Tamron SP 150-600mm f5-6.3 VC G2 | Canon EF

Ira Redepenning: When I go for a walk in nature I never know what I'll find so I like to have as much flexibility as possible. The Tamron 150-600's extreme reach, stabilisation  and - almost macro like 2.2m close focus means that I'll lug this with me even if it's on the heavier side for a walkabout because it's versatile enough to capture amazing wildlife shots at the 600mm end. 150mm is also short enough to capture the kids and landscapes, the Gondola in Germany's Hartz mountains was taken at 300mm for example. The Dragonfly hatching is pretty close to the 2.2 meter close focus limit which is a great distance for not disturbing skittish critters.