As a professional photographer who employs a lot of technology in the creation of many of my images, I often get asked about what gear I use, and how I use it. Hopefully, this page will answer a few questions:
Camera Trapping:
I have been camera trapping since 1989, and have used just about every worldwide commercial trigger system that has existed in that time. I also designed and built my own laser triggers, with multiple inputs and outputs. Over the last ten years or so, I have consolidated all of my camera trapping around the entire line of Cognisys Inc.'s equipment. The quality and functionality of their gear is truly second to none, and I should know. It isn't the cheapest, but it will last you a lifetime, and the Customer Support from Cognisys is becoming legendary. From simple triggers to complete turnkey wireless systems for both stills and video, their stuff cannot be beaten. I can leave a Cognisys setup out in the field for 3 months, without the need for large auxiliary batteries, and have it operating just fine.
In terms of photographic gear for camera trapping, I use Canon 5DsR's for stills, and Sony mirrorless cameras for video. Lenses for stills are either Canon or Sigma Art series, and lenses for video are generally Canon, mounted to the Sony cameras via a Sigma MC-11 adapter. A really important point to note is that lenses for camera trapping should have direct, manual focus capability. A lot of contemporary lenses are 'focus-by-wire' and/or STM (STepper Motor). Neither of these types are suitable, as when the camera goes to sleep, the lens tends to reset its focus when the camera wakes up. It took years to figure all that out, and why things were always out of focus... If I am shooting nocturnal stills, I use either Cognisys flashes (absolutely incredible, but a bit spendy) or modified Nikon SB28's. The SB28's are completely solar powered, along with their trigger receivers, and I have had some of them working in the field for nearly 2 years without the need for batteries or adjustment. For nocturnal video, I use the incredible Cognisys LED exclusively. They are phenomenal, and can be dimmed to levels that just replicate moonlight. This is ample enough light for the Sony cameras to capture high quality 4K footage. I loathe some of the footage you see of nocturnal mammals being illuminated by ultra-bright LEDs - it is somewhat blinding to them, looks completely unnatural, and reveals a lack of skill (and/or empathy) on the part of the videographer. Don't be one of them.
Hummingbirds in Flight:
I used all sorts of gear for this, but my main go-to configuration was a Canon 5DsR and the Canon 100-400mm II lens. This is a very flexible and sharp combination, and enabled me to get pretty close to the action. Occasionally, I would add a small extension tube to this combo to get closer focusing, but not often. I think the Canon 100-400mm II lens was easily the best value lens in the entire Canon lineup. I had a tall carbon fibre tripod, a Wimberly II gimbal head and for flashes I used Paul C. Buff Einsteins when at home, and simple, cheap Speedlites when out in the field. Those who know my history know that I ran a company 'Fotronix' long ago that designed and produced some high speed flashes specifically for photographing hummingbirds. There are still folks out there using them, however the introduction of the IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) rendered the Fotronix flashes obsolete, and most modern flash systems now can create very short duration flash pulses with useable output levels. Couple that with the always improving ISO performance of digital image sensors and you can shoot hummingbirds in flight with very standard, off-the-shelf flash equipment.
But that was then. Camera technology (particularly AutoFocus) has advanced so much that I no longer find photographing hummingbirds at all challenging, so I stopped about 10 years ago. It is possible to just 'point and shoot' these days, and get a crisp, frozen shot of a hummer in flight, just by pointing the camera in the general direction of the bird and firing the shutter.
Studio:
Sony Alpha series cameras. Flashes are usually Paul C. Buff Einsteins, though I do shoot with Sony speedlites too. A lot of studio photographers shoot 'tethered' to a laptop - for instant image download and to be able to see things on a large screen. I have tried this on several occasions, but have always found it a hindrance to flow, continuity, movement and spontaneity, so I don't tend to do it.