Surf Photography

Hi

I have been passionate about getting into surf photography for some time and

have finally decided to do something about it.

However, as a compete beginner I am quite confused as to what my choice of

camera & housing should be.

Can anyone offer any assistance and point me in the right direction.

I can only guess that my requirements would be mid-price level and someone has

suggest Canon or Nikon cameras.

Thanks

Neil

ARe you looking for DSLR or a point & shoot? And what is your budget? We need to know that in order to recommend anything, especially since in this case, its the lens that is the most important, not the body. Also, you mentioned a housing...will you you shooting from in the water? If not, you don't one, if so, it'll cost you quite a bit, those things aren't cheap.

Boats are usually impractical platforms if the waves are large, and swimming out with the surfers while trying to wield a camera is pretty tricky too. Hence why most surfing shots are made from the shore using big expensive long telephoto lenses (often with a teleconverter to increase the effective focal length) on expensive sturdy tripods. What is your budget?

Go to www.sportsshooter.com and search their archives. It's the best place I know for everything gadget and sports related. Some people make custom housings... etc.

 

It was something I considered, and I found some useful info at the abovementioned site.

 

A long telephoto is pretty nice from the beach. There are some affordable AIS Nikon versions if you change your mind and go that route.

Neil, waterproof housing is just as expensive (if not more) than actually buying a good telephoto lens for a DSLR. I use a Canon 30D for surf shoots (5 fps shooting rate). The 30D also stands up good against salt water and air providing you clean it every day.

If you buy a 'non waterproof' camera body, then fill over the tiny screws in the camera body with some kind of wax to stop rust. And it pays to carry a bottle of fresh water and clean tissues to wash and dry the camera in case a wave hits you unexpectedly. I use a 200-400mm, and a 100-300mm lens and a 2x converter and a circular polariser to reduce the glare. If you don't want to buy a tripod then you can use a backpack to lean your gear on to steady the lens.