Wildlife Photography and camaras

Hi Zo
I think the best starting point for anyone to help you would be knowing your budget, because prices vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands. And also, what you plan to do with the photographs once you've taken them (eg print them out quite small, print them out huge, or just post them on website) as that would dictate the image quality you'll need. Do you want to fiddle about changing lenses for different sorts of photography which will generally give a higher quality (at a higher cost) or the convenience of doing stuff up close and also farther away with the same lens (bridge camera, cheaper but less quality when made bigger)

Another thought is to think of the best photo's you've seen and ask whoever took them what their gear is

Oh my word, where to start? That's a big subject! Firstly, check out the Getting off Auto index you can see linked at the bottom of all my posts, it pulls together lots of useful photography threads into one place from over the years and will help - some of those threads are about choosing cameras & lenses, some on settings, but all will be handy if you're going for your first DSLR or mirrorless.
After that, don't buy online, go and handle various models if at all possible - ALL these modern cameras are much better than we are. How the camera feels in the hand, is it too heavy, do the controls feel right, are the menus logical to you - all these things will make more of a difference than the make and model.
Third thing? Don't choose a camera. Choose what lenses you are after. The camera is the second thing to choose - you will keep a good lens far longer than you'll keep the camera, so spend the cash on glass. Worst thing is to spend most of the budget on a camera then skimp on the lens for it. For typical birding/wildlife you'll probably want a 4-600mm telephoto - zooms are more flexible so I'd avoid long primes until you've got used to the length & weight of the zoom, but you'll doubtless need a general purpose lens (18-55, 24-105 or similar) and if you're into the small stuff, a macro lens on the Christmas list perhaps. Manufacturer lenses are generally more expensive, but the likes of Sigma, Tamron etc make good choices (and don't forget 2nd hand - MPB.com, WEX are both good for that).
For the camera, go for decent AF (ie not the bottom of the range model if possible) as wildlife pushes AF's capabilities. Frame rate doesn't matter (honestly, it's like top speed in a car, you never use it) - if it will do 10fps mechanical that's wonderful, but buffer depth is probably more interesting - you want 2-3 secs of pictures at full-chat or it'll get frustrating. Most features on cameras are great for bragging rights but not actually relevant in day to day use, so don't get too hung up on them - using that car analogy again, top speed & 0-60 time are great to talk about but when you drive a lot, it's more important that it's quiet & comfortable & that the boot's big enough for all your junk!
As a first foray into the interchangeable world, I'd go crop sensor - a bit cheaper and gives you a bit more effective reach with the long lenses. But buy lenses that work on FF too, in case you change in the future. My take on the main systems (cos you're buying into a system, not just a single bit of kit) - Canon - easiest to learn, excellent ergonomics. Nikon - good ergonomics, lost their way in recent years but coming back strong with their mirrorless offerings & lenses. Sony - poor ergonomics and lousy menus but some excellent lenses and quality results. Micro 4/3 (Olympus etc) - small and lightweight but use too much marketing spin more than the other manufacturers to sell their kit for my liking!
Starting now, I'd probably go mirrorless simply as it's the growing market (see my mirrorless GoA thread from the index for DSLR/mirrorless comparisons) and they're much better if you want to do video too, but remember, they're all better than we are so there's no wrong answer, just what works for you :-)

PimperneBloke said:

Another thought is to think of the best photo's you've seen and ask whoever took them what their gear is

Actually, I'd avoid that - it leads you down the road of thinking that buying the right kit will give you the results you dream about (photogs call it "Trying to buy the picture" - always buying a different camera because the one they have takes "rubbish pics").

Skills and practice make the biggest difference, though it'd be wrong to say that good hardware doesn't help. However, you want to know exactly WHAT issue you're trying to fix before worrying too much about what others use. eg, some cameras handle low light better, so if you find yourself doing lots of low light shots, see what your low-light-heroes use, that may help you think about what camera to buy next if yours is too noisy.

You also see this with wildlife photography where people experience soft images, so they go and buy the same camera someone on the Internet has who often shares sharp pics - and even with the new camera they get soft images. It's because there was never an issue with the old body, they were simply using too slow a shutter speed for the moving wildlife so everything was slightly blurred.

