Canon Eos 1V HS: Feels good in the hand little heavy though and body functions are a little bit cumbersome to operate, probably because I am used to Nikon. Some thought it looked like a Darth Vader helmet, anyway it has a smooth design without hard edges that means it is easier to wipe it clean from dust and grease with a cloth.  The shutter is easy to press smoothly (prevents shakes). Mirror lock up can be used in all exposure modes and in self-timer mode. I prefer to use 2 sec. self-timer with Mirror lock up if I have the time to set it up in low light condition. Unfortunately I have to open the side door to change costume setting 12-0 to 12-1 to enable Mirror lock up and to connect this to the self-timer I have to press simultaneous the shooting mode button and metering mode button (blue ring, drive buttons) and turn the main dial to enable 2 sec.  self timer, little bit cumbersome. Has a eyepiece shutter lever, that was a thing I missed with the F100.  The booster will give a comfortable vertical grip and I can change the aperture with the wheel on the booster and focus point with the Quick control dial on the back of the camera. If I want to go light I just dismount the booster and go with the camera alone. My booster is loaded with 8 lithium batteries, mostly because they are lighter, better function in cold temperature, and I don't have to change batteries so often. I think it is to much hassle with rechargeable batteries.    

A another thing is that I also find it little bit easier to mount Canon lenses on their bodies compared to Nikon. Often when I changed the film in my Nikon F100 and closed the back the film perforation didn't catch the tooth wheel and I had to open the back again and try to align the film better, I think this will be more uncommon with the EOS-1V because it doesn't have tooth well, it has a optical system instead. I compared the exposure meter in the Nikon F100 against the exposure meter in EOS-1v and the Nikon gave 0.7-1.0 lighter exposed (over exposed) meter readings compared to Canon. With my Nikon F100 I routinely dialled in -0.7--1.0 exposure compensation to achieve a correct exposure, with my EOS 1V I can normally trust the meter without overall constant exposure compensation. Overall, I am very happy with this camera. Sold!

Ballheads:

Gitzo centre ball head G1377M: A good ballhead but not as small and sturdy as the Arca-Swiss B1. I felt it was too big and heavy and that it was not really sturdy enough for my big 500mm lens. I sold it!

Arca-swiss B1: A really great ballhead that comes in a small package and is very lightweight. It is rated to 45 kg. Mine is the version with a quick-release clamp.Quite expensive system but I love it! I have not had any problems with lock up.

Wimberley Head: I bought this head with Arca-Swiss style quick release clamp called the C-30 and the Wimberley Head Flash Bracket. A head for big lenses with a rotation collar. The Wimberley head make it easier to move the lens in almost every direction with the tip of your finger and you can let it go and it will not drop, like when you use a ballhead. The lens can perfectly be balanced with the Arca-Swiss style quick release clamp, so when you for instance add a teleconverter you slide the quick-release mounting plate in the clamp so the lens gets better balanced. I put some tension on the knobs to increase stability when I am following birds in flight but for resting birds I lock the tension knobs completely if I have the time.

The Wimberley head is bigger and heavier than the Arca ballhead but it is great to shoot action like birds in flight.

Often when I shoot birds with shoe mounted flash I get red eyes or steel eyes on the birds, to eliminate this I use the  Wimberley Head Flash Bracket. The flash will then be a bit over the lens axis and will reduce the risk with red eyes or steel eyes. 

  Wimberley Head  

Hama 2 bubble spirit level: I use this to avoid crooked horizons in my photos. It is placed in the hot shoe on the camera and allows for proper positioning of the camera both vertically and horizontally. I paid about 12 dollars for it in Sweden.

FILM:

Fuji Velvia: A film that I have used for about ten years, its really great with its color saturation and sharpness.  With the ISO at 50 it is a little bit slow for most of my photography. I use it mostly for macro photography with flash. I wait for the 100 ISO Velvia.

