'I am planning to take up wildlife photography as a hobby this coming year and would appreciate your advice on a camera for an enthusiastic beginner.'
I recently completed a course to become a nature guide and found that one of the most enjoyable aspects of the course was simply being in a habitat and watching/photographing what was going on around me. All I had to hand was a basic HP digital camera but still I enjoyed myself tremendously.I would like to invest in a decent camera to develop this interest further. The things I found annoying in the field with my ‘basic’ tool were:
1) Rechargeable batteries running out, and the newly loaded ones being unreliable re: power level (so rechargeable with disposable battery back up seems an attractive idea)
2) Poor visibility of display in bright light conditions
3) Slowness of camera when trying to capture the unpredictability of nature subjects
4) Quality of image when want to blow up
5) Inability to cope with low light levels
I’ve read the tips on your website but still feel unsure as to whether to go for a top-of-the range digital camera or a digital SLR. The Nixon D40, D70 and D80 all sound great but I’m not sure if I’m being over-ambitious looking at this end of the market. Perhaps I’m best to start with a good ‘point and push’ or should go with something like the D40 and think about lens later.
Our photography expert answers;
'It is a common misconception that SLR cameras, whether digital or film are complicated. True they have legions of facilities but most are un-necessary. What they do provide is infinitely better results and this is the hardest currency of all. If you are keen on photographing wildlife (and I congratulate you for this) you are taking on subjects that are very difficult to photograph. Record shots are easy but capturing something more ambitious than this is challenging. You need to consider several things:
Budget, £400 – infinity
If you are going to splash a little, spend the bulk of the money on the lens as this is what produces the results, it is probably the biggest single mistake people make is spending a large sum on a good camera then accepting the porr quality kit lens that comes with it (which immediately has a resell value of about £25).
The Nikon D80 and the Canon D400 are both excellent cameras.
Buy two sets of battery packs, in cold weather especially and if you are focussing for a while on one subject, the batteries do drain.
About the only ascetic criticism I have of digital cameras is they struggle with bright areas, therefore it is important to underexpose shots sometimes to get the right balance. Being digital makes it very easy to experiment.
Quality of image is everything, therefore if you want to blow something up bear this in mind when taking the photograph. Keep the ISO low if possible, keep the lens on a bean-bag to keep it steady and I re-iterate, spend the money on the lens, preferably a stabilised or vibration reduction one.'