Skillz

Fair point, but I was thinking of asking as a starting point for research, not as a buying recommendation :o)

As an aside, I've just skimmed through your Getting Off Auto's again.... any chance you're going to do a post processing update? Pleeeeeeeeeze  I've decided I ought to shoot RAW rather than JPEG, and do some fiddling!! lol

PimperneBloke said:

Hi Zo
I think the best starting point for anyone to help you would be knowing your budget, because prices vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands. And also, what you plan to do with the photographs once you've taken them (eg print them out quite small, print them out huge, or just post them on website) as that would dictate the image quality you'll need. Do you want to fiddle about changing lenses for different sorts of photography which will generally give a higher quality (at a higher cost) or the convenience of doing stuff up close and also farther away with the same lens (bridge camera, cheaper but less quality when made bigger)

Im not going with a Bridge camera so  im going after one that is a non bridge camara Iv been saving lots of money to get DSLR or Mirrorless.   before I only had 100 and something but now I got over 200 so up to 300 pounds.  Mum has told me I can’t buy one more then that. I was going to go with Mirrorless but I don’t have enough for most if not all of them cause there over that so 300 pounds is the limit Dad whos doing it with me tomarow will let me get one just over but not 400. most of the DSLRs are around my budget range whereas less mirrorless camaras are 

Well done on saving up that much. I wouldn't be too quick to rule out a bridge camera though, because with the DSLR and Mirrorless cameras you have to buy the lenses on top of the cost of the camera body itself.

DLR and mirrorless is more me. Not saying there’s anything wrong with bridge camaras but DSLR and mirrorless camara is for me, Iv decided DSLR or Mirrorless but trying to decide. before I was after mirorless but DSLRs are more in my budget. most of the mirorless camaras are more than my budget it’s just mainly a matter of do I want Crop factor or full frame and other things

Perhaps you should try something closer to home Zo like a camera shop other than Amazon...then you can see and get a feel for the camera and see 1st hand what you can get for your money

London Camera Exchange Ltd
01452 304513

https://g.co/kgs/kirmWC

Unknown said:

Oh my word, where to start? That's a big subject! Firstly, check out the Getting off Auto index you can see linked at the bottom of all my posts, it pulls together lots of useful photography threads into one place from over the years and will help - some of those threads are about choosing cameras & lenses, some on settings, but all will be handy if you're going for your first DSLR or mirrorless.
After that, don't buy online, go and handle various models if at all possible - ALL these modern cameras are much better than we are. How the camera feels in the hand, is it too heavy, do the controls feel right, are the menus logical to you - all these things will make more of a difference than the make and model.
Third thing? Don't choose a camera. Choose what lenses you are after. The camera is the second thing to choose - you will keep a good lens far longer than you'll keep the camera, so spend the cash on glass. Worst thing is to spend most of the budget on a camera then skimp on the lens for it. For typical birding/wildlife you'll probably want a 4-600mm telephoto - zooms are more flexible so I'd avoid long primes until you've got used to the length & weight of the zoom, but you'll doubtless need a general purpose lens (18-55, 24-105 or similar) and if you're into the small stuff, a macro lens on the Christmas list perhaps. Manufacturer lenses are generally more expensive, but the likes of Sigma, Tamron etc make good choices (and don't forget 2nd hand - MPB.com, WEX are both good for that).
For the camera, go for decent AF (ie not the bottom of the range model if possible) as wildlife pushes AF's capabilities. Frame rate doesn't matter (honestly, it's like top speed in a car, you never use it) - if it will do 10fps mechanical that's wonderful, but buffer depth is probably more interesting - you want 2-3 secs of pictures at full-chat or it'll get frustrating. Most features on cameras are great for bragging rights but not actually relevant in day to day use, so don't get too hung up on them - using that car analogy again, top speed & 0-60 time are great to talk about but when you drive a lot, it's more important that it's quiet & comfortable & that the boot's big enough for all your junk!
As a first foray into the interchangeable world, I'd go crop sensor - a bit cheaper and gives you a bit more effective reach with the long lenses. But buy lenses that work on FF too, in case you change in the future. My take on the main systems (cos you're buying into a system, not just a single bit of kit) - Canon - easiest to learn, excellent ergonomics. Nikon - good ergonomics, lost their way in recent years but coming back strong with their mirrorless offerings & lenses. Sony - poor ergonomics and lousy menus but some excellent lenses and quality results. Micro 4/3 (Olympus etc) - small and lightweight but use too much marketing spin more than the other manufacturers to sell their kit for my liking!
Starting now, I'd probably go mirrorless simply as it's the growing market (see my mirrorless GoA thread from the index for DSLR/mirrorless comparisons) and they're much better if you want to do video too, but remember, they're all better than we are so there's no wrong answer, just what works for you :-)

Im not able to get it from a shop so I’m having to get it online so won’t be able to get a feell for the camara but I can look at reviews to see how people have found handleling and other things 

I was going to choose the camara first then the lens after cause I would need the camara to use the lens but Il take your advice.