I'm Upgrading My Birding And Wildlife Kit

These days I find myself much more often going out and attempting to photograph birds and wildlife.  In the past, I rarely (once a year or so) practiced these types of photography so I couldn't convince myself to spend the money and invest in top-tier gear that performs at a very high level for the very limited amount of time I spend photographing these subjects.  However, since now I going out much more and shooting birds-in-flight, "birds on a stick," as its called, as well as wildlife, I decided to upgrade my kit.  

Photographing birds is one of the hardest genres of photography I've ever explored and I haven't been entirely happy with my previous results.  I had done a lot of research on 'best practices' as well as often times went out and practiced weekly.  More often than not I found myself disappointed with the percentage of 'sharply focused' images I brought home.  By ‘sharply focused’ I mean the bird’s or animal’s eye is pin sharp.  Not almost pin sharp and certainly not seriously out of focus.  A sharp eye is the test.

This type of less than acceptable result was again reinforced last week when I spent three days photographing birds at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.  I was using my OM-1 and 100-400mm lens.  Although I came home with some very nice images, I certainly didn’t reach the level of success I would expect.  Yes, evidently gear does matter sometimes.  

In my previous several bird photography outings with both my OM-1 and Fujifilm X-H2S using the 150-600mm lens, I used absolutely my best technique, never shot with a shutter speed slower than 1/1600th second (mostly 1/2500th second), shot in bursts of 5 to 10 images with bird subject detection activated but found that often times the AF would lock on to the bird, show me the green box (meaning the target is in sharp focus), then the AF would drift out of focus but still showing the green box, then back in focus all during a single burst.  I’m talking about birds standing still, not flying quickly across the sky.  Other times the AF would lock on for one or more bursts and the AF would never drift off the eye.  That was very frustrating when editing my images after returning home.  So, gear can matter.  Well, I think it is more about the sophistication of the technology in the camera than fundamentally the camera itself.  Again, this happened with both my OM and Fujifilm systems.

This repeatedly occurring resulted in me deciding that I would sell the X-H2S and the 150-600mm lens.  I would keep the OM-1 because I will use it primarily for all kinds of other photography, particularly travel photography.  My plan would include also selling my Nikon Z7II and, sometime in the near future, acquiring a Nikon Z8.  The Z8's capabilities when it comes to the technology inside the camera, from everything I've researched, is on a much higher level.

I want to make it clear that the Fujifilm X-H2S combined with the 150-600mm lens as well as the OM-1 combined with the 100-400mm lens are both decent camera/lens combinations for photographing birds and wildlife.  Decent.  They just don’t allow me to reach the level of success I personally desire.  I feel they are holding me back.  There are too many misses when it comes to locking on to birds and staying locked on.  There’s nothing wrong with either and I will use the OM kit in the future.  Just not for bird photography unless I’m traveling and am restricted to size and weight of my kit.  If I do use it for birding in the future, I’ll know what results to expect.

Because of this lack of a level of success that I want to achieve I decided to make a move to get a camera whose capabilities should increase my success rate.  I have thought about this for months but had been holding off making a move.  I know, I know.  We’re still thinking it's not about the gear but about the photographer.  Well, it is and it isn't.  You can't very well photograph a Formula 1 race with a Holga camera, can you?

So...recently (before I thought I would), I bought a Nikon Z8.  I couldn't resist.  I am on Nikon's email list and I received an email about their refurbished gear being on sale.  The Z8 was available at an $800 discount.  That was too hard to pass up.  I've purchased many refurbished items from Nikon (Olympus as well) in the past and all have been in "like new" condition and I've never had a problem.  So, I didn't worry about purchasing this camera from them.  Yes, it comes with a warranty.

Just a few days ago (February 6, 2024), Nikon announced the availability of Z8 firmware version 2.0.  This firmware version not only places the Z8's AF on fully the same level as the flagship Z9's, but also adds features such as Auto Capture, which enables the ability to use the camera as a 'camera trap' to automatically capture subjects when they move into a predesignated area.  It also adds the high resolution imaging mode found in the Zf that can give you images with as much as 180mp resolution.  Additionally, other features have been added such as the ability to scroll through the different autofocus area modes just by pressing a button.  No menu, no press and rotate a dial.  Also from the Zf camera, Nikon added Flat Monochrome and Deep Tone Monochrome as well as Rich Tone Portrait picture styles.  I loved the monochrome from the Zf.  Another feature that I personally will find useful is the ability to change the border width of the lines of the AF boxes.  I know that sometimes I have a problem locating it somewhere in my EVF when a subject is very busy or is very bright.  There are many others as well—more than a dozen more.  All these additions effectively take the Z8 beyond the level of the Z9 as it now has features the Z9 doesn't.  I'm impressed Nikon!  Thank you!  Nikon has taken the Z8 from an excellent camera now to an incredible camera.  For free!  (Why didn't OM do the same thing with the OM-1?  Instead they make you buy a new camera to get fixes, improvements and features that should have been included in the original camera.  But that is another post...)