Kodak Ectacrome VS 100: This is the film I use for almost all my work and that's because it's a 100 ISO film (faster than Velvia) and its saturated colours, great for nature photography. It has more grain than Velvia but is is sharp      

Photo bags:

LowePro Pro Trekker AW: A real comfortable photo backpack that swallows my equipment easily. It can take a 600mm with body. Quit expensive and weights more than 4 kg. On most airlines it is not allowed to bring it as a carry on luggage.   

LowePro Nature Trekker AW: I bought this because the hard hand luggage restrictions and my 500mm will fit into the bag (diagonally) without the body. So when I am going to travel light this bag is the choice. It is comfortable and have a good padded harness for good comfort. 

LowePro Nature Micro Trekker 200: Very light and small backpack that can hold my Canon 1D Mark2 and Canon 70-200mm IS USM f/2.8, and some smaller lenses. For extended walks in the mountains. 

Hide:

Dome Hide (standard) The hide is 1.3m square at the base and 1.35m high at the centre. It uses two aluminum flexipoles that makes it freestanding but in strong wind can the guy ropes and pegs be used. It has three windows one large one (35x26 cm) that easily takes a 600mm lens and the other two small ones can barely take a 500mm lens. It is quite roomy, I can use a big chair and still have plenty of space for my equipment.  It is also possible to sleep in it on the diagonal, it works for me, I am 1.76m. It is possible to be two in it but it will be tight so buy instead the large version of the hide. This hide works great for me, so check out www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk. for more info. 

Light table: I use Kaiser Prolite 5000 2193 with the measurements 120x 35 cm. A great light table with space for a lot of films. Can be little to hot, could have better ventilation. Info at http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en/produkt.asp?artikel=2193  

Monitor: Lacie electron 22" blue 3. Great big monitor for the digital darkroom in blue-black colour and with a big hood to eliminate stray light. I also use a Samsung Syncmaster 213T. I use dual setup.

The 4WD Jimny: My mobile blind.

MY FORMER NIKON STUFF:

Omar Brännström Öland, Sweden. Nikon AF-S 500mm. Photo: Glenn Svensson

Ballhead: Arca-Swiss B1 with Really Right Stuff Arca-Swiss style quick-release mounting plate. Tripod: Gitzo 1325 carbonfiber. Body: Nikon F 100 with battery Pack MB 15. Nikon SB 24 flash with Lepps Flash Extender. LowePro Pro Trekker AW.

 Nikon F100: Has almost the same capabilities as the F5 but for half the price . Some call it for the little-F5, a name it well deserves. The autofocus performance is very good, especially when compared to my old Nikon F4. In my opinion it is a very good camera but unfortunately it lacks mirror lock up and a viewfinder shutter, and that is something I really miss. I use the rubber-cup DK-6 to avoid stray-light and to use the "proper long lens technique". I have two Nikon F100, one for Nikkor AF-S 500mm on the tripod  and one F100 with usually Nikkor AF-S 300mm hanging on the shoulder or for macro and landscape work. I use the battery pack MB-15 on  the Nikon F100 that I have with the 500mm lens to get more battery power and a more ergonomic grip for vertical shoots. For both my cameras I often use Energizer e2 AA lithium batteries, lighter weight and better performance, especially in cold weather compared to alkaline batteries.

One of mine Nikon F100 underexposed about 0.7 steps when taking flash pictures. But a left it to be calibrated and now it underexpose about 0.3 step.

Nikon F 100 settings: 

When I take photos of animals and birds with my 500mm and 300mm lenses I use the following settings on my camera: 

I work in aperture mode and uses the widest aperture like 4 or 5.6, so I get the fastest shutter- times. When there is light enough I sometimes use aperture like 8 to increase depth of field and sharpness. I always have the focus mode selector set for Continuous Servo AF. The AF Area Mode Selector are set for Dynamic AF Mode. The film advance mode I use is C= Continues advance that gives me the maximum speeds of 4.5-5.0 frames per second. There are no problem to take single photos in this mode, some photographers might need some practice to achieve this. In day light I think that my camera overexpose a little bit so I routinely underexpose from -0.3 to -0.7 steps. I also achieve faster shutter time by doing so. 

