First slr camera and lenses

[ryan_tracy]

I am looking for some info on my first slr and some lenses. I currently shoot a

olympus stylus 800 and looking to upgrade. I like to shoot landscape

(mountains,rivers,lakes ect.) I also like to shoot nature if I come across

anything interesting. I would like to keep the price under 1600.00 for a body

unless there was something really worth an extra couple hundred. As for lenses,

what would work good? Any info would be great! thanks for your time.

 

Ryan

[Two23]

I would suggest you scale back to under a thousand on the camera and put the $600 you saved on a good tripod and head. That's for starters. Next, what do you meand by "nature?" Are you talking about taking landscape photos out West? Are you talking about taking photos of flying birds? Are you talking about taking photos of penguins on Falkland Islands? Do you photo frogs and snakes? Do you want to photo insects such as butterflies? The more specific you are, the more we can help.

 

Everything starts with the lens. The lens will determine what you photo, how you will photo it, and the quality. Think very, very carefully about what kinds of images you want to make, and then look for lenses that will creat them. Really, the camera is the last thing in the chain. Put the money & thinking on lenses first. A good tripod will be crucial for you too.

 

 

Kent in SD

[ryan_tracy]

For nature I mean animals like bears, deer and anything wild. also waterfowl and quail. most landscape photos I take are rivers, lakes, mountains, cliffs, waterfalls, fields, sunrise, sunsets, weather ect.

[colinsouthern]

You've got some interests that will require some fairly diverse equipment - landscapes require wide-angle lenses - wild animals and birds are completely at the other end of the spectrum (so there's at least a couple of lenses) - add to that a good tripod and head - and camera body and I think you'll need to raise your budget a little if you're after quality results.

[Two23]

Lens choices:

 

Sigma 50-500mm

Nikon 80-400m VR

Nikon 300mm AFS + TC-14E

 

These run between $1,000 and $1,500. You will need a tripod and decent ballhead (AcraTech, RRS, Kirk, etc.) for the non-VR choices. That plus tripod will run you about $500 as a minimum. Yes, the tripod/head is that crucial for what you say you want to photo. I have a $900 camera and a $900 tripod. I have the Nikon 80-400mm VR. It's a very good general purpose lens. It's sharp and the VR works, within reason. Downside is the autofocus is slow. I put a Kirk tripod collar on it and generally do use it on a tripod though. Just about any lens will work for landscapes. I like the Sigma 10-20mm, but I'm an ultrawide nut. As long as the lens opens to at least 18mm it will work. The 18-55mm kit lens is very good optically. Downside is it's a little harder to use ND grads on, and I'm not sure about polarizer sizes. I use a polarizer for most of my daytime "landscape" type shots. They are especially crucial for waterfalls, frozen or otherwise.

 

 

Kent in SD

[lauren_macintosh]

My sugestion is to buy yourself: Used Equipment a good place to look other than E-bay is fredmiranda.com, KEH.com, craiglist in your locatetion: for starters:

Start with a 8mp camera who's brand is your choice, Lens is another choice you can only decide [myself I have a 17-85mm walk around lens and a 100-300mm F-4 with extender 1-1/2 for the lens to me this is a good start from my point of view:]

 

One other consideration is take your time do not rush yourself theres a good deal around every corner its just knowing if it is!

 

take a look at the Dynatran tripods I have one and am very happy with it mine weights 5 pounds there are lighter one's as for the head

I have a gitzo G1276M , I love it because it does not have handles sticking out while carrying it:

 

I agree with Ken you will Need a Polarizer for high reflection shots

and you will need a cheap set of ND filters to start with, why I say cheap set is because ,if you take care of your stuff they will last till you can afford a better one's and then you will know which ones you use the most and buy those only:

 

now as IS lens that is a very hot topic on any forum, Me my 17-85mm is IS , 100-300mm is not IS , but I know that if I need to shoot hand held then I up the ISO and get higher speeds for shooting with,

there may ways to do thing with once you know them its a lot cheaper and this is where a good strong tripod is very helpfull:

 

attached is a foto of Prong horn antelope at yllowstone on 100-300mm sigma F-4 lens

 

Good luck with your upgrade:<div></div>

[joseph_smith3]

For Nikon, here are some Nikon lenses to consider: 18-70mm AF-S DX; 300mm AF f4.0 for animals; 70-210 AF D f 4-5.6; 50mm AF f1.8 prime or 20mm AF f 2.8 prime. Cameras--D 50, D 80; I did not recommend the D 40 or D 40x because you lenses are limited to AF-S lenses which means buying new ones. I am a strong believer in buying used Nikon glass. I have done it for 40 years.

 

One polarizer, Singh Ray, Sprocket Size, to fit the Cokin P holder. This holder will also allow you to mount GND filters used with and without the polarizer. Get two GNDs, a two stop and three stop. Mine are fron Singh Ray.

