good wildlife watching eq.

[Firefox]

Can anyone reccomend a good:
SLR Digital Camera
Binoculars
Trailcam
Night Vision Monocular

Good quality but not too expensive (for begginer)



Thanks in advance
Firefox

[Stevelphoto]

I don't know anything about the latter 2 items, but have some knowledge about the first 2.

Most budget D-SLR cameras are quite comparable nowadays. A lens to go with it is of far more concern. I'll have to warn you that to get good pictures of smaller animals (e.g birds), you will need quite an expensive lens. If you still want to go down this route, then try getting a secondhand camera - a lot of people (foolishly) buy the next camera that comes out, so slightly older models that are still very good can be found relatively cheap - you should be able to get a good camera for £200-300. A good lens for wildlife on a budget is a sigma 135-400mm (£200?). See what I mean about cost You'll need at least 300mm of focal length really.
Either way, the most popular camera brands are nikon and canon - because they have the biggest ranges of lenses, and because of their popularity, there is more stuff available for their systems secondhand.
If this seems too expensive, it's worth considering a superzoom camera, which don't have quite the same quality as a D-SLR (smaller sensors), but give you a good amount of reach - they tend to go from a wide angle for landscapes to a good 300mm or so. The lens is built in, and you can get a very good one for £200-300 new.

As for binoculars, in the UK, opticron represent excellent value for money. If you go onto their website and select binoculars, they are sorted in price order. I remember looking through a mates Bresser Safari 8x32's and thinking they were very good for £70 - I might try a pair for myself.

[Words]

If you are getting a trailcam I'd suggest you look at purchasing from America or via an auction site as the prices in the UK are high, and choice is limited from what I've seen. It's really a case of looking around and seeing what your budget will cope with, but for something halfway decent expect to spend around £100 (about double if you make a UK purchase). If you are planning on night vision you'll proably want an Infrared (IR) system. These won't spook the animals with flash. Video quality isn't necessarily great but will let you see what's happening. Stills quality is generally moderate to poor on these units. Moultrie i-40 or i-60 seem decent from reports of owners (I've not used either).

[captaincarot]

stevel having read your post, i had a look for sigma lenses, the only ones i could find after trawling all over the net were 3 times the price that you're suggesting, though you're not too far out with the cameras which seem to start round 300 quid.

so an slr with 300 to 400 mm lense looks like it's going to cost a grand or there abouts.

another option is a bridge camera which comes with lense for between 100 and 300 quid, though you will lose a bit of performance compared with a dslr, it's abit not a massive ammount,

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by Firefox

Can anyone reccomend a good:
SLR Digital Camera
Binoculars
Trailcam
Night Vision Monocular

Good quality but not too expensive (for begginer)

See my reply to captaincarot about a scope.

Same principles apply here.
Quality and inexpensive do not go together, and it is easy to
think that cheaper brands are OK, when in a few months you will
realize they are not.

I keep a pair of 10x50 Bressers in my kitchen for looking
across my garden at the feeding station - they are fine for
that but frankly rubbish; but they only cost £16.00 in Lidl.

I also bought, a real impulse buy, a more expensive pair in
Lidl, for about £75.00 - these are quite large and heavy
(no prisms, so long) but amazing value for money and I
leave them in the car so I always have a pair with me,
and it is not the end of the world if they are stolen.
I use them when I take friends and relatives down to
Minsmere (3 mikes away).

Go to a few reserves and ask people to try out their equipment.
Most are only too happy. Many like me have made the
same mistake that you are going to do

Others have commented on the camera - a bridge may well
be the way to go. Image quality can be great, but they
are much slower to start up , focus and repsond to shutter being pressed.

Trailcams and night vision are outisde my knowledge.

[Stevelphoto]

Originally Posted by captaincarot

stevel having read your post, i had a look for sigma lenses, the only ones i could find after trawling all over the net were 3 times the price that you're suggesting, though you're not too far out with the cameras which seem to start round 300 quid.

so an slr with 300 to 400 mm lense looks like it's going to cost a grand or there abouts.

another option is a bridge camera which comes with lense for between 100 and 300 quid, though you will lose a bit of performance compared with a dslr, it's abit not a massive ammount,

Hi,

I was talking about going secondhand. I've seen Canon 20Ds and 30Ds for less than £300, which will be better in many ways than the current crop of budget D-SLRs. As for the lens, it tends to go for around £200 secondhand. Bargains inevitably come up eventually, and just because someone is charging a high price on ebay for once piece of equipment doesn't mean that everyone will charge the same.

