What kind of digital camera do I need for shooting animal life?

What kind of digital camera do I need for shooting animal life?

Mark Comon (Vice President, Paul's Photo, Torrance, CA) gives expert video advice on: What kind of digital camera do I need if I'm a novice shooter?; What kind of digital camera do I need for shooting sports?; What kind of digital camera do I need for shooting portraits? and more...

Regarding digital camera needs, wildlife photography is very much like sports photography, so you'll find that you need a big zoom. If you're at the zoo or maybe on safari, maybe one of the compact cameras with a big zoom is great for doing that kind of photography, as long as the subjects aren't moving. If you want to take lion's charging, birds flying, or deer on the run, we have to look to the sports style camera, Therefore the mid level and above SLR, $15 to $3 for the camera plus a fairly big lens. A big zoom lens or a big fixed telephoto lens has the ability to shoot the moving subjects such as the animals running or flying. So, once again it's back to sports, whether you want to think about it that way or not, wildlife photography and sports photographers generally have the same camera equipment.