The right camera for wildlife photography

by Michelle Johnson
(Dublin, Ireland)

What type of camera(s) did you use when you first began your photography career? I need a new camera and want to make sure I buy the right one for wildlife images. I don't want to waste money buying a little digital camera that won't take perfect high quality pictures.

I don't know how many megapixels or how much optical or digital zoom I should look for, but if you have some pointers or advice it would be greatly appreciated!

Answer

My first camera was a Pentax ME Super but when I went digital I began using a Canon Powershot S1 IS compact camera which had 3.2 megapixels.

I currently use the Canon Powershot S5 IS compact and the Canon EOS 20D cameras which both have 8 megapixel sensors.

But before you even look at the megapixels and zooms you need to decide whether you want to buy a compact or SLR digital camera. There are advantages and disadvantages to either format for wildlife photography...

Here's how to choose between compact and SLR

Once you have answered that question you can go on to choose the camera with the correct megapixels and zoom.

So how many megapixels do you need? It depends on what you want to do with your photographs.

For photos you only want to use on the web or send by e-mail you can get away with a lower resolution like 3.2 megapixel with no problems.

If you want to print your photographs then you need a higher resolution. So roughly the more megapixels you have the bigger you will be able to make quality prints. As an example, an 8 megapixel sensor will allow you a 11x14 in. print of the best quality.

I believe that 8 megapixels is more than adequate for most wildlife photography requirements.

Digital zoom is not something I would recommend you use if you want quality photographs. It gets you a lot closer to the subject but degrades the picture quality a lot. Optical zoom is the only thing you should be looking at.

Concerning how much zoom you need for wildlife photography, there is no short answer to that question. I've written an article on how to find the best wildlife photography lenses here...

Top telephoto and zoom lenses

Hope this helps you with your purchase decision Michelle.

Bruce