn't have an image stabilizer, you can use a tripod or monopod to provide the necessary stability. Using remote controls will also help you to get sharper and more vibration-free pictures.Read more: https://www.dzoptics.com/en/