Marcus Hawkins, writer

We call in an expert to reveal the hottest kit for cold-weather wildlife photography

Many of us amateur photographers hibernate during winter, for fear of not being able to take good shots. But you can! Marcus shows you how

the reader

Paul Stevens

IT specialist Paul is a keen walker and birder who wants to get serious about taking pictures of nature. He feels he’s being let down by his current kit and is ready to invest.

10Páramo Halcon

jacket

Field-tested by outdoor photographers and wildlife cameramen, this jacket offers premium all-weather protection and more pockets than a pool table. The Nikwax Analogy Waterproof fabric and generous cut allow for easy, rustle-free movement, while a fleecelined collar and hand-warmer pockets, a wire-rimmed hood and reinforced shoulders offer enhanced comfort.

£330, paramo-clothing.com

20Manfrotto

290 Xtra Carbon tripod

Telephoto lenses are hard to hold over extended periods, but a tripod will ease the burden. Manfrotto’s 290 Xtra leg set is a versatile upgrade option, being a lightweight 1.5kg, but able to support a payload of up to 5kg. It can get down low for ground-level shooting, too. Here we’ve twinned it with a Manfrotto XPRO Ball Head in magnesium with a 200PL quick-release plate (£114.95).

£194.95, manfrotto.co.uk

03 Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD -Plus binoculars

To get close to nature, you need to be able to spot it in the first place. Yes, these bins are pricey, but you get what you pay for in terms of optics and build quality. The rubberised shell protects your investment as well as offering grip in the wet, while fluoride lenses and Schott HT glass prisms ensure brightness and crisp contrast.

£1,350, en.leica-camera.com

the expert

Marcus Hawkins

Formerly editor of

Digital Camera magazine, Marcus has a passion for nature photography, and knows his telephoto lenses and outdoor-photography tech inside out.

04Canon

EOS 7D Mark II

With a durable magnesium-alloy body and weather-sealed controls, the EOS 7D Mark II is right at home in the great outdoors. A flexible, responsive 65point autofocus system and a blistering shooting speed of up to ten frames per second mean it can easily capture fast-moving critters. Alternatively, take advantage of its 60p Full HD movie recording to capture nature in slow-mo.

£1,299, canon.co.uk

05Sigma

150-600mm f/5-6.3 Sport lens

When you can’t get physically close to the animals and birds you’re trying to photograph, you need a long lens that can effectively ‘pull them in’. This 150-600mm ‘hyper-zoom’ hits the sweet spot between price and performance, offering excellent optical quality, a dust- and splash-proof design, and a new accelerometer-driven Optical Stabiliser to reduce unwanted blur.

£1,599.99, sigma-imaging-uk.com

60Lowepro

Whistler BP 350 AW backpack

When it comes to schlepping your kit in the wilderness, a backpack beats a traditional shoulder bag every time. This one blends comfort with capacity, and boasts a detachable All Weather AW Cover to shrug off rain and snow, along with a hinged back, giving you access to gear without having to expose the pack’s full innards to the elements.

£257, lowepro.co.uk