After years of having photography as a side interest, and using compact digital cameras attached to a spotting scope (digiscoping) to illustrate my trip reports, I have started to use a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera) and attempt to do “serious” photography. Started would not be totally accurate, since many years ago (before digital cameras existed) I owned a SLR camera and a few lenses, but got tired of it and gave it up in favour of travelling light.

Digiscoping is fine if all you’re after is recording some of the species you see and preserving a few memories, and has the advantage that you can carry the camera in your pocket. Using a top-end telescope (in my case a Swarovski ATS 80 HD), it also offers a very long reach in terms of magnification, bigger than a 600 mm “traditional” lens. However, sharpness and detail are generally poor, and it’s very difficult to shoot moving objects, let alone birds in flight. You can easily see the difference in image quality in the galleries below, and in this web’s trip reports; up until Uganda II all photos are digiscoped. After that trip (October 2007), photos are taken with different DSLR models.

Before that second trip to Uganda I bought a Canon 400D and a 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO IS zoom lens; I was still a little obsessed with portability, and this is a lightweight combo. The results were not extraordinary, however, especially when it came to low lighting situations such as deep inside forests, and upon returning I changed it for a Canon 40D camera, and a 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS zoom lens. This is the equipment I took to my late 2007 Namibia trip, when I gave up digiscoping for good.

Recently I have purchased a Canon 1D Mark III camera and a few other lenses, including a Canon 500 f/4 L IS, which I use on a Gitzo tripod and a Wimberley II head. This has meant not only a significant investment, but also saying goodbye to my long-honoured tradition of travelling light. But once you’ve tasted the performance of such high quality equipment it’s hard to look back.

Below you can see some of my favourite shots so far, both from my digiscoping / compact camera days and after I took over DSLR photography. Most of them can be also seen under Trip Reports.