One of the most difficult decisions you will have to make concerns equipment selection. There are many excellent brands available to choose from. If you look at the people who make their living at photography, you will find that Nikon and Canon dominate. The following presents a list of features that the authors consider to be desirable in a camera system.* Working within your budget, try to get as many of them as possible:

Cameras:

• Basic exposure modes(aperture, shutter, manual modes)
• Battery supply, "AA's" better than difficult to find sizes
• Motor drive
• Mirror lockup
• Manual rewind, or very silent motor rewind
• Depth of field preview
• Vertical release
• Cable release
• Exposure compensation (1/3 or 1/2 stops)
• High flash sync ( 1/250 sec best)
• Autofocus (excellent for flight shots, but poor when there is a lot of clutter, generally hi-end cameras, top lenses for best results)
• Spot meter

Due to space limitations, it is difficult to explain the advantages of these features at this time. They will be elaborated upon in future articles. Please do not hesitate to contact either of the authors with any questions.

Lenses
It is better to spend more money on the lens than the camera. Investing your money into the best lens you can afford will yield better photographs than a more expensive camera body. Birds are very small subjects and in order to get a reasonable image size; you need long telephoto lenses. Each 50mm of lens is approximately equal to 1X on a binocular. (I.e. a 300mm lens = a 6x binocular) A 300mm lens can be used, but 400mm and up is desirable. If you look at most professionals, they use 500mm or 600mm lenses, often with teleconverters to increase the effective focal length.

Lenses are categorized according to focal length and f-stop. The f-stop determines the light gathering ability of the lens. Consider F5.6 as the minimum. The smaller the f-stop number, the more light it gathers and faster shutter speeds are possible. However, the cost and weight go up exponentially with each f-stop. 400mmF5.6 lenses are excellent starting points and can be had for a reasonable sum.

Off-brand makers such as Sigma and Tokina offer good quality for the price. For example, Tokina's AF400mmF5.6 was rated superior to a top brand in a recent lens review. For best value for your buck, watch the classifieds for a used lens, but test it appropriately before purchasing. (shoot a test roll) Regardless of the lens choice a lens tripod mount is essential.

Tripod
Buy a sturdier tripod than you think you will need. The best camera and telephoto lens are useless with a flimsy tripod. Manfrotto/Bogen are economical and excellent quality. Photographers with long telephoto lenses often use Gitzo tripods due to their greater weight carrying capacity.

Desirable Traits

Quick setup
With legs fully extended, you should not need to extend the center post for comfortable shooting. If you are using the center post alot, your tripod is too short. You want to avoid using the center post as it converts your tripod into a monopod with its inherent lack of stability. Avoid chrome or shiny finishes as reflections may disturb your subject.

Tripod Head
As birds are very fast and erratic in movement, it is easier to follow them if you do not have to adjust more than one lever at a time. Ballheads for this reason are ideally suited for bird photography. One lever is used to loosen the head and movement in any direction is then possible. The class of ballheads including Arca Swiss and Foba are top notch. Manfrotto/Bogen offer quality and are economical.

One essential item is quick release plates. They allow quick assembly and disassembly from the tripod. The Arca Swiss style is better in that it is less bulky and allows easy front to back positioning to balance the camera/lens combination.

Regardless of the brand you choose, familiarity and practice with your camera system will eventually produce results. Birds are often very alert and active, this makes for difficult photography. It is important to remember you will shoot a lot of film to get a few decent shots. Upgrading equipment or changing systems is an expensive proposition. Getting the "Right Stuff" early in your photography career will save money in the long run. This will allow you to concentrate on technique and not worry about the adequacy of your equipment.

Next month's article will cover techniques for using your vehicle as a photography blind.

* Subject of future articles

( Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume)