Having A Proper Lens For Bird Photography

^{Note: This tip comes from page 3-7 in Tobie Schalkwyk’s free eBook - Bird Photography: Most Popular Lenses}

What do we mean by ‘a proper lens’? Pro Bird Photographer Tobie Schalkwyk did a ton of research to answer this question for us. He did not rely on Google for an answer; he knew you could do that alone. Instead, he talked to dozens of bird photography groups and forum members, asking them what lenses they were using and why.

In this Quick Tip, Tobie will guide you through a quick look at why some lenses are popular and what makes them render nice bird photographs.

What are the properties that drive the sales of lenses used for bird photography? Some of these reasons may be more important than others. The importance of each attribute may differ from one person to another, but the main ones are as follows:

SHARPNESS: Any bird photographer wants his or her viewer(s) to look at a bird image and say, “Wow, look at the detail!” For a lot of photographers, sharpness is the main factor in choosing a lens. The lenses that occupy the top spot in birding are certainly the brand-name prime lenses, from 300mm to 600mm.

Size & Weight: This is an important consideration when buying a ‘bird lens.’ The fact that they vary from 800g to 5kg (1.5lb to 11lb) in weight is a huge consideration, especially if you’re planning on carrying it on hikes! Many top bird photographers who own 500mm/600mm prime lenses would rather use a much lighter 300mm/400mm prime lens 80% of the time, just because of weight.

Zoom Capable: Have you ever looked at a beautiful bird through your lens, but you’re too close to capture the entire bird in your frame? That’s frustrating because you know that opportunity might never offer itself again! Some prime lens photographers carry a second body and lens on standby for events like this.

Focus Speed & Tracking Abilities: This is a huge consideration when shooting birds in flight. This is simply a function of what you can afford, as the price of lenses goes up in line with their ability to focus fast and track. Your camera plays an important role here, as well as the lens. But there is no doubt that sharper prime lenses make focusing speed and tracking a lot easier for the camera body.

Want more? If you want to learn more about bird photography, and capture beautiful shots of your own, we recommend downloading and printing out Photzy’s 10 Bird Photography Cheat Sheets (Special bonus available now!)