Telephoto lenses for wildlife photography +amp; safari
Not everything works with one lens, at some point everyone faces the question: how do I get even closer? Especially in wildlife photography, it is often the case that the cropping of the image is no longer as successful as one imagines.
Telephoto lenses usually help here exactly when you want to zoom in even closer to your subject. With a telephoto lens like the Tamron 150-600 mm, or a 70-200 mm lens (telezoom), even the little robin will be captured in full size and splendor on the camera's sensor.
Advantages of telephoto lenses
- Preservation of depth of field
- Undisturbed shot of the animal from a distance
- Calmer animal
- Safety distance possible
- More flexibility
Tips for animal photography
We have written down some tips for different types of animal photographers, maybe there is one for you:
Nikon Z 70-200 mm f/2.8 - picture by Terobes ArtsNikon Z 70-200 mm f/2.8 - image by Terobes Arts- Move slowly and calmly. Take your time
- Do not chase animals. If they flee, let them go
- Do not push the animals to elicit emotions from them
- Move at the eye level of the animal
- Inform yourself about the animals you want to photograph. (Where do they live? When is their mating season?)
- Do not approach nests or dens with young. The parents may attack you.
- Focus on the eyes of the animals
- Show the animals in the habitat
- Observe and capture the animal's emotions
- Keep moving to find the best angle/perspective
- Pets are good for practice
- Reward your animal model
Typical focal lengths for animal +amp; dog photography
If you want to take great shots of your dog, then the following lens focal lengths may be of interest to you! Everything is of course a "can" and not a "must" as it is in photography. But we want to show you what has worked for other photographers in the past.
- 70-200mm - Flexibility +amp; speed and a good open aperture
- 35mm - If it may be sometimes a little more wide angle
- 50mm - The standard! 50mm almost always works
- 85mm - Good cropping, great open aperture +amp; soft bokeh
- 135mm - Especially soft bokeh
- 14mm - Special +amp; fun shots in the area of distortion of muzzle and co.
The Tele Allrounder Lens - The 70 - 200 mm
Whether f/4 or f/2.8, the 70-200 mm zoom lens is part of the standard inventory of many photographers, because it is characterized by its maximum flexibility. Whether for sports photography, animal +amp; bird photography, aircraft photography, wedding photography or other photographic theme worlds, the 70-200 mm is usually one of the most mentioned lenses! It is a faithful companion, but also unfortunately not the cheapest. Many brands offer their own version of this classic, whether Canon, Nikon, Sony, Tamron or Sigma.
Especially the popular f/2.8 variant is particularly fast and is usually equipped with a fast focus system.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS III USM Canon EF
Professional zoom with continuous high speed and excellent imaging performance
- Powerful L series telephoto lens
- High speed of f/2.8
- Four UD lenses
- Close focusing distance: approx. 1.5 m
- Seals against dust and moisture
- 8-blade iris diaphragm
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Canon RF
- extremely short, can be placed vertically in the pocket
- fast Nano-USM autofocus motor
- 5-stage optical image stabilizer
- outstanding 70 cm closest focusing distance
- full dust and splash water protection
- suitable for professionals with outstanding imaging performance
- detachable tripod clamp included in delivery
- suitable for the Canon EOS R system
Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S
- fast telephoto zoom for Nikon Z cameras
- Focal length range of 70-200mm
- continuous light intensity of f/2.8
- with function button
- OLED information display
- extensive sealing against weather conditions
Nikon AF-S Nikkor E 70-200mm f/2.8 FL ED VR
- professional telephoto lens
- suitable for full frame format (FX)
- improved image stabilizer
- extremely high imaging performance
Sony SEL 70-200mm f/2.8 GM2 OSS Sony FE mount
- 4 XD linear motors provide excellent AF speed, precision and tracking (both photo and video)
- excellent G Master resolution and bokeh in an exceptionally lightweight design
- constant light intensity F2.8
- integrated optical image stabilization
- circular aperture with 11 blades
- Nano coating reduces unwanted light reflections
- Dust and moisture resistant
Safari photography / wildlife photography with large zoom focal lengths
Out in the wild or in the canopy, sometimes you can't get closer to your animal models, this is where super telephoto lenses come into play which allow you to get closer to your model without startling it. Be it a 150-600mm, or a 200-600mm. Meanwhile, the market of super telephoto lenses is growing not only from the camera brand manufacturers, but also from other manufacturers such as Tamron or Sigma.
