There are hundreds of different bird photography kits out there. On this page is a short list of recommendations of combinations that I would personally be happy shooting.
Handholdable Combinations
These are my recommendations for combinations that you can walk with and hold all day without any tripods or other support mechanisms:
- Nikon D500 + 500mm f/5.6 PF (best combination for the money)
- Nikon Z8/Z9 + 500mm f/5.6 PF
- Nikon Z8/Z9 + 600mm f/6.3 PF
- Canon R5 / R6 II + 100-500mm f/5.6-7.1
- Sony a9 II / Sony a1 + 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3
I only recommend the D500 because it’s so cheap and such a great value. But if you’re going to go full-frame, either the D850 or the D5/D6, you might as well save up a bit more and go for a used Z8. In my opinion, mirrorless cameras offer real and significant advantages over DLSRs, with the only downside being no optical viewfinder experience and shorter battery life.
Heavy Ones
Here are the heavy ones that either need the user to rest in between shots or use some sort of support. Or at least they require significant strain if you’re somewhat strong:
- Nikon Z8/Z9 + Nikon 600mm f/4 Z TC (or 600mm f/4E)
- Nikon Z8/Z9 + Nikon 400mm f/2.8 Z TC (or 500mm f/4E)
- Canon R5 / R6 II + Canon RF 600mm f/4
- Sony a9 II / a1 + Sony 600mm f/4 GM
I wouldn’t really recommend the older Nikon 400mm f/2.8E for bird photography because it doesn’t have a built-in TC and at that point if you’re going to buy such an expensive lens you might as well go for the 500mm f/4E because you’ll always be cropping anyway with the 400mm f/2.8E on full-frame except in exceptional circumstances.
I would highly recommend taking a look at used DSLR versions of the supertelephoto primes. They are often going for about half their original price. The only downside to those ones are that they are typically heavier. (Yes, they may also not have built-in teleconverters but that’s a small price to pay for saving at least five thousand dollars!)