If there’s one photographer whose word carries weight in the wildlife photography community it has to be Brendon Cremer. He’s won multiple awards of which most recently he received best photo at the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards for his captivating photograph of a leopard drinking water. Subsequently we decided it’s only fitting that he gives us a list of essential wildlife gear for professional photographers.

Award winning photograph of a leopard drinking water by Brendon Cremer

Must-have professional wildlife photography gear and essential accessories:

Nikon D850

This professional camera is a multimedia DSLR that brings together robust stills capabilities along with apt movie and time-lapse. It promises unparalleled versatility by combining high-speed and high-resolution capabilities in one superior imaging tool and proves that speed and resolution can indeed coexist.

Nikon D500

Every professional photographer needs two cameras in their bag. Whether your one camera jams, the battery dies or you drop it; a backup camera is a must. While sleek in stature, the D500 is by no means slim on functionality and versatility. 3D Tracking works to benefit maintained focusing on moving subjects for greater accuracy when shooting at high continuous shooting speeds, which is exactly what a wildlife photographer needs.

Lenses

He makes use of four lenses: Nikon 400mm f/2.8, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and a Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 lens. This combination of photographic capabilities ensures he’ll be ready no matter the shot.

Lioness picking up her cub photographed by Brendon Cremer

Nikon SB-910 Speedlight and Godox PB960 battery pack

Brendon loves this combination of speed and power. The SB-910 Speedlight is one of Nikon’s most sophisticated and powerful portable speedlight. The Godox PROPAC PB960 portable battery pack works perfectly with the SB-910 speedlight, has a very large 4500mAh capacity is capable, on average, of producing up to 1800 full-power flashes per charge. It also provides extremely fast recycle time making it an invaluable piece of equipment for wildlife photographers.

MagMod Wildlife Kit

Brendon doesn’t go anywhere without his MagMod Wildlife Kit for three specific reasons:

  1. When fully extended it gives you up to 3 more stops of usable light.
  2. There are three extension levels that adjust the light to provide a wider beam or super-focused spotlight.
  3. In its flat/compact state it allows you to shoot at a lower flash output which in turn makes your flash cycle faster in burst mode ensuring you don’t miss a shot due to the flash lagging.

Profoto B2 kit

The Profoto B2 is lightweight and small enough to fit in your hand or mount onto your camera! Brendon mostly uses this compact lighting system when he’s in a fixed position for example waiting in a hide. He attaches the B2 to the Badger Gear B2 Flash adapter plate and straight onto his monopod or tripod.

Badger Gear Bean Bag

When you’re constantly going from game viewing vehicle to hide and back you need a portable form of stability and a bean bag works perfectly for that reason. It has a good form and a solid base that supports heavier lenses.

You’ve already got the skill and the experience. Now you need the gear.

Stunning photograph of a leopard photographed by Brendon Cremer