Cameras

 I am 100% digital and have been so now for the last 4 years, 95% of my images are taken with the Canon 1DS MK11 which gives a file size of 47mb this is accepted by most agencies without any interpolation. 4.5% of my images are taken with the Canon 1D MK11 which gives a file size of 24mb these are interpolated up using Genuine fractals. This camera has a speed of 8fps which for some action sequences is essential the 1DS MK11 only gives 4fps which although adequate for most things is a bit slow for fast action plus because of the larger file size the buffer soon fills up and you can loose that good shot. I have just invested in 2 new Sandisk 4gb Extreme 111 compact flash cards hoping the buffer will clear a bit quicker, hopefully Canons next update will have a bigger buffer and faster frame rate. The other .5% are taken with the Canon 20D this also gives a 24mb file but has a crop factor of 1.6 which on extreme close ups gives me a small advantage with depth of field, but just lately I have been using the 1DSMK11 and cropping in a bit then uprezing the file and I am finding I like the results more an example of which is below.

                                    Pine Hawk-moth (Hyloicus pinastri) Egg on Pine needle

 Lens

For close ups as above I use the Canon MP-E 65mm 1 - 5 times life size, I love this lens it makes shots like the egg above so easy as compared with using Bellows or tubes. Up to 2.5 times life size I use f16 2.5 to 5 times I use f8 as diffraction can become a problem. For life size up I use the Canon 180 macro which I find very sharp and gives a good working distance. For semi telephoto I use the Canon 300 2.8 which is a very fast and sharp lens and gives good background control as the example below.

                                                         Puffin (Fratercula arctica) Skokholm

For Telephoto work I use the Canon 600mmf4 which is a very nice sharp lens but its a heavy lump to carry about, good job I am strong! For wide angle work I use the Canon 16-35mm zoom

Flash

For close up work I use the Canon MT 24EX twin light which gives very pleasing results, for main flash work I use the Canon 550 EX and the 580EX these I find give very good results the only thing I dislike is when using as fill in for birds the pre flash will spook the subject so I do tend to go to manual when this happens. For high speed work I use  4 or 5 guns working together to give a very short exposure duration this works very well for in flight shots in the studio as you can see below.