Photo by primeimages via iStock
Attention landscape and wildlife photographers! Are you looking for a new camera? Perhaps you’re new to serious landscape and wildlife photography and wondering what you should use. Whatever situation describes you, read on for recommendations for the best camera for landscape and wildlife photography.
When I’m considering purchasing the best digital camera for landscape and wildlife photography, I immediately head over to the best online platform for finding fantastic photography gear, MPB.
MPB specializes in pre-owned photography equipment, and they do it right! MPB is run by experienced photographers and provides the best customer service for buying, selling, and trading pre-owned or used cameras, lenses, flashes, and other gear.
Everything they sell is thoroughly inspected, and the condition is accurately described in each listing. They offer a 7-day return/exchange window and a 6-month warranty on most gear, too.
I use them all the time, and I always get a great deal on high-quality new-to-me camera gear. Now, on to my recommendations of the best camera for landscape and wildlife photography.
Table of Contents:
- Features I Want From the Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography
- Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography - Canon EOS R5
- Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography - APS-C Runner-Up
- Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography - MFT Honorable Mention
- The Best Tripod Alternative for Wildlife and Landscape Photography
- An Awesome Rain Shield for Outdoor Photography
- One Bag to Hold Them All
Features I Want From the Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography
Photo by LaraBelova via iStock
My biggest need and want for the best camera for landscape and wildlife photography is a great sensor. Next, I want my best digital landscape and wildlife photography camera to be rugged, durable, and dependable. Finally, I want simple and quick setup and operations.
I’m going with a Full Frame format camera in the mirrorless style for my use. Other formats and styles are also great and perhaps even better choices for you, but I like Full Frame since there is no crop factor, it has excellent low light capabilities, and the highest resolution sensors.
I’m choosing mirrorless for the best and most choices of lenses, including specialty and very fast lenses. Plus, a prosumer or advanced mirrorless camera is a rugged imaging machine, and full-fledged professional models are extremely durable.
A simple, intuitive set up and a workflow while using the camera are also vital for a camera to be labeled the best camera for landscape and wildlife photography by me.
Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography - Canon EOS R5
Drumroll!!.... My personal choice for the best camera for landscape and wildlife photography is the Canon EOS R5 Full Frame mirrorless camera. It’s easy to see why with specs like this:
- 45 MP Full Frame sensor
- 30 secs to 1/8000th sec shutter speeds
- ISO 50 - 102,400
- Up to 8 stops of stabilization
- Weather and dust sealed
- 100% AF coverage with 5,490 focus points
- 8K video and oversampled 4K video
- 12 fps cycling rate (still images)
- Silent shutter mode
- 2 card slots, CFE and SD
- Long battery life (optional battery pack available)
- Fully articulated viewscreen
- Joystick control input
- Accepts RF lenses, EOS lenses with an adapter, and other adapters available
- Lightweight and compact
Let’s talk about that sensor. A Full Frame format 45MP sensor is a beast of an imaging tool. The image files it captures in RAW are beautifully high resolution - a must-have feature for me as a best camera for landscape and wildlife photography. I can bring out all sorts of latent detail with post-processing, and the sharpness of a well-exposed and in-focus image is off the charts!
This super high-resolution sensor makes the EOS R5 an excellent video camera, too. A maximum video resolution of 8K is supplemented by oversampled 4K and up to 4K/120 for extra usability. It sets a high bar for the best digital camera for landscape and wildlife photography for still imaging and video recording. It provides performance superior to most other cameras on the market.
It is a professional-level camera, super rugged and durable, with weather and dust sealing, long battery life, and rapid and accurate AF. Canon EOS RF lenses are a perfect match, but it can also use EF lenses utilizing a Canon-made adapter that allows full functionality of older lenses.
A huge array of lenses from the last 100 years can be mounted using several 3rd party lens adapters. That’s a bonus of mirrorless cameras that may not mean much to some, but if you dream of using a classic landscape lens like the Leitz Thambar 90mm f/2.2 on a modern camera, well, it would be a dream come true!
Using this camera is a joy due to its great control surfaces, including a small joystick for certain adjustments. The articulating rear screen doubles as a high-resolution viewscreen for high magnification focus checking and also a touch screen for menus and other controls.
The ultra-high resolution for landscape use is supplemented by the rapid AF and 12 fps cycling rate for wildlife photography. Add the great ergonomics of the EOS R5, and you see why this is easily my choice as the best camera for landscape and wildlife photography.
Learn More:
Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography - APS-C Runner-Up
Runner up for best camera for landscape and wildlife photography is the APS-C format Nikon D500 DSLR style camera. This camera captures beautiful landscape images with a 20.9MP APS-C format sensor and an ISO range of 50-164,000. Shoots video up to 4K as well.
Professional construction, 10 fps, a 200-image RAW buffer, and excellent AF with 153 AP points mean this camera is fantastic for wildlife and sports photography. The camera is weather and dust sealed, has 2 SD card slots, and takes various Nikon F-mount lenses.
Best Camera for Landscape and Wildlife Photography - MFT Honorable Mention
In the honorable mention slot for best digital camera for landscape and wildlife photography is the top-of-the-line MFT (Micro 4/3rds) format Panasonic Lumix DC-GH6 mirrorless camera.
This contender in the best camera for landscape and wildlife camera contest has a super compact body taking equally compact lenses and using a 25.2MP MFT sensor. It has 315 AF points, is professionally robust, and records up to 4K video.
The Best Tripod Alternative for Wildlife and Landscape Photography
A tripod is very useful for holding your best camera for landscape and wildlife photography. Still, you might sometimes need to use a tripod alternative, such as the Octopad camera mount pictured above.
Octopad is very handy because it’s small and easier to transport than a larger tripod and can be placed just about anywhere. It’s a compact disk with a little bit of heft to it. On the top is a ball head for attaching the camera, and underneath is a slightly flexible non-slip pad.
That configuration lets you put it on uneven surfaces such as a tree stump, rock outcropping, or your vehicle's fender. The non-slip pad lets you use it on surfaces angled up to 45 degrees! This is very useful for many outdoor situations, such as wildlife with a long lens or a macro lens, motion blur landscape images, or any time you need a sturdier mount than your own hands.
An Awesome Rain Shield for Outdoor Photography
My recommendation for protecting your camera from rain, wind, salt spray, and so on is the GoShelter Self Canopy.
It protects from all sorts of weather, rain, snow, blowing dust, and water spray from the ocean or waterfalls. It’s deep and offers protection from on three sides and above you without obstructing your view to the front.
This is a great solution when you need to stay somewhat mobile while capturing landscape or wildlife images in less-than-perfect conditions. It also folds into a compact size to easily carry in a bag or a backpack.
Other camera protection solutions are cumbersome and restrict your ability to access the camera’s controls (and they don’t protect you). Thus the benefit of the GoShelter - you get protection for yourself, protection for your gear, and you have unencumbered access to your camera. Nice! You can even get $15 off your order at the moment if you use the PT1Umbrella coupon code. Get protection from the elements and save money at the same time!
One Bag to Hold Them All
An excellent choice to carry your best camera for landscape and wildlife photography into the great outdoors is the Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW II backpack-style camera bag. Developed by Lowepro, a premier camera bag maker for professional and other serious photographers, this bag is roomy enough for all your gear needed for a good photo trek and is super comfortable.
Now that you’ve seen my recommendations for gear and the best camera for landscape and wildlife photography, what will you end up with? If you get it from MPB, you’ll have a great camera at a great price and real peace of mind.