Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA.Ĭheaper, fixed-lens wildlife telephoto cameras Sections of the Chilean Flamingo are shown at 100% pixel view. Sony RX10 III is sharp across the frame throughout its breathtaking 25x zoom range, including at maximum telephoto 220mm (600mm equivalent) shown above. Further below, read more about wildlife telephoto lenses for legacy DSLR cameras, including acronyms explained (for image stabilization, ultrasonic focusing motors, and APS-C-only optimization) for major brands ( Nikon, Canon, Sigma, Tamron, Sony). The few remaining advantages of DSLRs include more legacy lenses, longer battery life and body durability. The latest mirrorless cameras are more compact for travel and use an electronic viewfinder (EVF) to better realize the goal of “what you see is what you get.” The autofocusing speed of mirrorless now rivals DSLR cameras. Legacy DSLR cameras use a bulky mirror box to bounce light from the lens into an optical viewfinder.Professional lenses like this are a heavy, bulky, and costly commitment for travelers and hikers like me.Add $6600 for f/4E FL ED VR 500mm Nikkor lens or add $8600 for f/4E FL ED VR 600mm Nikkor lens.
Upgrading to Nikon D5500 DSLR (2015, 15 oz body) adds $100. Nikon 500mm AF-S NIKKOR f/5.6E PF ED VR (51 oz, 4.17 x 9.33″, 95 mm filter size) mounted on Nikon D3300 DSLR (2014, 16 oz body).