Camera for Nature/Wildlife Photography?

[Knickle25]

Good Evening All!

I am new here and to photography. I am still learning photography in general but was wondering what would be a good setup to get for nature/wildlife photography? I have just graduated with a BS in Zoology and thought that photography would be a great skill to complement my degree. I want to be able to take photographs of wild animals in their natural habitats, so im looking for a camera that would let me do this. I will mainly be capturing and tagging carnivores and a few ungulates.

I am still very green to photography. I am doing some online photography classes to get the basics down, but I have the money now to get my setup and was hoping to get something that would be future proof for myself. My budget is about $3,000 and was hoping to get a camera and setup of something that is well above my skill level that I could grow into for a long time to come.

I have been looking around and I have a background in astronomy as well and noticed this little gem. What do you think of this lens?

William Optics Redcat 51 Telescope | Free Shipping on William Optics Refractor Telescope - A-RC51-RD

I am not sure of what im getting myself into here with photography but hopefully you guys can help steer me in the right direction! Thank you for any advice and recommendations you guys might have and I cant wait to get out there!

Thanks again!

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, 250mm f/4.9 Petzval 4/3 elements ... an classic simple design.
I don't know much about refractor telescopes, but this ain't going to cut it for still photography of wildlife.

Most of us wildlife/nature/bird photographers here use focal lengths above 300mm (full frame) ... typically 500-800mm.
The lens will be your biggest expense.

If you are interested in deep space astronomy, I would suggest getting a dedicated telescope for that purpose (large Newtonions aren't that expensive)

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, last time you were here (in the Forum) you had a Nikon D3100 package ... what has changed in the last 8 years?

 

[Strodav]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your degree, which proves your love of nature. You didn't mention a budget, so let me go through some options. First option is a bridge camera. They have almost all of the features of a dslr, but with a zoom lens that can't be changed out. Here are some to consider. I hear really good things from fellow birders about the Nikon Coolpix P900 for about $500. There is a newer version, the P1000, with a price of about $1k. I am also high on the Panasonic Lumix series like the FZ80 for about $300. Canon also makes some great gear like the PowerShot sx60. You will notice all have very long reach, which is needed for wildlife and birding.

If you want to go the dslr route there is no better wildlife / birding body than the Nikon D500, but now you are in the $1500 range and you will need a long lens, which is another $1200 give or take. You won't be able to avoid the lens, but an excellent lower cost body option is the D7200 for about $700. Canon has equivalent equipment.

The hot topic in photographic equipment now is mirrorless, an evolution on the dslr. If you want to go this route, Sony is probably the leader, but I hear concerns about the weather resistance of their gear. Nikon has the Z6 and Canon has the EOS R. Now you are talking the $2k to $2.5k range + the cost of a long lens.

I would recommend you start with a bridge camera and a tripod. Study photography, both the technical and creative side and get out there and shoot, shoot, shoot. Learn everything there is to know about your camera. You will know when you outgrow it and by that time you will know enough to make an informed decision about your next camera. Another important aspect of photography is what Post Processing software you will use. I highly recommend a monthly subscription to Adobe Lightroom and PostScript. There is a learning curve, but plenty of help online.

Finally, some (E)books to consider: Steve Perry's "Secrets to Stunning Wildlife Photography" at www.backcountrygallery.com as well as Tony Northrup's "How to Create Stunning Digital Photography", which comes with a lot of supporting online videos on Youtube. You can find the Northrup's stuff on Amazon or Northrup.Photo

Again, welcome and good luck!

 

[Derrel]

I would put the vast majority of your budget into optics. Currently the 150 to 600 mm zoom lenses from Tamron and Sigma Are the current affordable favorites, followed by the 200 to 500 mm zoom category and also the 100 to 400mm models.

The category of wildlife is extremely broad and general, and birds or birds in flight are quite small,compared to Bears,or elk, or moose.

A good way to save a huge amount of money is to buy a used camera, and there are many good deals available. I personally would recommend a used Nikon, Mainly because there are so many good lenses available.

