The best cameras for wildlife photography won't turn you into an award-winning photographer overnight, but they are an essential part of this genre and can get you well on your way to becoming one. Therefore, having a camera made specifically for the job is crucial.
Our guide features favorites for all skill levels and budgets, and if you want to make the most of your budget, Black Friday and Cyber Monday is the time to shop. There are some amazing Cyber Monday camera deals, including $500 off the Canon EOS R3 at Amazon (our choice for pros) and $600 off the Sony A7R V at Walmart — and our cameras writer has just bought one!
To go a step further, having a pair of the best binoculars would also be incredibly beneficial for wildlife photography — and we've found some fantastic Cyber Monday binocular deals. Many wildlife cameras can take good astro images, though the best astrophotography cameras perform better at night.
The quick list
Best overall
The Nikon Z8 balances speed, image resolution, processing power and incredible autofocus to bring you an all-in-one solution for stunning wildlife photography.
Best autofocus
What it lacks in speed, it more than makes up for with accurate and reliable AI-powered autofocus that sticks to subjects like glue to produce stunningly sharp 61MP images.
Best for pros
The Canon EOS R3 is a serious imaging machine reserved for professionals with a generous budget, but the investment more than pays off with what this camera is capable of.
Best for beginners
With an impressive burst rate and wildlife-friendly features, the Canon EOS R8 is a fantastic option for beginners or anyone making the jump to a full-frame system.
Best hybrid
A fantastic camera at the top of its game that excels at both stills and video, it's a perfect choice for those who want to shoot multiple disciplines.
Best DSLR
Well-known for being the best DSLR ever made, the Nikon D850 can handle anything you throw at it, but it is starting to show its age.
The best cameras for wildlife photography we recommend in 2024
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Best camera for wildlife photography overall
✅ You shoot stills and video: With 8K video and no recording limits or overheating issues, it excels at video as well as stills.
✅ You need a very high burst rate: The Z8 is capable of 120 FPS (albeit at 11MP) for anyone needing blisteringly fast shooting speeds.
❌ You want something lightweight and portable: It definitely looks and feels like a professional camera with quite a bit of heft to it.
❌ You're a beginner: The Z8 is pretty much completely reserved for the pros and enthusiasts with deep pockets — not to mention it would be overkill for anyone new to the hobby. The Canon EOS R8 is much better suited to beginners.
🔎 Nikon Z8: The Z8 is a technological marvel. With all the gusto and performance of Nikon's flagship Z9, but in a more compact and affordable body, the Nikon Z8 is a market-leading mirrorless camera. ★★★★½
When it comes to finding the perfect combination of detailed images, fast burst rate, good handling and accurate autofocus that meets the needs of the best wildlife photographers, we think the prize for the best camera for wildlife photography overall would have to go to the Nikon Z8.
Design: The Nikon Z8 is the first flagship camera from Nikon that doesn't have an in-built vertical grip, meaning it has much less of the weight and bulk of many of their other pro-level cameras, like the Z9. This opens it up to a much broader market, including wildlife photography, as the Z8 is much more pleasant to use handheld for longer periods. We thought the ergonomics were fantastic, with all the buttons being in easy reach where our fingers would naturally want to rest.
Performance: The 45.7MP sensor produces stunningly detailed images, even in low light. Thanks to its stacked sensor, it has better light-gathering ability and a faster readout speed to allow for faster shooting with less noise and more detail.
We used it to shoot wildlife during our Nikon Z8 review, and we were mightily impressed with the autofocus. While it wasn't perfect and there were times when it faltered, (although, not many), overall it's incredibly reliable and it finds, follows and focuses on moving subjects with insane accuracy. They've also now added a bird mode in their latest 2.0 firmware update — great news for bird photographers.
Functionality: You want a fast burst rate, too? You got it. While it can shoot at 120 FPS, the major caveat here is that those images are only 11MP, and in practicality, who is going to want to wade through hundreds of frames of basically the same image to find 'the one'? On a more realistic level, you can get 60 FPS with blackout between exposures, 30 FPS without blackout (although these are small JPEGs). For blackout-free RAW images, you'll have up to 20 FPS, which, for our money, is absolutely fine for the majority of wildlife shooters.
