In the space of just a little under a year I progressed from being a beginner at wildlife photography to dedicating as much free time as I could spare to it and I could see that my photography was including when I compared it to my past pictures. However, at the time I was using a Canon 1200D with a 75-300 mm f/4-5.6 lens. As any seasoned wildlife photographer knows the restricted zoom of a lens of that capacity and the restricted camera features hampered some of the shots I could have taken especially when the natural lighting wasn’t cooperating.

How I settled on buying a Nikon camera rather than another Canon was a journey involving a lot of researching and feedback from other wildlife photographers. As I’ve always used Canon cameras I initially considered buying the Canon 7D Mark II and rather than a Canon lens (because of their crazy prices) a Tamron 150-600 mm G2 lens. However, another photographer was using this exact combination and told me he was having some focusing issues. After a ton more research I considered the Sigma 150-600 mm lens but then I realized I was limiting my options by considering only Canon cameras.

Of course, more research followed and I settled on the Nikon D500 which is very popular with wildlife photographers. Luckily, the community of photographers around me is very cooperative and always willing to help with feedback. In keeping with this spirit another photographer told me that he was using the Nikon D500 and found it took the best pictures with the Nikon 200-500 mm lens. Most other photographers also agreed that Nikon cameras work best with Nikon lenses rather than the Sigma lens I was initially considering.

So after all this research and debate I ended up buying the Nikon D500 in combination with the Nikon 200-500 mm lens and let me tell you it’s a decision I’ve never regretted.