Good budget lenses for rainforest trip?

[pamphobeteus]

Hello, I'll be acquiring a D3200 soon and was wondering what lenses would be good for wildlife, scenery, as well as insects, on a budget price. I was just thinking about using the two kit lenses for wildlife and then get a Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D Macro Lens for the macro shots. Would this work well for taking not too close up shots, but also for snakes, amphibians, etc.?

 

[Dinardy]

Sounds good to me. The kit lenses will suffice and won't hurt your wallet too much if they get damaged by the water and condensation. Maybe invest in a cheap monopod as well, I couldn't imagine the lighting being too good under the canopy, and with the slower kit lenses, this might be a problem in some situations.

 

[Derrel]

Hello, I'll be acquiring a D3200 soon and was wondering what lenses would be good for wildlife, scenery, as well as insects, on a budget price. I was just thinking about using the two kit lenses for wildlife and then get a Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D Macro Lens for the macro shots. Would this work well for taking not too close up shots, but also for snakes, amphibians, etc.?

TPF member sm4him has the Tokina 100mm AT-X macro...it's a nice imager! I've seen a fair number of pics she's shot with it, and it has a nice rendering on close-ups.

 

[Mike_E]

I'd be more concerned with weather sealing.

 

[pamphobeteus]

Would it be possible to buy a weather proof case that can go around the camera and lens when I use it?


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[ulrichsd]

Would it be possible to buy a weather proof case that can go around the camera and lens when I use it?

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Dika-pac makes a water proof bag but it is impossible to use most camera functions. I've been to Costa Rica rainforest and Vietnam rainy season and i think you'll be ok if you aren't planning in shooting in the rain. Get a nice water resistant camera bag and some silica anti moisture things in the bag.

If you are looking at saving space maybe you could get a are teleconverter for your 100mm macro lens. Not sure that lens handles them but a 2x would give you 200mm f/5.6

Otherwise you could look at the 70-300mm as another option for a little more reach

 

[bc_steve]

Hello, I'll be acquiring a D3200 soon and was wondering what lenses would be good for wildlife, scenery, as well as insects, on a budget price. I was just thinking about using the two kit lenses for wildlife and then get a Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D Macro Lens for the macro shots. Would this work well for taking not too close up shots, but also for snakes, amphibians, etc.?

TPF member sm4him has the Tokina 100mm AT-X macro...it's a nice imager! I've seen a fair number of pics she's shot with it, and it has a nice rendering on close-ups.

I have it as well. Nice lens, very sharp. You can use it for non macro stuff but at 100mm you'll need to be a little close to your subject.

A polarizing filter is useful in the forest. Get one of those, and a tripod. There is not always an abundance of lighr under the canopy.

 

[CmazzJK]

Hello, I'll be acquiring a D3200 soon and was wondering what lenses would be good for wildlife, scenery, as well as insects, on a budget price. I was just thinking about using the two kit lenses for wildlife and then get a Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D Macro Lens for the macro shots. Would this work well for taking not too close up shots, but also for snakes, amphibians, etc.?

I personally really like the Nikon 18-140 VR, its a bit pricey new, but you can find it used fairly cheap. Shooting in the rainforest is probably going to require something with a fairly large aperture though wont it? I have never been to the rainforest.

 

[JoeW]

Hello, I'll be acquiring a D3200 soon and was wondering what lenses would be good for wildlife, scenery, as well as insects, on a budget price. I was just thinking about using the two kit lenses for wildlife and then get a Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D Macro Lens for the macro shots. Would this work well for taking not too close up shots, but also for snakes, amphibians, etc.?

I've got a bunch of thoughts.

1. Look at a rain sleeve. It's not as good as a weather-sealed camera but it's the next best option for a cheap, travel-friendly option.
2. Ziplock bags are your friend. And your next best friend will be those little bags of silica that come in food and electronic products to soak up moisture. Get a ziplock bag and collect about 20 of these silica packs--I'm serious--1 or 2 isn't adequate. When you're not using a lens or camera, it goes into something (ziplock bag, lens case, whatever, that has a silica bag in it).
3. I assume you'll be going when it's "warm" (i.e.: this isn't rainforest like say...the Alaska panhandle). In which you're going to be sweating like a pig. Which means you'll get perspiration over all sorts of stuff (including lens and screens). So a couple of micro-fibre cloths (not just one) plus lens cleaning materials will be important. A headband or boonie hat are good ideas (b/c you'd be surprised how much sweat ends up on the camera from your forehead and nose as you look over to see the screen or check WB or ISO settings or whatever.
4. If you're going to be going in and out of air conditioning (like a van/lorry) to the outdoors, then condensation will be an issue with your gear.
5. Even a weather-sealed camera does you little good if you're always having to open and close it to swap out SD cards or replace lens. Which is why in dusty or wet conditions, you try to avoid swapping out lens or replacing cards. Therefore....
--get a couple of SD cards with big capacity. I hope you'll be shooting like crazy. In which case you're going to need a lot of storage capacity. None of that 4gb SD card crap. Or if you must, than shoot lower resolution Jpeg rather high resolution Jpeg or RAW. And put one lens on and keep it there until you get back to the lodge.
--zoom lens. No idea what type of environment you'll be shooting in. If it's virgin jungle than you may not be able to see more than 20 feet in front of you. But if this is eco-tourism than there will be paths, maybe a "tree house" with a spectacular view of the rainforest top, maybe rolling terrain (like in Guatemala or Panama). You'll see sights or animals where you just can't get any closer so you'll need the zoom capability. I might bring one wide angle for instances where you want a group shot and can't backup to fit everyone in. Otherwise, I'd think about renting one good zoom that is fast and goes out to 200mm.
--aperture. Some rain forests can be very dark, lots of extreme light. Tripod can be useful for slow exposure. For shooting critters (especially when they move), having a faster shutter speed will be important (and thus faster glass). I have not used the Tokina but frankly, 100mm isn't that close for some of these creatures...many of them won't let you get that close. So you can either shoot with ISO 100 with a crisp, tack-sharp lens and then blow up/crop like crazy. Or you can zoom in.

Find a mosquito repellant you can live with. And recognize you're going to sweat it all over everything (including your camera gear). You might want to consider a tactical vest. Yeah, they scream "Photographer" or even "Tourist". But for environs like this, they're great. Get a mesh one and in hot humid weather you just wear that on top or maybe over a T-shirt. You fit all of your gear in it PLUS water and snacks and mozzie juice and a small towel and sunglasses and SD cards and extra battery and cleaning equipment and maybe a filter plus your ziplock bags (of varying sizes--one that holds the entire camera with lens on it). If you haven't been in the rainforest or tropics before, you often get these afternoon thunderstorm dumps. Comes in quickly, torrential downpour and then 20 minutes later it stops. So you need to be prepared to coverup gear quickly.

One other hint: bring a ziplock bag full of fine dirt/dust when you go out in the field. Put a silica bag in with it. In the rainforest, typically with the humidity, dirt will just clump together. You'll find yourself in triple canopy and there will be a spectacular beam of sunlight coming down through the foliage. Take a handful of fine dirt out of that baggie and throw it up high in the air and then shoot that sunbeam. Wunderbar!

If I were going on a rainforest trip and planning on shooting mostly landscape and critters, I'd bring two lens for my Nikon body:
--a 35mm f1.8 (gives me a sharp lens, good in low light and wide angle for group shots or confined spaces)
--a 200mm zoom (either my f2.8 70-200mm Tamron or my Nikon f3.5 28-200mm). The 200mm would stay on the camera and the 35mm would come out only when I needed group shots (at the restaurant) or in low light.