Now, why would I make all these changes when I had four really excellent cameras?  There are a few other reasons for the changes other than I stated above.  First, as you've already read, I've not been satisfied with the subject detection AF in my current cameras so I thought, as in the past, that instead of returning from a trip and being a bit disappointed with the results, I would take the leap and buy a camera that has the technology that allows me to nail the focus on those birds-in-flight, stationary birds as well as wildlife, etc.  

Second, the X-H2S and my OM-1 have 26mp and 20mp respectively.  Although I think the number of pixels are adequate for general photography I find, oftentimes, that birds are farther away than I would like and I find I have to crop in more than I'm comfortable doing to arrive at my final composition—even using an 800mm equivalent lens.  Generally speaking, 24mp should be enough for any of us.  But with the fine detail in birds feathers (which I derive pleasure from seeing), those details can be lost by lack of resolving power of the sensor itself at long distances.  I now think a camera for birds and wildlife needs more than 20 or 26mp.  I thought that 20-26mp would be enough but I now think I’m wrong in some circumstances.  

My X-T5 has 40mp but by nature of the controls, lacks an easy way to save most camera settings.  It doesn't work very well for these kinds of subjects when you need to change many settings very quickly—like switching from photographing stationary birds to birds-in-flight.  I started looking for something that had 40mp+ and the ability to save almost all settings to custom banks.  That allows a single button push or dial change to enable changes of many settings simultaneously.  The Z8 will fill these two requirements nicely.

Third, being a Nikon shooter since 1974 and loving my D850 before I moved to mirrorless, the Z8, in my mind, is the reincarnation of the D850.  That camera brought me a lot of pleasure over the years and I miss shooting with it.  The D850 was always a pleasure to use.  Using Nikon cameras is like being with a lifelong friend.  I’m just very comfortable with them.  I’ve owned at least one Nikon continuously since, as I mentioned, 1974.

Fourth, for the past five years my wife and I have been the primary caretakers of her 99-year old mother.  We have been almost completely saddled with staying home and not traveling.  I've been able to make a few very short photo trips, but we've not been able to take any cross country road trips since 2019.  So, we aren't spending any money on travel, vacations, etc.  The result is that funds I have set aside for discretionary spending are adequate to fund the purchase.  I don't have to skip meals or medication!

Finally, in order to offset the cost as well as keep gear to a minimum, I sold my Nikon Z7II, Fujifilm X-H2S and Fujifilm 150-600mm lens as I no longer will need them.  The Z8 nicely takes the place of both cameras—a high resolution 45.7mp sensor of the Z7II and the extreme speed of the X-H2S.  To complete the revamp of my kit, I have a Nikon 180-600mm lens on (back) order.  Who knows when it will ship as this lens is very well regarded and is sold out everywhere.  If anyone knows of a small, local dealer who has one for sale that is not artificially marked up above MSRP, let me know in a comment.  Thank you in advance.

But there are some downsides that I feel obligated to mention.  The Nikon combination is larger and heavier than my Fujifilm or OM kits as well as a bit more expensive.  So I don’t plan on doing any future long distance traveling by air with the pair.  The OM system, which I am keeping will fit the travel bill nicely.  That kit can also work for birds and wildlife, albeit at a lower performance rate than the Nikon kit.  Also, if you are wondering, no I won't be selling my Fujifilm X-T5.  That still remains my favorite camera.  I still have all my other Fujifilm gear.

Your thoughts?  Am I foolish?  (I probably should not ask that question!)  Am I expecting too much from the Fujifilm and OM gear?  Are my standards too high?  Is my logic sound?  Will I regret selling off the X-H2S and 150-600mm lens?  Time will tell.

I'll let you know when the 180-600mm lens finally arrives.  I'm looking forward to using it.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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