MY GEAR
I do not believe that the gear matters much as long as you do not feel restricted by its capabilities. With that said, you obviously become more demanding as technology and your own skills develop. Fast autofocus with tracking capabilities and frame rates of 20 to 30 pictures per second is naturally attractive features to any wildlife photographer.
To me It is though a constant battle between the fascination and capability of gear and the ability to travel light and carry my gear around for days. I easily hike 20 to 25 kilometers in a day and then it becomes important to only carry what you need. To me versatility clearly comes before geeky specs. That is why I do not use prime lenses but live with the compromise of a zoom lens despite the slight lack in sharpness and significant lack of light. It’s also why I carry around a terrible and way too small tripod with a hopelessly unstable ball head.
Cameras & Lenses
I’m a Canon guy and my primary camera series is the Canon R5, both mkI and MKII and mostly mounted with a battery grip. Most of the time I use the Canon RF 200-800 mm but usually I also carry the Canon RF 24-105 with me for macro, landscape, etc.
Drone
I have been using the DJI mini series drones for years and current model is the DJI mini 4 pro. I’m aware that my choice of the mini series is compromising the picture quality but again, versatility clearly comes before geeky specs. Fortunately the camera quality of the mini series has improved over the recent years and I value the freedom of flight that I get from staying below 500g.
Action Cam
As of the Insta360 v.4 I started using the Insta cameras for situational filming and recently I upgraded to v.5. Picture quality is at best moderat, dynamic range is really poor but robustness and applicability is good together with the post edit options enabled by the fact that it’s a 360 camera.
Post processing software
On purpose I limit my post processing toolbox to Lightroom and due to ease of process it’s even further limited to the Lightroom Mobile version. This is both to limit my level of post processing but also to maintain a simple workflow that will work when on the road or sitting in a tent.
Mobility
I spend a lot of time on location. Sometimes in a combination of hiking and tent, but in most cases I use my campervan as advanced base as it provides a more solid shelter to me and my gear. This makes it easy to be on location for a longer period of time, even when the weather gets rough.
The van is equipped with power and connectivity capabilities to keep my equipment charged and in good condition while also allowing for photo editing and upload even on remote locations.