The settings for macro work with Nikon SB-28 flash. 

I use the Nikon F100, Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens and Kirk Macro Flash Bracket FB-8 together with SB-28 flash and TTL Remote Cord SC-17. I use this setup handhold, I find it quite cumbersome to use a tripod when stalking moving insects. I set the camera on manual exposure mode with aperture 22 and 1/60-1/250 sec and the flash will illuminate to get a well exposed picture. The film advance mode is in C mode (continues mode). I use sometimes Single Servo AF or manual focusing, depending what the objects are. Because the flash is on the Flash Bracket it may sometimes not be perfectly aimed at the subject so I set the flash on 28 mm Zoom for better flash coverage. My camera underexpose now about 0.3 step so I routinely compensate on the flash with 0.3 step to achieve better exposure.

Sometimes I use the flash in the flash shoe with my 300mm AF-S  to increase the working distance for those insects and other objects that are difficult to come close to.  

Landscape with Nikon F100

I usually use my Nikon 24mm AF for this task (sometimes the Nikon 50mm AF). I use the Hyperfocal distance scale on the lens instead of looking through the viewfinder to focus my lens. To achieve extensive depth of field I dial in aperture 22 on the camera and then set the focusing ring so the infinity mark align on the left 22 mark on the Hyperfocal distance scale on the lens. On the right 22 mark on the hyperfocal distance scale I can read 50cm (about) on the distance scale. In this settings I will have a depth of field that reaches from about 50cm to infinity. It means that I place my camera at least 50 cm (60cm ore more to be on the safe side) from the object in the foreground to have that sharp and everything else to infinity. At aperture 16 the depth of field will be about from 60cm to infinity. 

Graduated neutral density filters: I use Hitech  0.6, 0.9 grad (2,3 stop) with Cokin P holder.   

My own Nikon F100 Custom settings

AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

A really sharp lens that are both cheap and light.

AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8

I have had this lens for about 10 years and it is one of my favourite lenses. I often us it for amphibians and insects. A  sharp lens. The AF is slow and noisy, so often I use manual focusing. 

AF Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED: A nice lens that came out on the market 1987. I only hade this lens for a year then I switched to the new and faster AF-S version of it. Sharp but slow auto focus. 

AF-S Nikkor ED 300mm f/4D IF: I bought this lens In November 2000 and was amazed with the swift auto focus and close focus ability (1.45 m). Unfortunately it lacks VR (image stabilizing). The close focus ability is very useful on objects like lizards, frogs, insects and flowers. With the TC-14E teleconverter it becomes a 420 mm lens f5.6 that works with auto focus, really great. The tripod-collar are detachable which are good to reduce its weight, but there are tests that show that when using this lens on tripod at slow shutter speeds it is vibration prone and can cause blurry pictures. I put a film canister between the lens and collar to add some support. The lens shade can be locked, a nice feature. 

AF-S Nikkor ED 300mm f/4D IF

AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4D IF-ED: A very nice lens that are extremely expensive. It is sharp wide open but test shows that it is even sharper at aperture 5.6 and 8.0. The auto focus is great and is more silent than my 300mm AF-S f/4. I often use this lens with the AF-I teleconverter TC-14E. Then it becomes a 700mm f/5.6 with working auto focus. Too bad that this lens lacks image stabilizing. Nikon have released a new version that are lighter and have shorter close focus ability. I have replaced the Nikon original lens foot to wimberley Adapter Plate AP-553  http://www.tripodhead.com/Adapt-Plates.html . It lowers the lens by 2 inch and gets lighter and probably get sturdier. The new foot also serve as the Arca-Swiss style quick-release plate for the lens.

AF-I Teleconverter TC-14E: This teleconverter works really good with my 500 and 300mm lenses and gives me sharp pictures. It makes the autofocus work little bit slower. I doesn't come with a lens bag, that is bad.

AF-I Teleconverter TC-20E: I didn't have it for long, but it gave rather sharp pictures with my Nikkor 500mm AF-S f/4.