I did mention bridge cameras, too - they are very good value!

[captaincarot]

Originally Posted by Stevelphoto

Hi,

I was talking about going secondhand. I've seen Canon 20Ds and 30Ds for less than £300, which will be better in many ways than the current crop of budget D-SLRs. As for the lens, it tends to go for around £200 secondhand. Bargains inevitably come up eventually, and just because someone is charging a high price on ebay for once piece of equipment doesn't mean that everyone will charge the same.

I did mention bridge cameras, too - they are very good value!

sorry must have missed that bit

then got all over excited

as for hobjobs, are much slower to start up , focus and repsond to shutter being pressed.


it can be a problem sometimes, you end up with a picture of mud where there were 2 lovely focused chaffinches for example, just as you presssed the shutter button.(as happened to me on saturday)

[Mike H]

Hi,

I have only ever used one Night Vision Monocular which is the Yukon ranger 5x42. Its difficult for me to say if its better than any other "budget" Night Vision equipment or if it fits with your definition of budget! but having just been through the process of deciding what to get thought it would be useful to at least give you my experiences.

First the things I like.
(1) Because its "digital" it is not sensitive to light so you don’t need to worry about protecting it or it getting accidentally turned on during the day. You can burn out the tube in some Night Vision kit by exposing it to to much light.
(2) Its got the ability to attach it to a recorder so I can use my ebay special MPEG 4 player / recorder to record images through it
(3) Its got a built in IR Illuminator that can increase its range by providing additional light source
(4) Things are Black and white and not green

Now the things I don’t like so much.
(5) The fixed x5 focus
(6) It eats batteries
(7) Its quite bulky / heavy to have hanging round your neck
(8) It messes up your own night vision

The fixed x5 focus is the big one for me. If you are using it quite close to a subject (e.g. at a badger sett) you get a very narrow field of view. If its totally dark the result is you can hear something and know you should be able to see it through the scope but it can be a right pain scanning around in the dark trying to find it. Oh for a wide angle mode!
The IR illuminator can also be a bit of a pain if the subject is close as it just shows up as a small bright "blob" that can make the scene a bit to bright. It also does not work well in woods as it just bounces back off the trees. However the IR illuminator is optional so you can switch it off / adjust it. Also if you look through the device for any length of time it messes up your own night vision as the display is quite bright. This can be an issue if you need to move straight after using it. However I am looking at putting some kind of filter on the display to try to tone it down.

As for results first time I used it I was walking down a track in complete darkness when I heard a sound, got the scope on the source and had a perfect view of a badger walking down the track and turning left into a field without at any point knowing I was standing there. One the same test I also scanned a field and got to see a fox walking through the field about 150 yards away that I would not even have know was there without it. So it does the job for me. Just don’t expect Military grade / BBC wildlife quality night vision.

I have also been experimenting with CCTV equipment that has built in IR Illumination as for some things (e.g. watching Badger setts) I think that might be better because of the wider angle of view. I am also playing with a Trail Cam and a Sony Camcorder with a night mode. (I am trying to see / track a local otter at the moment so seeing in the dark is important to me)

Anyway if anybody is interested about the Yukon Ranger let me know and I will see if I can upload some sample videos recorded through it on to You Tube

Will also post my experiance with my trailcam

[PentaxPete]

Firefox - if you have a tight budget, but can manage a DSLR, as a novice, i would plump for a Pentax body. Pentax havent changed their bayonet mount system in over 30 years, and so you can benefit from all the cheap lenses available from the mid/late 70's.

Some are obviously better lenses than others, but there's a wealth of info out there to guide you in that direction.

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by PentaxPete

Firefox - if you have a tight budget, but can manage a DSLR, as a novice, i would plump for a Pentax body. Pentax havent changed their bayonet mount system in over 30 years, and so you can benefit from all the cheap lenses available from the mid/late 70's.

Some are obviously better lenses than others, but there's a wealth of info out there to guide you in that direction.

I note you say all lenses, I have gone this route because I have a collection of old glass, but I find that quite a lot of it cannot be used easily, as the camera can't sense the aperture and so the camera just sulks. The manual is less than clear about this, if you have solved this problem perhaps you could send me a Private Message, I would be very grateful.