ESSENTIAL GEAR

The kit Paul relies on for capturing pro-quality shots

FULL-FRAME MIRRORLESS CAMERA 1

Paul shoots on a Canon EOS R5, while Rebecca shoots on an EOS 1100D; however we were able to get hold of an EOS R6 for her to test out on the day. Both the EOS R5 and R6 use the Canon’s full-frame mirrorless RF mount, and they also have blistering maximum burst rates of up to 40fps, and boast Canon’s incredible animal eye detection autofocus. The big distinction between the two camera bodies is the sensor resolution, with the EOS R5 being 45MP while the EOS R6 is 21MP.

LONG ZOOM LENS 2

Paul uses a variety of zoom lenses for his wildlife work, and which lens he uses will depend on what he’s shooting. For larger animals he might choose a 70-200mm f/2.8L, which offers great image quality and has a wide maximum aperture, which enables fast shutter speeds and also makes it easy to blur backgrounds. However, for small birds, a lens such as his RF 100-500mm is more suitable to get frame-filling shots of such tiny and agile subjects.

EF-EOS R ADAPTER 3

Paul has recently switched from his old Canon EOS1D X Mk II to the full-frame mirrorless EOS R5. He’s still in the process of migrating his lenses over, so he uses the EF-EOS R mount adapter, which enables him to use his old Canon EF mount lenses for DSLRs on his RF-mount mirrorless EOS R5. His EF-EOS R adapter also has a control ring on it, allowing him to quickly change core settings when he’s out in the field and speed is of the essence.

SUPER-TELEPHOTO PRIME LENSES 4

When Paul needs the best image quality and he knows his subject is going to be far away, he uses a Canon super-telephoto prime lens such as the EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM or RF 400mm F2.8L IS USM. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, so you need to ‘zoom with your feet’ to get closer to or further away from subjects to make them larger or smaller in the frame. These top-tier lenses produce the best sharpness and have lightning-fast autofocus systems, but they’re very expensive.