Birds of the Philippines
Photos and videos of wild birds found in the Philippines. We travel all over the Philippines to document and take pictures of birds. Our goal is to make this site a resource of information and images about wild birds of the Philippines.
Photography Gear
In this page we will talk about the gear we use, our favorite bits of kit, what we like and what we don't like. Hopefully this will be helpful for those who are thinking about similar gear and are looking for some field reviews. Our experience is based on our trips in the Philippines which has its own unique challenges to the wild bird photographer. We have a nation of 7,107 islands, rainforests, mountains, rivers and dirt trails, sun, rain, moisture, extreme heat and some cold weather. Its not easy to prepare for every situation, so its nice to have gear can handle the varied outdoor conditions.
Unique to the Philippines is the challenge of taking pictures of birds that are very wary of humans. We have visited a few other countries and bird photography is usually easier in other countries because the birds are friendlier. The habitat destruction, the hunting by humans and the general lack of infrastructure make Philippine Bird photography more difficult. I think these challenges are sometimes reflected in the kind of gear we choose.
We will keep updating entries to keep track of the performance, reliability, and durability of these products.
300 f2.8 Rig
Canon 300mm f2.8
Canon 5d Mark 2
Canon 2x TC series III
Feisol 3471
Markins M10 Ballhead
Specs of Canon 300mm f2.8
Length without hood: 5.0 x 9.9" (128 x 252mm)
Weight: 5.6 lbs. (2,550g)
Minimum Focusing : 8.2' (2.5m)
Sylvia's wanted to have a rig that performed well but was light enough for her to carry. While it is always nice to have the longest possible lens the weight of a 500mm was something that she did not think was enjoyable. Her gear is optimized with weight savings in mind. In fact her rig is almost 5 pounds lighter than mine. It is much easier to carry over a long distance. It is also shorter so it is easier to shoot without a tripod or from a car window.
The 300mm f2.8 is a very sharp lens. It is supposed to be the sharpest lens Canon makes. It has very fast AF and has IS.
Most of the weight savings come from the lens and the ballhead. We use the same model camera body and tripod.
She has a Canon 1.4x Series II and a Canon 2x Series III extender in her bag so she can make her lens into a 420mm or 600mm. She also has a 7D body with a 1.6 crop factor if she want to go even longer.
Bird gear for photography can get very heavy and the weight can actually keep you from going to the more difficult areas with the interesting birds. Sylvia decided to go with a lighter system rather than a longer and bigger lens.
If you have some problems with weight and can't carry a rig like this maybe you should also look at the review of the three lighter lenses that can be found in this section of Photography Gear.
Canon 300mm f2.8canon 5d mk2SylviaSylvia ramosCanon 2x series IIIfeisolmarkinsTonji RamosphotographygearbirdCanon
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