DSLR Cameras
- Thread starter Bowhuntrben
- Start date
JohnDeereGreen
Member
I have the following kit: Nikon D200, 17-55mm f2.8 DX, 70-200mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8. The D200 is old, but it gets the job done because the glass is good glass. This outfit does good work for most wildlife shots, you just have to crop the image in the computer when you process the shot. I know very little about Canon products, so I don't have much to say, other than the Chevy/Ford analogy posted earlier seems pretty accurate. I'd point out that the times of day you are most likely to spot wildlife/have the best light to take photos is morning and evening. So you want a lens that will produce good crisp images under those conditions. I bought a Tamron 200-500mm f5.6-6.3 when I first started shooting, because I wanted to really get close. I think I have a handful of useable shots from that lens. It just didn't work because the high f-stop values made the shutter speeds so slow, everything was blurry. I got rid of it and now use the 70-200 all the time. It produces nice crisp images under low light conditions, even if they aren't as zoomed in as the shots I got with the old Tamron. I find that I far prefer a wider shot that is crisp to a close up that is blurry.
Buy a good tripod and a good tripod head and get comfortable operating it. Shooting from a tripod or even a monopod will make a ton of difference under low light conditions. Don't buy one at Walmart or Target. Manfrotto are very nice. The head should be able to rotate freely and quickly, but lock into place and not budge when you want it to.
Also, get an editing program and get comfortable with it. I like Lightroom. You don't need full on Photoshop starting out. A program like Lightroom will give you the ability to look at lots of your photos quickly, and sort out what you like and don't like, and learn what you are doing right and doing wrong.
One last thing, buy a UV filter (a good one) for each of your lenses. Better to break a $50 UV filter than scratch a $1500 lens.
When you get going, start posting on Flickr or sharing your work in some way. It's difficult to start out in any art medium when you are working in a vacuum. You will get better faster with constructive criticism from others who's work you respect. Good luck and have fun.
Buy a good tripod and a good tripod head and get comfortable operating it. Shooting from a tripod or even a monopod will make a ton of difference under low light conditions. Don't buy one at Walmart or Target. Manfrotto are very nice. The head should be able to rotate freely and quickly, but lock into place and not budge when you want it to.
Also, get an editing program and get comfortable with it. I like Lightroom. You don't need full on Photoshop starting out. A program like Lightroom will give you the ability to look at lots of your photos quickly, and sort out what you like and don't like, and learn what you are doing right and doing wrong.
One last thing, buy a UV filter (a good one) for each of your lenses. Better to break a $50 UV filter than scratch a $1500 lens.
When you get going, start posting on Flickr or sharing your work in some way. It's difficult to start out in any art medium when you are working in a vacuum. You will get better faster with constructive criticism from others who's work you respect. Good luck and have fun.
my nilkon D-40 has served me well on manny occasions,the pictures i took in the grand cannyon were to say the least spectacular,but do buy the body and lenses seperatly,i bought the package deal quite a few years back,and what was said earlyer is true,the lenses that come with the nickon are,well let me just say ,buy them seperatly.
Ridgerunner1CO
Member
Here's a thought that could save you money yet still provide you good to excellent quality photos at long distances as well as 1080 hi-def video!!
You might want to check out the superzooms available on the market with up to 42x power optical lenses. I have friends, as well as myself, who have found them to be a great asset[. You wouldn't have to have an assortment of lenses much less be changing them and incurring any dust, dirt or moisture.
A friend has used his Canon Powershot SX 30 to get great shots of desert bighorn sheep. Another friend has used his Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 to get great shots of a wandering herd of bull elk. A rancher I know has a Hikon Coolpix P500 has gotten excellent shots of coyotes. I use a Panasonic Lumix DMC_FZ100 and have a variety of wildlife shots and video as well.
The technology that the manufacturers are able to install in their cameras is nothing but unbelievable. It appears that the superzoom segment of the camera market is growing rapidly and is displacing the DSLR market segment. Am waiting to see new superzoom products coming from Canon (Canon lenses) and Panasonic (Leica lenses). Nikon recently introduced their new Coolpix P510 with a 42x zoom optical Nikkor lens. These cameras are reasonably priced ,lightweight and feature-loaded. They are worth a look! !/I]
You might want to check out the superzooms available on the market with up to 42x power optical lenses. I have friends, as well as myself, who have found them to be a great asset[. You wouldn't have to have an assortment of lenses much less be changing them and incurring any dust, dirt or moisture.
A friend has used his Canon Powershot SX 30 to get great shots of desert bighorn sheep. Another friend has used his Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 to get great shots of a wandering herd of bull elk. A rancher I know has a Hikon Coolpix P500 has gotten excellent shots of coyotes. I use a Panasonic Lumix DMC_FZ100 and have a variety of wildlife shots and video as well.
The technology that the manufacturers are able to install in their cameras is nothing but unbelievable. It appears that the superzoom segment of the camera market is growing rapidly and is displacing the DSLR market segment. Am waiting to see new superzoom products coming from Canon (Canon lenses) and Panasonic (Leica lenses). Nikon recently introduced their new Coolpix P510 with a 42x zoom optical Nikkor lens. These cameras are reasonably priced ,lightweight and feature-loaded. They are worth a look! !/I]
DreaminofMT6X6s
Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2010
- Messages
- 800
I'm going throught the same camera research myself and have been doing some editing of the pics I take with our crappy camera to make them more interesting. Have any of these been edited in any way? They are strikingly beautiful and the color is fantastic. I'm really impressed. I haven't been able to take shots like these at all, which is why we're buying a new camera. So again, have you edited them to bring some of the color out?
Most of the shots have been edited. That being said, I could consider it minimal. I have Windows Live that came with my computer to crop and sharpen pics. Very rarely do I play with post processing contrast or saturation. All of these shots were jpg and not RAW.
