I'm thinking about going to digital and would like some advice on what camera I should get. Is an SLR the way to go or are there advanced digitials (10x zoom and macro already in the camera) that will fit the bill? I'm wanting to stay under 1000 bucks if that's possible as well. Thanks everyone.
I'm looking at putting together a system for my brother in law at the moment. And really, that's the key word--SYSTEM. The classic beginner's mistake is to dump all your money on a camera body, and then buy a lens, and after that you have no money left. WRONG WRONG WRONG! I think that you should concentrate on gear in this order of importance:
1) Lens. You decide what you want to shoot, and that pretty much tells you what lens you have to have. Start with the LENSES!
2) Tripod & head. For most nature work, keeping the tripod steady is crucial. Not only are photos sharper, but having the camera on a tripod helps you take the time to improve your composition. Buy a decent tripod--not a fifty dollar one.
3) Camera. The least important thing. Don't forget to budget for a polarizer if you shoot landscapes, and maybe a simple ND grad system.
My brother in law was looking at the Canon 30D to take photos of wildlife and macro shots of flowers. He was want to spend $2,000. Right off you can see the problem. The 30D is something like !,500. That only leaves $500 for a couple of good lenses and a good tripod. I suggested he buy the following: Sigma 50-500mm, used Tamron 90mm macro, used bogen 3011 tripod, Nikon D50 camera, polarizer for the Tamron. The lenses I suggested will do what he wants to do. A cheap $300 lens and no tripod likely would not.
Hi Kyle,
the SLR is the way to go...a good SLR from Canon or Nikon is way better than any digicam. In particular, the SLRs have three advantages:
- much higher image quality (less noise, more dynamic range, great resolution)
- great speed and versatily
- with digicama it is very difficult to get a clean BG, because their lenses have very short focal length. (you have to consider the actual FL, not the 35mm equivalent)
If you have a limited budget, I'd suggest to get a cheap DSLR (Canon 350D or Nikon D50) and just one lens (the Sigma 18-125 and the Nikkor 18-70 are quite good and cheap). The tripod is very useful, too.
I already have an Canon Rebel TI SLR with a Canon 75-300mm Zoom lens and a 28-90mm lens that came with that camera body. I want to go to SLR but just don't wanna break the bank on the transition if I don't have to. I will want a macro lens for wildflower/little critter shots and will also want to take landscape and wildlife photos as well. I already have a polarizing filter and a cheap tripod as well. Suggestions?
Discussion
11 repliesGuy
1) Lens. You decide what you want to shoot, and that pretty much tells you what lens you have to have. Start with the LENSES!
2) Tripod & head. For most nature work, keeping the tripod steady is crucial. Not only are photos sharper, but having the camera on a tripod helps you take the time to improve your composition. Buy a decent tripod--not a fifty dollar one.
3) Camera. The least important thing. Don't forget to budget for a polarizer if you shoot landscapes, and maybe a simple ND grad system.
My brother in law was looking at the Canon 30D to take photos of wildlife and macro shots of flowers. He was want to spend $2,000. Right off you can see the problem. The 30D is something like !,500. That only leaves $500 for a couple of good lenses and a good tripod. I suggested he buy the following: Sigma 50-500mm, used Tamron 90mm macro, used bogen 3011 tripod, Nikon D50 camera, polarizer for the Tamron. The lenses I suggested will do what he wants to do. A cheap $300 lens and no tripod likely would not.
Kentin SD
the SLR is the way to go...a good SLR from Canon or Nikon is way better than any digicam. In particular, the SLRs have three advantages:
- much higher image quality (less noise, more dynamic range, great resolution)
- great speed and versatily
- with digicama it is very difficult to get a clean BG, because their lenses have very short focal length. (you have to consider the actual FL, not the 35mm equivalent)
If you have a limited budget, I'd suggest to get a cheap DSLR (Canon 350D or Nikon D50) and just one lens (the Sigma 18-125 and the Nikkor 18-70 are quite good and cheap). The tripod is very useful, too.
I would look into the Canon Digital Rebel XT since it will work with your lenses. The XT has a $100 rebate that is good until July 15th.
The next jump up in megapixels is the Canon 5D with 12.7 but at a cost of nearly $3000.
I have the XT and it is excellent....you can print 16x24" (40x60cm) with a great image quality, if you use good lenses.
You can see some sample crops here: Image Quality
Kent in SD