It's also fantastic for video, too. It can shoot up to 90 minutes of 8K 30p or 120 minutes of 4K 60p, which is leaps and bounds better than the overheating limitations of the Canon EOS R5. The tilt-only screen does limit its usability somewhat if you can't see the screen when shooting at certain angles, but it's not a dealbreaker.
- Read our full Nikon Z8 review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Sublime ergonomics, but we'd like a fully articulating screen. |
| Performance | Superbly detailed images and high resolution video. |
| Functionality | Capable of 120 FPS... if you'd ever need it. |
Best autofocus for wildlife photography
✅ You want high resolution: The 61MP produces stunningly detailed images.
✅ You need reliable autofocus: The AI autofocus detects and sticks to subjects like glue.
❌ You want sheer speed: The A7R V has the slowest burst rate on this list, so if you need speed, go for another model.
❌ You want to crank the ISO up: It can handle decent ISOs, but the 61MP sensor does introduce more noise than less detailed sensors. If you need to shoot in low light, we'd recommend the Nikon Z8.
🔎 Sony A7R V: For sheer autofocus accuracy and image resolution, it's a no-brainer. It's not the fastest option for wildlife, but if you don't need blisteringly high burst rates, you can't go wrong. ★★★★½
Design: One fantastic design feature of the A7R V is the articulating screen that would make a gymnast jealous. Most cameras either employ a tilt-only or flip-out screen, but the A7R V somehow has both, which is great for when you need to shoot at awkward angles.
Performance: One of its main selling points, and the area where the Sony A7R V wins out against most is its resolution. The whopping 61MP sensor captures breathtakingly detailed images, but it's worth keeping in mind that this also means very large files. We haven't posted a full review but we have thoroughly tested this camera, and the images we took are bright, sharp and true to life — we were blown away. The only camera that would rival it is the Sony A1 — it has a slightly lower 50MP resolution, however, the A1 has a superior stacked sensor.
If it's accurate autofocus you want, then look no further. With AI technology capable of predicting a subject's movements and even tracking their eyes when your subject isn't even looking at the camera, it's the best autofocus on the market right now bar none. It can detect any animal you point it at, and it even has a dedicated insect mode if you want to use it for macro wildlife photography.
Functionality: But we must address the elephant in the room — the burst rate is slow. It's capped at 7 FPS for RAW files and 10 FPS for JPEG images, which is the slowest on this list by a considerable margin, especially for such a new and capable camera. There is an argument to be made that you don't necessarily need a blisteringly fast burst rate due to the autofocus being so good that you will nail more of your shots by default, but this may not be the case if you want to shoot fast-moving animals.
- Read the full Sony A7R V review over at our sister site
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Articulating screen is incredible. |
| Performance | AI autofocus sticks to subjects like glue. |
| Functionality | 7 FPS is slow compared to other wildlife cameras. |
Best professional camera for wildlife photography
✅ You want incredible autofocus: The Canon R3 has Eye Control autofocus, meaning you only have to look at your subject to focus on it.
✅ You need a fast burst rate: It has 30 FPS speeds with no buffering issues, something which lends itself to sports photography, too.
❌ You're not a professional: Its capabilities and price will likely be too much for anyone not making money in the industry.
❌ You want lots of detail: One of the main drawbacks when compared to its competitor (Sony A1) is its 24MP resolution. If it's detail you want, go for the Sony A7R V.
🔎 Canon EOS R3: Canon's most advanced camera yet —highly capable, fast, extremely customizable and even has Eye Control autofocus. It's the obvious choice for professional wildlife shooters. ★★★★½
Design: Every inch of the Canon EOS R3 looks and feels premium. Like their other flagship models, it has a vertical grip to aid portrait orientation shooting, although, this is going to add a significant amount of bulk and weight to the camera.
