Travelling Light
Corfu Greece - Little Egret - 700mm at f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 900
Everything is a compromise … travelling with camera gear is no exception. Particularly if it involves air travel. Camera gear is expensive and delicate. Not something you’ll readily put in the hold. That means hand luggage only – which means you are somewhat restricted. If you are travelling long haul for a rare and special trip to photograph wildlife, the decisions around what to bring can become even more tricky. The trip is a treat – a special occasion – not something most of us can easily and readily repeat. So, you want to ensure you have the kit you need to take advantage of the opportunity.
Ideally, that means plenty of reach (to get as many pixels on the animals as possible), fast lenses (to ensure you can shoot in low light), at least two bodies (for redundancy and easy switching between focal lengths), and the necessary accessories. Wildlife means long focal lengths. Preferably 400mm minimum and often longer. For birds even 700mm - 800mm can be desirable. For bigger animals and ‘animalscapes’ 100mm-400m is good, and you often want to bring something wide for the odd landscape or sunset shot.
Corfu Greece - Black-Winged Stilt - 700mm at f/8, 1/400s, ISO 1250
The kit is also dictated by the type of trip you’re planning. Is it vehicle based (African safari)? Is it trekking in the wilderness on foot over long distances? Is it to the dense tropical rainforest? Is photography the sole purpose of the trip, or are you combining photography with other activities?
Frequently, for air-travel I go as minimal and light as possible – particularly when I am (relatively) relaxed as to the compromise this entails, such as trips where photography is not the main or only focus. For example, when I manage to ‘sneak off’ to do my photography whilst on a family holiday. The compromise is something I can live with as the enjoyment of the trip is more than the photography. Although, it can often lead to ‘I wish …’ moments, when that extra stop of light or a different focal length would have been better. The flip side is the lack of stress dealing with airline staff, overhead on-board storage space, lugging a large backpack and the angst around any additional gear in the hold not making it to the destination.
Paxos Greece - Dragonfly - 700mm at f/8, 1/800s, ISO 200
This ‘minimal and light’ travel setup is what I used on a recent family trip to the Greek Islands. It is perfect for slipping out before sunrise and grabbing a few precious hours when the light is good and the animals are active. I explored the local countryside on repeated mornings and quickly found a few spots to observe the wildlife and capture a few decent shots. I even added a couple of new bird species to my list :-) The Black-Winged Stilt, a Water Rail (sculking in the shadows) and the Sardinian Warbler.
Paxos Greece - The Sardinian Warbler was tricky to shoot in the dense foliage - 700mm at f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 2000
What did I bring to Greece? The backpack of my choice is the Mindshift 26L. I find it to be of high quality, sturdy and not too big. So, here’s what gets packed in the Mindshift in the ‘travelling minimal’ scenario:
The Nikon 500mm f5.6 PF: This is just a magical, clever, high-quality lens – incredibly light weight, compact and with good reach
The Nikon TC1.4E iii Teleconverter: To give me that added reach for smaller birds, albeit at a reduced maximum aperture of f8, but very useable. It works well with the 500mm PF lens
The Nikon Z7ii: Lightweight and with a great sensor with plenty of pixels for cropping. Granted, this is not a speed demon, but with care and thoughtful use of the AF modes good action shots are possible … but it clearly doesn’t hold a candle to the Z9
The Nikon FTZ adapter: To attach the Z camera to the 500mm F lens
An extra battery and an extra XQD card
A 3rd party Z7ii battery charger (Ravpower) for its small footprint
Lens cleaning pads and a rocket blower …
… and that’s it! No extra body, and only two focal lengths: 500mm or 700mm. Total focus on smaller wildlife.
Granted it is limited, but particularly for birds it can be all you need. It is actually rather liberating. You focus more on how to compose with what you got than worrying about what lens to use. It is also easy to carry and readily hand-holdable. It easily fits in hand-luggage and only weighs in at 2.5kg! (excluding the extra battery and charger, and of course the weight of the backpack itself).
Corfu Greece - Insanely long legs compared to the body size of this Black-Winged Stilt - 700mm at f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 900
Clearly if you have an issue with your camera or the one lens you’re done. There is no back up here. Also, you’re limited to f5.6 or even f8 with the teleconverter. You start to move up in ISO numbers on those dawn trips in a dense forest or in poor light. Although, with VR and good technique you can reduce the shutter speed considerably for static subjects.
Going forward I will consider adding the Nikon Z 28mm f2/8 pancake prime to this set-up to give me a wide option at a minimal extra weight (155 grams), although for wider shots I tend to just rely on the iPhone!
Paxos Greece - Who says one can’t shoot action with the Nikon Z7ii? A Hummingbird Hawk-Moth - 500mm at f/8, 1/3200s, ISO 1800
This ‘minimal setup’ is a great compromise. At 2.5kg it has an impressive weight to performance ratio, and it made for some enjoyable mornings shooting local wildlife. The alternative would most likely have meant leaving my gear at home for this holiday, rather than the added complications of hauling heavier cameras and lenses … and I would have missed out on the Sardinian Warbler and the Black-Winged Stilt. In that case I might have managed to finish the book I brought on holiday … but the book can wait ;-)
Corfu Greece - Little Egret - 700mm at f/8, 1/1000s, ISO 200
Paxos Greece - This rodent found a novel way of crossing the road via a telephone wire - 700mm at f/8, 1/60s, ISO 1000