Sony Artisan Colby Brown (@ColbyBrownPhotography) has been a full-time professional photographer for close to twenty years. Specializing in wildlife, nature and travel photography, Colby teaches in-depth photography workshops to passionate clients across all seven continents year after year.
One of his favorite workshop destinations when it comes to wildlife photography is Costa Rica. The sheer amount of biodiversity that you can find there mixed with its small size and proximity to the United States make it an ideal location for wildlife lovers. But what kind of gear should you bring on your own Costa Rican wildlife adventure? Colby shares more inhis photography kit below.
Product Preview – In This Article You’ll Find:
–Sony Alpha 1 II
–Sony Alpha 9 III
–Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G
–Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II
–Sony 300mm f/2.8 G Master
–Sony 600mm f/4 G Master
–Sony 1.4x Teleconverter
–Sony 2x Teleconverter
Cameras
Sony Alpha 1 II: The Sony A1 II is a beast of a camera! The true “Jack of all Trades,” as the saying goes. While many features easily make this my favorite camera I have ever owned, these three features are essential in a destination like Costa Rica.
Resolution: With a 50mp sensor, you have a lot of resolution to play regarding your wildlife images. While some subjects will get close enough to fill your frame, many wildlife opportunities will have you photographing smaller species, such as birds, at a distance. The extra resolution can play a significant role when you must crop in on your subjects.
Photo by Colby Brown. Sony Alpha 1 II. Sony 300mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/800-sec., f/2.8, ISO 1250
Stabilization: The A1 II offers up to 8.5 stops of image stabilization. That is an insane amount! It makes it much easier to use the camera in low-light situations where you have to shoot at slower shutter speeds, but you still want tack sharp results.
Pre-Capture: While not endemic to just the A1 II in Sony’s camera lineup, Pre-Capture is a game changer when it comes to photographing wildlife. It is now so much easier to get sharp images of a bird taking off from a perch or a jungle cat leaping at its prey. Pre-capture allows you to time-travel into the past and record the time just before you take a photo. These days, I can’t live without it!
(Editor's Note: Check out Colby's Comprehensive Setup Guide for the Alpha 1 II.)
Sony Alpha 9 III: If you want Sony’s fastest camera, no other options comes close to the power and speed of the A9 III. Here are a few reasons I always have the A9 III in my gear bag when I travel to Costa Rica.
Speed (FPS) – If you have a need for speed, the A9 III is the camera for you! You can shoot up to 120fps…in PHOTO MODE! Until this camera was released, that was only an option when shooting slow-motion video. More frames means you have more chances to get the perfect shoot with your subject in the ideal position.
Photo by Colby Brown. Sony Alpha 9 III. Sony 600mm f/4 G Master. 1/2500-sec., f/4, ISO 4000
AF Powerhouse – Like the A1 II, the A9 III has a dedicated AI/AF processor whose sole purpose is to improve the camera's AF system. With the A9 III, the camera will identify and track your subject's body, head and eyes with more speed and precision than ever before.
Global Shutter – A first of its kind, the A9 III has the world’s first full-frame global shutter. This technology allows for the A9 III to do things other cameras simply can’t, such as capture photos & video with LEDs with zero banding or use shutter speeds up to 1/80,000-second.
Lenses
Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G: The Sony 90mm Macro lens is easily one of my favorite lenses. Not only because of my love of macro wildlife photography but because the lens is so sharp, I joke with my workshop clients that I can shave with it. Even though it is the oldest lens I have in my entire gear closet, there is no other lens I want in my gear bag more when it comes to getting up close with some of the most beautiful creatures in the world.
Photo by Colby Brown. Sony Alpha 1 II. Sony 300mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/200-sec., f/14, ISO 200
Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II: The Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II is the second generation of Sony’s popular 70-200mm GM series. Lighter, smaller, and sharper, the 70-200mm GM II improves in every possible way compared to the older model. For wildlife photography, a lens like this is critical to have in your gear bag because you often need a fast lens (f/2.8) when subjects end up getting much closer to you than you initially expected.
Photo by Colby Brown. Sony Alpha 1 II. Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II. 1/400-sec., f/3.2, ISO 1250
Sony 300mm f/2.8 G Master: A recent addition to my wildlife photography gear kit, the Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM is an incredible lens that is lightweight, portable, and tac-sharp (even when using the 1.4x or 2x Teleconverters). For any photographer who finds the larger prime lenses too large and heavy to handle, the 300mm is the perfect wildlife lens for you!
Photo by Colby Brown. Sony Alpha 1 II. Sony 300mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/3200-sec., f/2.8, ISO 3200
Sony 600mm f/4 G Master: When photographing birds, there is no better lens on the planet than the Sony 600mm f/4 GM. While expensive, the optical quality and compression you gain with your images make this an indispensable tool for any wildlife photographer.
Photo by Colby Brown. Sony Alpha 1 II. Sony 600mm f/4 G Master. 1/500-sec., f/4, ISO 2500
Accessories
Sony 1.4x Teleconverter & Sony 2x Teleconverter: When you need a little extra reach and you don’t mind losing a stop or two of light, the Sony 1.4 & 2x TCs are fantastic, especially with the bigger prime wildlife lenses.
Flash: I like to use a flash for macro wildlife photography. Mine outputs 65 watts of power.
Wireless Commander: A great touch screen commander that sits on your Hotshoe and allows you to control your off-camera flashes.
Flash Softboxes: You need to defuse the light coming off your flash to soften it before it hits your subjects when it comes to macro wildlife photography.
Custom AK Diffuser: Great for small macro subjects or when you don’t have someone that is willing to hold your external flash for you while doing macro wildlife photography.
Laptop: My go-to for backing up and processing photos/video when traveling.
Tripod & Video Head: While I often hand-hold my camera and lenses in most wildlife situations, a steady tripod (Leofoto LN-364C) with a precise video head (Benro WH-15) can make a huge difference when capturing unique video footage.
See more of Colby Brown’s work on his Alpha Universe Profile and on Instagram @ColbyBrownPhotography.
Check out Colby’s photography workshops here.
