Nikon

Things to Bring

The main items of equipment you’ll need for wildlife photography are:

Bring Spare Batteries, Memory Cards, and Battery Chargers

Most wildlife photography involves extended periods of time. It is recommended to bring extra fully-charged batteries, empty memory cards, and a battery charger.

Recommended Lenses for Wildlife Photography

Lenses recommended for wildlife photography and their characteristics are as follows.

NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S

A 400 mm lens with a built-in 1.4× teleconverter allows you to quickly change focal lengths to suit the scene and capture vivid images of even a small wild bird in motion.

© Roie Galitz

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₁₆₀₀ s
  • Aperture: f/4
  • Focal length: 560 mm
  • ISO sensitivity: ISO 400

NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S

A compact 400mm lens allows you to chase a wild bird handheld in vast landscapes and capture precious moments when you can even see their breath.

© Michelle Valberg

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₁₀₀₀ s
  • Aperture: f/4.5
  • Focal length: 400 mm
  • ISO sensitivity: ISO 1000

NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S

A 600 mm lens with a built-in 1.4× teleconverter allows you to quickly change focal lengths and capture the skin texture of wildlife with incredible realism.

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₅₀₀ s
  • Aperture: f/4
  • Focal length: 600 mm
  • ISO sensitivity: ISO 1600

NIKKOR Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S

A 600 mm lens, which has been significantly reduced in size and weight by adopting a Phase Fresnel (PF) element, allows you to easily track a wild bird in flight handheld.

© Ramesh Karmakar

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₃₂₀₀ s
  • Aperture: f/6.3
  • Focal length: 600 mm (equivalent to 900 mm in 35 mm format with DX crop)
  • ISO sensitivity: ISO 2000

NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S

An 800 mm lens, which has been reduced in size and weight by adopting a Phase Fresnel (PF) element, allows you to capture the tender moments of wild creatures as they are from a distance.

© Edin Whitehead

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₃₂₀₀ s
  • Aperture: f/6.3
  • Focal length: 800 mm

NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S

A 70–200 mm zoom lens, which combines the overwhelming imaging performance of an aperture of f/2.8 with a wide focal length range, is one of the basic equipment for wildlife photography.

© Mohan Thomas

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₆₄₀ s
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Exposure compensation: +1.3 EV
  • Focal length: 115 mm

NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S

A 100–400 mm zoom lens, which is small and lightweight yet has high optical performance, allows you to clearly capture even moving ferocious animals from a distance by combining smooth zooming over a wide range with animal-detection AF on the Z 9 and Z 8.

© Jogi Francis

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₄₀₀ s
  • Aperture: f/6.3
  • Focal length: 230 mm

NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR

A 180–600 mm zoom lens with an optimized weight balance and zoom mechanism allows you to capture precious moments without getting close to delicate small animals.

© Natsumi Handa

Shooting conditions:

  • Shutter speed: ¹/₅₀₀ s
  • Aperture: f/5.6
  • Focal length: 180 mm
  • ISO sensitivity: ISO 1250

NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S

A 105 mm micro lens, with a focus on beautiful bokeh and resolution, allows you to capture small insects and other creatures in vivid detail.

© Katarina Jencova

(This image is an NEF (RAW) image taken and converted to TIFF using Capture NX-D, and then finished using third-party software as a photographer's artwork.)