Wildife artist looking for Wildlife photography advice

[mhc-art]

Good afternoon all,

I'm hoping you can help advise me on a camera and lense for wildlife photography. I am starting out as a wildlife artist and will be going to Africa next year for a month where my main objective is to collect as much reference material as possible.

I am looking at either the Canon 400D or the 30D, am I right in thinking the 400D is the entry level camera and the 30D a step up?... I am quite sure that it will be either of those cameras I choose, what I am less sure of is what zoom lense I should go for as I have no idea what to look for. Any advice would be very much appreciated, how much can I expect to pay?, will I also need another lense for closer subjects or is there one that does both?.. do I buy the camera body only?, any good websites you may all be able to direct me to would also be helpful?..

Thanks!

Martin

[Brocker]

Hi Martin,

Firstly, which camera to buy. I have copied and pasted a recent review which will give a little guidance.
'In conclusion, I am thrilled to have upgraded to a 30D, and I cannot recommend the 30D enough over the 400D, especially for adventurous shooters who like to tackle all sorts of subjects. If you are one who takes your photography seriously, you will outgrow the 400D in no time, as I did with my old 300D; in this regard, the 30D makes for a better investment that just might last you long enough till you move up into the realms of full-frame bodies and L-series lenses. In time, when you are faced with challenging shooting conditions, you’d be glad you chose the 30D, because it is then you will realize you’ll get your shot by how fast you can adjust the controls on your camera and not by having an extra 2 million pixels.'
On the question of which zoom, there are a few threads on WAB which discuss this. My preference for a zoom is the Canon 100-400mm IS USM lens which is superb. For this, you are looking at between £700 and £1000 depending on your luck. The next issue is close up photography. Are you looking at close as in 4 feet or close as in macro which is minute close, such as insects etc? As for websites, there are many. Try Canons' own website and also various specialist camera sites like Warehouse Express or Camera King. . . Hope this helps a little.

[JeffH]

Hi Martin

Welcome to WAB

I don't wish to appear unhelpful but similar questions have been raised many times before and instead of having all the same advice repeated again I'd suggest you start by using the site's search facility and perhaps try under 'which camera' and 'which lens'. This should lead you to numerous helpful threads, though you'll find much conflicting advice depending on whether the poster is a user of Canon, Nikon or another brand

Jeff

[naturelover]

hi martin welcome to the site,you will find quite a few artists on this site,me being one enjoy the site.

[RichBrew]

Jeff's right about choosing a camera. Since you're starting from scratch your best bet is to go to a camera shop (by that I mean a real camera shop) and actually handle the equipment within your budget. You will find that certain models will feel better in your hands, or that buttons to access menus etc are more easy/difficult to operate. Choose what suits you, not what you've read somewhere. Canon and Nikon are as good as each other. If either was no good, the other would have gone out of business a long time ago. Whichever way you go, remember that the camera is just a tool to get the images you want. As an artist, you will know that no-one will ask what brushes you used to create a picture: the same should apply to cameras, though often that is not the case.

RichBrew

[mhc-art]

Thanks for all the help!

Brocker, useful stuff, I think I will go for the 30D, I have handled both and altthough tempted by the extra 2m pixels the 30D feels a better quality and more robust camera. I'm a little surprised the zoom lens is going to cost me as much as the camera!!... that pushes it way out of my budget, but I to a degree my paintings will only be as good as the reference so I might have to.

Jeff/Rich I have been doing my own research in camera shops and looked up posts on this website that may be appropriate. I guess I just wanted the most recent advice and to personalise it a little by explaining my circumstances, although I guess things don't change too quickly in photography.

Cheers everyone!

[Brocker]

Martin,
The Canon 400mm is one of the top of the range lenses. You can come down a little in price by grabbing a 300mm lens and change the brand to a Sigma or Tamron. These will give great quality images but are historically cheaper in price. A lot of the professional on-line retailers offer good advice and you can give them a call and talk to them personally or better still go into their shops. . Good luck and let us know how you get on

[paulthomas]

Originally Posted by mhc-art

Good afternoon all,

I'm hoping you can help advise me on a camera and lense for wildlife photography. I am starting out as a wildlife artist and will be going to Africa next year for a month where my main objective is to collect as much reference material as possible.

I am looking at either the Canon 400D or the 30D, am I right in thinking the 400D is the entry level camera and the 30D a step up?... I am quite sure that it will be either of those cameras I choose, what I am less sure of is what zoom lense I should go for as I have no idea what to look for. Any advice would be very much appreciated, how much can I expect to pay?, will I also need another lense for closer subjects or is there one that does both?.. do I buy the camera body only?, any good websites you may all be able to direct me to would also be helpful?..

Thanks!

Martin

Africa can be a very hostile place to take a camera. I won't advise you what to buy or not buy but I will say don't expect consumer grade cameras and lenses to survive a month's exposure to the African dust.

[HowlinWolf]

You make a good point here, Paul. I don't know if mhc-art is intending to shoot game, but game drives in national parks are very hard on camera equipment, and there is the possibility that dust would present a major problem.

I've added a link to some safari shooting tips. I hope it helps him make a more informed decision.

HW

Digital Safari Equipment Tips

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by HowlinWolf

You make a good point here, Paul. I don't know if mhc-art is intending to shoot game, but game drives in national parks are very hard on camera equipment, and there is the possibility that dust would present a major problem.

I've added a link to some safari shooting tips. I hope it helps him make a more informed decision.

HW

Digital Safari Equipment Tips

Id definitely agree with that - i've no safaried but shooting anything from a moving vehicle in a dusty environment is hard on your gear.

on the camera front ( I can only advise on canon - but nikon have equally good gear)unless you can afford pro spec gear I'd tend to go with the new 40D which has the better build of the 30D family but also features the active dust removal of the 400D. - you might also want to get a 400D or secondhand 20D/30D/350D etc as a backup body.

Shooting from a moving vehicle with limited space I would definitely sugest you get an image stabilised lens - and also one with a good zoom range cos you dont want to be changing lenses willy nilly.

on canon this will mean either the canon 100-400 IS , or the sigma 80-400 OS . If you chose nikon you have a chioice of the nikon 80-400 VR , or the sigma.

If your budget wont stretch to these you could go with something like the 70-300 IS but i would tend towards 400 rather than 300mm if you can stretch to it.

Whatever lens you buy stick a high quality UV filter on the front to protect the optics from grit , and also invest in a decent sensor and lens cleaning kit to use each night.

Also make sure you have plenty of memory cards , and batteries as I guess you wont be able to download or recharge until the evening. Both of these can be bopught cheaply from outlets like 7 day shop.

And finally get a decent quality camera bag to take your kit and protect it when not being used - plus possibly a waistcoat or belt kit to take your cards etc as you need to lay hands on them quickly.

Also if you want to gen up on the camera and using it in the field I'd reccomend the "wildlife photographers year" and "Digital SLR handbook" both by Andy Rouse

hope all that helps