Performance: The newest and most advanced camera on this list, the Canon EOS R3 is its top-tier professional mirrorless camera — and it's loaded with features that will be music to the ears of wildlife shooters. While it matches the Sony A1's 30 FPS burst shooting (and surpasses its buffer depth), its 24.1MP images are lower resolution than the 50.1MP shots from the Sony. That said, the A1's 30 FPS frame rate tends to fluctuate, while our experience with the R3 gave us true 30 FPS performance no matter what we were shooting.
Functionality: One thing the R3 has that no other camera can match is its Eye Control AF, which uses 8 low-power infrared LEDs in the viewfinder to map and track your eyeball. Once calibrated, all you have to do is look at your subject and the R3 puts the focus point on it — then you just half-press the shutter, the AF kicks in, and you shoot. This isn't intended for fast-moving subjects like birds, but if you're shooting a group of animals and you want to quickly focus on a specific one, this is the fastest way to move your focus points.
If that sounds a bit too Star Trek for you, the R3 has the same ghostly good animal AF system as the Canon EOS R5, so you get the same level of near-magic performance. Throw in 6K 60p RAW video and an optical smart controller that's faster than a joystick, this is a camera that's designed for premium performance.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Lightweight and solid body with excellent weather-sealing. |
| Performance | 30 FPS burst rate with no buffering issues. |
| Functionality | Eye Control autofocus is incredibly impressive. |
Best wildlife camera for beginners
✅ You're jumping straight into the full-frame market: It's ideal for anyone new to the hobby who wants to go straight to full-frame without being overwhelmed.
✅ You need a fast burst rate: The 6 FPS mechanical leaves a little to be desired, but the 40 FPS electronic burst rate is impressive.
✅ You want to travel with it: It's Canon's lightest mirrorless full-frame body.
❌ You want image stabilization: There's no IBIS for stills, only for video.
❌ You want to use it in all weathers: They state that it's weather resistant, not weather sealed, so be careful about using it in wet or dusty conditions.
🔎 Canon EOS R8: The second most affordable and most lightweight full-frame mirrorless camera from Canon is missing a few features, but it's got impressive specs for the price and provides excellent value for those wanting a step up from their crop-sensor model. ★★★★½
Design: The Canon EOS R8 holds the title of being Canon's lightest full-frame camera body so far. It weighs just 0.91 lbs / 414g so it's ideal for traveling, and in our Canon EOS R8 review we noted that even though it's light as a feather, the grip is deep enough to be comfortable to shoot with for long periods. Long wildlife lenses tend to be fairly heavy and bulky in nature due to their size and focal length, so having a lighter body can be advantageous for shaving a bit of weight off your overall setup.
Performance: During our testing, we thought the autofocus was great. It wasn't the best we've ever used, but we weren't expecting it to be for the price. It has animal eye detection which is ideal for wildlife shooters, although we found it didn't cope particularly well with forward-moving speedy animals, like dogs chasing a ball towards the camera or a bird flying directly toward us. For slower-moving animals though, it'll be great.
We also found it performed surprisingly well in low light, which will be advantageous for astro-shooting, general night-time cityscapes and wildlife shooting at dawn or dusk. It doesn't have image stabilization for stills (only in video), which may be a dealbreaker to some, however, many Canon RF lenses have image stabilization which you can rely on instead. It's also not fully weather sealed, only weather resistant — so you might want to think twice if you want to use it in wet or dusty conditions.
Functionality: The R8 actually has one of the faster burst rates on this list — capable of 40 FPS using the electronic shutter. If you'd rather use the mechanical shutter, it drops quite dramatically down to only 6 FPS, which does leave a little to be desired. It also has RAW burst mode which shoots 30 FPS bursts of RAW images, and there's a pre-shooting option that records images half a second before you fully press the shutter, giving you more leeway if you miss your shot by a hair. The RAW burst mode saves all the shots in the sequence to a single RAW roll, whereas conventional continuous shooting results in each shot being a separate file.
- Read our full Canon EOS R8 review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Canon's most lightweight full-frame camera. |
| Performance | Animal autofocus fine for most, struggled with forward-moving fast paced animals. |
| Functionality | 40 FPS electronic shooting fantastic for wildlife. |