Which camera is best?
The best camera you can have is the one that is with you when something happens — just please make sure that there is a card loaded and that the battery has power. Seriously though, you will want to consider a few things before making your decisions about whether to go on safari with your mobile phone, a compact zoom or a more sophisticated camera with detachable lenses. You will also need to ask how much money do you have to spend? How much camera gear do you want to lug around? Best advise is to visit your nearest camera store and see what fits your needs the best. Nikon, Canon, Sony or Olympus are the major brands on the market.
What do I use?
I am a Nikon shooter — and have been for 40 years. I have stuck with the brand because of their reliability and also brand loyalty. I have shot hundreds of thousands of shots and the only camera that has ever failed was one that I accidentally drowned in the Zambezi River.
The move to mirrorless
Mirrorless is the future as they are lighter and have blisteringly fast focus. In 5 years time most dSLR cameras and lenses are unlikely to be supported by manufacturers. But like the Land Rovers Defenders, there will still be people who can fix and maintain classics like the D5 and D850 cameras and they will still have great value and be supported by purists. If you want to get a great deal on good gear (even high end lenses) you can get great deals on cameras and lenses. Most modern mirrorless cameras do have adaptors for use with non-mirrorless bodies. I made a decision to offload all my non-mirrorless gear and to start rebuilding.
What’s in my bag
My choice of camera is a top end full frame Z8 and its ability to shoot in low light and focus tracking is arguably the best you can get. My longest lens is currently a Z 100 – 500 is probably the best value wildlife gear ever produced. It’s light and easy to get shots through the range and even though its aperture falls to 6.3 at full zoom its extremely sharp and produces really good bokeh. I also have an older Z6 which I use mostly with my wider lenses and for video. My two other lenses are an f4 14 – 30 which is great for shooting architecture and a 24 – 200 lens which is great for walks and street photography.
My wish list
I do get serious lens envy seeing other photographers with 400mm lenses and relish the wildlife close ups that are possible, but I earn my money being a guide and a lodge photographer and still can’t get my head around spending an extra $25 000 on that sort of glass. Also on my shopping list is a 70 – 200 f2.8 lens which is a bit heavier but is super good in low light and will be awesome for shooting wildlife in the twilight times.
Cost and weight
The kit is probably worth $7000 and my camera bag weighs about 14 kilograms and quite frankly it suits me just fine and produces great results and its small enough that I can carry into onto flights without paying for extra baggage and it fit easily in the front seat of the vehicle without taking up too much room.