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS S Sony FE mount
- with high-speed autofocus
- OS function
- Internal focusing
- AFL button (3 buttons)
- Zoom torque switch
- supports DMF and AF+MF
- Super multi-layer coating
- Water and oil repellent coating (front lens)
- Focus mode switch
- Focus range limiter
- OS switch
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS S Sony FE mount
- Full frame telephoto macro lens
- suitable for mirrorless full frame cameras
- Image stabilization
- fast VXD autofocus
- max. magnification: 1:3.1 (WIDE) / 1:3.7 (TELE)
- Close-up: 0.6m (WIDE), 1.8m (TELE)
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 Di VC USD G2 Nikon FX
- VC image stabilizer ensures sharp, blur-free images and a steady viewfinder image
- Powerful ultrasonic motor for fast and dynamic subjects, whisper-quiet, precise and manual control possible at any time
- eBAND coating: nano-structured coating against unwanted reflections and artifact
- Lens element for higher image sharpness and correction of chromatic aberration
- Zoom lock mechanism (ZL)
Ambitious lens focal lengths
Professionals in portrait photography swear by a fixed focal length, but what about in wildlife +amp; bird photography? Again, we can say that a telephoto fixed focal length is a popular lens because it combines many features such as:
- High imaging performance
- Speed
- better focusing / better focus motor
Here, many professional photographers like to use the focal lengths 400 mm, 600 mm or 800 mm. In rare cases it goes even further up to 1200 mm.
Nikon Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S
- Full-frame super telephoto lens
- robust and especially light, razor sharp
- fast and quiet focusing
- powerful image stabilizer
- suitable for Nikon mirrorless full-frame cameras (FX format)
- compact and lightweight body
- high imaging performance
- excellent resolution
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM
- Super telephoto lens
- long focal length for full frame cameras
- very compact with 537 mm length
- very light, only 3340g
- 4-stage image stabilizer with IBIS
Accessories for animal photography
We show here again some accessories, which are particularly suitable in animal photography. Here you will find especially an extender / converter in the photo backpack, which extends the used focal length, often the following converters are in use: 1.4x, 2x. This extends the focal length by 1.4x, so that 400 mm becomes 560 mm. This has not only advantages, because by extending the focal length you lose on the other side exposure performance / sharpness and light intensity.
Especially when you wait a long time for your subject, in addition to your own clothes, the lens / camera should also have a camouflage. A camouflaged lens, lowers the probability that you will be discovered because whether black or white, both colors do not really occur in nature and are perceived by animals faster.
If you are already looking for a spot for the day in the morning, we recommend that you take a stool or a camouflage tent with you.
Canon Extender RF 1,4
- RF 1.4x
- extends lens focal length by a factor of 1.4
- more depth without loss of image quality
- high imaging performance
Canon Extender RF 2x
- Extender
- RF 2x
- extends lens focal length by a factor of 2
- high imaging performance
Nikon Tele-converter Nikkor Z 1,4x
- Z-Teleconverter TC-1,4x
- extends the focal length range of compatible NIKKOR Z lenses by 40%
- for sharp, high-resolution images
- Lens closest focusing distance remains unchanged
- made of durable, textured and anodized aluminum
- sealed against dust and moisture
Nikon Tele-Converter Nikkor Z 2,0x
- Z-Teleconverter TC-2,0x
- extends the focal length range of compatible NIKKOR Z lenses by 100%
- for sharp, high-resolution images
- Close focusing distance of the lens remains unchanged
- made of durable, textured and anodized aluminum
- sealed against dust and moisture
Sony Teleconverter SEL-14TC 1.4x Teleconverter Sony FE-Mount
- Extends the focal length by a factor of 1.4
- Extends focal length without sacrificing resolution
- A practical tool for minimizing equipment size
- Compatible with various lenses
- Compact alternative to bulky auxiliary lenses
Sony Teleconverter SEL-20TC 2.0x Teleconverter Sony FE-Mount
- 2x teleconverter
- 35 mm full frame
- suitable for Sony SEL70200GM compatible
- suitable for Sony SEL100400GM compatible
