Hardware

My very first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 2100 for taking snapshots on vacations. Switching to DSLR, I quickly went from a Nikon D40 to a Nikon D60 and finally settled with a D300s. All these cameras have APS-C sensors, which I consider very practical: The cameras are smaller and lighter, and the perceived increase of 50% in focal length is a nice bonus.

Initially I waited for Nikon to continue its line of semi-professional APS-C cameras with a successor to the D300s (informally called D400). After it became clear that such a camera would not get released soon, I switched to my first full frame camera, a D800. So far I am impressed with the increased resolution and sharpness.

I soon realized that my main interest was nature and wildlife photography, and the 70-200mm zoom that was part of the D40 kit became way to small and slow. So I bought a Sigma 120-400mm telezoom. Together with the D60, I was able to take some nice pictures, but more often than not, this combination let me down. The situation improved with the D300s, as the autofocus became much faster and more accurate. Yet I was looking for something more professional, so in a weak moment I got the big Nikkor lens.

The Sigma lens is great for shooting freehand, something that is much harder with the Nikkor. As a quick remedy, I used a monopod, which is okay for stationary targets. But following starting birds or anything too far away from the horizon is error prone or simply impossible. A gimbal head was the needed solution, and after reading great reviews about the Wimberley head, I decided to use that one. I shot for a few weeks from an old borrowed Gitzo Studex 320 tripod before I decided to buy me my own tripod. I realised during these tests, that aligning the gimbal head horizontally is very important, so I added a leveling base.

As I cannot afford much more weight to carry with me, I use a Walther 8x42 binocular. The quality is okay for daylight observations, and compared with other brands it's a real bargain.