Muehlviertel, Austria, autumn 2025

Nikon Z6II + Nikkor Z 180-600mm

I currently have a LowePro Protactic 450AW II, which is quite nice and transports a decent amount of gear plus things to eat and drink. Their strap system where you can attach additional thingies on the outside is also quite nice. Works for example great to carry of playground toys around as well when i go there with the kid ;-)

All in all it works well for anything up to maybe 2-3h walks, but would not be good for longer hikes. Also it's look might definitely not be for everyone.

So i was wondering what other people have, like and dislike about that.

I was actually looking for an eurasian jay i've heard and than i saw this one here sitting nicely on the tree top. Still quite far away, but the closed iv'e come to one yet, when i had the camera with me.

Muehlviertel, Upper Austria, AT

Nikon Z6II + Nikkor Z 120-600mm, 1600 ISO

Took me a while to finally take a semi-decent shot of that jumpy little bastard. My arms were already complaining loudly as i tracked it through the trees with the camera and the lens of notable size as calmly as possible.

Taken in upper austria, with a Nikon Z6II and the Nikkor 180-600mm

Edit: was being stupid with the image upload.

I currently have this Zeiss binoculars from the 80s (therefore the emphasis on "west germany"). They work good enough and are ok-ish sharp, but i think contrast and color rendering are not very good.

I would be interested what others use and what experiences you have with it.