Squirrel
Photography
Processing
If you're wondering why I still struggle with cutting edge cameras, some of the fastest lenses around and still run most of my images through denoising software then perhaps this comparison image will demonstrate why. This image was shot with actual morning light so was only ISO 400, but unfortunately that's just before the dual-gain of the Sony's sensor kicks in, so is pretty much the worst case scenario. The squirrel is mostly in shadow, so I ended brightening it up 4 stops here. That makes it more equivalent to ISO 8,000 after processing.
Wider Angles
Although common to photograph wild squirrels with long telephotos, I started out with more friendly specimens and wide angle lenses. This was taken on my first DSLR back in 2002. A 6 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor - Fujifilm Finepix S2 Pro with a Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 lens. It was shot at the widest angle and aperture, which made it a 25mm f/4.2 full frame equivalent. This was an Eastern Grey squirrel from the Leamington Spa city park, in the UK.
After getting more interested in squirrel photography, I settled fairly quickly on fast portrait lenses (85mm and 135mm), but always wanted to return to wider angles. For the longest time, I didn't own anything wider than 40mm, but I eventually picked up the Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM lens. Taken on the Sony A1, the below image (also being shot wide open) is more than eight times the resolution and with an entrance pupil more than eight times the size. Admittedly this is two decades of progress, but it's still impressive that this is not only possible from a silent camera, weighing nearly 20% less, with five stops of image stabilization, animal eye-autofocus and fifteen times the burst speed, but that the image quality is still able to resolve detail at the pixel level. We are totally spoiled with camera capabilities these days, which nicely illustrates that the biggest limitation is still your imagination and determination.
Infrared
Since I have an infrared camera, it seemed rude not to at least try photographing them in that wavelength. There is unfortunately not a huge difference to squirrels in infrared light, but one thing is their eyes. It's usually difficult to see the pupil in squirrel's eyes because they look all black in most lighting. When they do show up in infrared, they are considerably more clear.
Thermal
When I got my hands on a basic thermal camera for my phone, I tried it out on squirrels and immediately found something interesting. This squirrel had a damaged paw and the video shows that with high levels of heat.
Vintage Cameras
I have only been seriously interested in photographing red squirrels since the Pandemic, so the equipment I've been using has been relatively new. Technically, I did start with the Sony A7 (2013), but that was grey squirrels in London, and I was not really successful until I upgraded to the Sony A9 (2017) and Sony 135GM lens. Over the last couple of years I have been collecting old digital cameras, so I have been trying to use them to shoot squirrels. The below image shows a comparison between a Sony A1 (CMOS) and Sony A390 (CCD). The latter showing the squirrel's red coat in a much more complimentary way against the heavy green cast forest background. To see more samples and thoughts about images from this old DSLR sensor technology, see my dedicated page here.
Apex
The Sony A1 combined with the Sony 135GM lens is a formidable combination for photographing squirrels. Sure, it's about ten times the cost of the previous combination and is definitely in the overkill category, but it really can deliver on quality when all the stars align! For anyone that doesn't have limitless funds or wants to cut down on the weight that you carry, the next section is for you...
Lightweight & Budget
As cheap and geeky as it can be to use older DSLRs for up close squirrel photography, it's certainly not an easy or pleasant experience. My mission here was to find a cheap and light system that was also powerful and highly capable. Up until very recently, this combination of features would have been hard to find. For less than €800 and 800g, the camera and lens combination that took the below photo feels a bit like a miracle.
The75mm f/.2 AF APS-C Sirui lens is only €380 brand new! That gets you a 113mm f/1.8 full frame equivalent, which is a really good sweet spot for this kind of photography, and its 69cm close focus also means you can get just the squirrel's face and hands in frame if you want to. Combining its decent AF speed with the Sony ZV-E10's animal eye-AF, silent shutter and decent burst speed makes it feel like a mini Sony A9 + Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8, while costing and weighing half as much. That's just insane! Although you lose in-body image stabilization, and an optical viewfinder (which I don't really need for this photography anyway), you do gain a fully articulated rear screen, meaning that low angle portrait shots are now possible too.