 

[RVT1K]

I personally would recommend a used Nikon, Mainly because there are so many good lenses available.

I would also add that all the smartest and best looking photographers use Nikon....

 

[Jeff15]

I would also add that all the smartest and best looking photographers use Nikon....

And Panasonic Lumix..........

 

[Derrel]

post: 3964574, member: 230730"]I would also add that all the smartest and best looking photographers use Nikon....

Present company excepted, right?

 

[Derrel]

It really isn't so much about the camera, but about the picture situation. Getting close is far better than having a long lens and shooting from 50 yards. The majority of the very best nature photography is something fairly close up, so field craft sometimes called sneaking ability, really counts for a lot.

One thing to keep in mind is that a used 500 mm F4 Nikon which is a manual focus P-series lens is often a really good bargain these days. As a rule of thumb take off about 65 to 80% in price depending on age,for used equipment, and you can see that you'll save a huge amount by buying used And not by buying brand new.

 

[BillM]

As already mentioned, spend the money on good glass as it lasts a lifetime. And don't be afraid of buying used. You can get great deals on something like a Nikon D3s that not all that long ago was Nikons flagship camera. You can find them now for under $1000, they still take amazing photos.

I had mine at the Philly zoo a couple of months ago paired with a first generation Nikon 80-400

 

[Knickle25]

Hmm, last time you were here (in the Forum) you had a Nikon D3100 package ... what has changed in the last 8 years?

Nothing has changed, that camera has long since been donated to family.

You didn't mention a budget, so let me go through some options

Budget for the whole kit to get started is $3,000

A lot of the animals that I will be in contact with will be from far away to take pics of. When I am close to them they will unfortunately be tranquilized while we are tagging and chipping them. Wont have the time to pop off pics at that point unfortunately...

 

[BillM]

For two thirds of your budget you could get a used D500 and Nikon 200-500 MM and a 50 MM. On the DX body that would give you the equivalent of 300-750 MM and 75 MM for closer shots.

 

[Overread]

I was going to say that as you mentioned working in the field that a good compact camera or phone would likely cover you for darted animals since you'd be working and, in my experience, a big camera just gets in the way or ends up sitting in the bag the whole time when you're focused on work (esp in something time sensitive like that where you've a limited window to perform all your tasks within). Though sometimes experience and a larger team can give you time to shoot, even if its just documenting the surveying method and the animal and any notable features worth keeping an eye on.



Otherwise you've had solid advice already with working within your budget. Canon or Nikon would suit you well, though Nikon has the lions share in terms of backlog of second hand lenses to choose from at cheaper prices provided you don't mind manual focusing on some. Both have the same range of modern 3rd party lenses to pick from. That said at present Nikon is ahead in sensor technology (broadly speaking). So the current trend is toward them.

 

[RVT1K]

As already mentioned, spend the money on good glass as it lasts a lifetime. And don't be afraid of buying used. You can get great deals on something like a Nikon D3s that not all that long ago was Nikons flagship camera. You can find them now for under $1000, they still take amazing photos.

I had mine at the Philly zoo a couple of months ago paired with a first generation Nikon 80-400

I have a D7000 and two D3's. I just bought a used D4 and was planning on selling both of the D3's to finance the latest purchase.

I'm having second thoughts and very well may sell the D7000 instead. I hadn't used it in a while and when I used it in burst mode, I thought there was something wrong. It is sooo slow compared to the D3.

As mentioned, buying used is not a bad way to go at all. You can get a nice used D3 and a 70-200 f/2.8, a combination that would take great shots, and be under budget.

 

[ac12]

Hmmm long distance.

I suggest you look at a Micro 4/3 camera; either Olympus or Panasonic.
With the 2x crop factor a 75-300mm lens is a 3-12x lens, similar to a 150-600mm lens on a FF camera. Same magnification in a smaller/lighter package.

Edit:
Presumption is that the m4/3 and FF cameras have similar pixel count (MP).