 

Kirk ball head, BH-1 if you get the 300mm lens. BH-3 if you skip the 300mm. Get lens plates that are double dovetailed from Really Right Stuff or Wimberley. To mount your camera to the ball head, get the Wimberley universal mounting plate. Buy the best tripod you can afford. It will last you a lifetime. Get a double bubble to mount in your hot shoe to level your camera. I like the one from Hakuba.

 

Joe Smith

[joseph_smith3]

If you are going to get new Nikon glass, this link is well worth reading. http://www.bythom.com/DigRecs.htm

 

Thom Hogan's web site is worth checking out for anything dealing with Nikon.

 

Joe Smith

[jeff_hostetler]

Being on a budget (aren't we all) you might consider a used body, tripod, etc. Craig's list, in my area anyway, always has some deals. Good luck!

[ryan_tracy]

Thanks everybody for the excellent info, tips and advice. All has been much better put and understandable than the camera salesmen on commision I have been dealing with:) thanks for all your help!

[carl_becker2]

I use Nikon equip and have similiar interests. If you go with a D80 and 18-70 or if you need wider the Tokina 12-24 this could cover general landscape for maybe $1600. A Nikkor 300mm f4 with a teleconverter if more is needed for $600 to $1000+ depending on used and type. I spent $700 on a tripod and head - money well spent. IMHO fast teles (prime) are more important than zoom versitility. Get good glass and upgrade bodies as needed.

[les_barstow]

I'm familiar with Nikon myself and would recommend the D80 as a good starting camera in that line. Buy it with the 18-55 kit lens and add in a telephoto of some sort (I use the 80-400VR, which will suit your needs for larger wildlife in decent lighting, but is probably too slow on a D80 for flying birds...)

 

If you have more cash, these are not necessarily the "top of the line" lens choices...

 

I second (third, fourth...) the recommendation for a good tripod.

[charles_reid]

I think youve gotten some good and awful advice.

 

First ignore the advice about a tripod. The ONLY reason to spend $500 on a tripod (which is a bunch of sticks that hold your camera still) is if you already have ALL the other basics.

 

Body: Step 1 go to a camera store and Hold them. Ergonomics matter a LOT. In that price range you can buy pretty much any slr you want. But you're selecting a >system more than a body. You'll spend far more on lenses than anything else eventually and will be tied to that system.

 

I use and love olympus. I love the ergonomics and quality. The downside is there are slightly fewer lenses available (fewer 3rd party vendors). Oly has more realistic color imho but color is in the eye of the beholder.

 

HIGH end canons are very good cameras. Great high iso performance. Very clear. Lots of lenses available and those lenses tend to be more affordable. Great cameras but imho they feel fragile.

 

Nikons are camera snobs preferences (there was once a good reason for this). The higher end nikons are fantastic cameras and there is more third party support on the high end for nikon than any other brand. The d80 and d40x are supposed to be great cameras (go to dpreview and read the forums about the d80 though) and the pro cameras are as good as it gets. Imho their ergonomics leave a lot to be desired. If i had a Lot of money to start off with i'd probably go high end nikon though the new oly e3 would work too.

 

Sony is also a good choice for body. Built in IS. Beautiful color. Cant go wrong except sony is an electronics company not a camera company. So you cant depend on a lot of lens choices or future support (long term). I love the sony cameras btw but lens choice scares me away.

 

Then you have lenses. The advantage of oly is their kit lenses are very good. Canons suck. No info on nikon. If you want to do landscapes well you'll need a very wide angle lens (7mm 11mm etc). For a top end wide angle lens expect to spend in the $400 range. The oly and probably nikon standard zooms will do in a pinch. For wildlife you're talking a whole new ballgame. The lens i WANT but will never have costs $6500. For a good ultrazoom for wildlife it will cost you minimum $500 -1000. It will be worth it!

 

However on all 3 systems you can use old manual lenses. My wildlife lens atm is an old 250mm zoom with a 2x converter which translates total to 1000mm digital. The only downside is losing fstops.. it is NOT a bright lens. You can manually use old lenses from any system with canon/nikon/olympus on any of the bodies with a $25 converter.

 

AFTER you've made all these decisions and used the camera a while, then it becomes time to get the rest. Filters filters filters. Bags/backpacks. Flashes. You'll do just FINE with a $60-150 tripod. In fact a $20 walmart tripod will do ok if you're not in high wind etc with a heavy setup. My tripods cost $30, $80, and i use a cheap walmart monopod that works fantastic. Its alterego is a $100+ carbon fiber monopod that does the same thing but wins "cool points" among snobs. I'll be buying another tripod soon: a $100 carbon fiber carry tripod. I do almost all of my stuff hand held. Sadly photo opportunities rarely wait for you to dig out a tripod, find a spot, level it, hook up your camera gear etc etc. If you're like me MOST of your great photos come when you're carrying on about your day and see that perfect shot.

 

Good luck. And btw... You cannot go wrong here. All of the big three are excellent systems that match or pass the best 35mm film cameras you could buy ten years ago. Welcome to visual crack addiction.