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Alright well, I am very informed about video cameras, and already have the one I want to get to continue my filming on a professional level picked out! But digital SLR’s are only somewhat limited as far as knowledge goes. I really want to get one, of course this is for a purchase that is off in the future a ways, but I have this rather helpful habit of researching ALOT before I invest money! So I know about that article a while back in tradbow about cameras for bowhunters, but I want to hear some experience with cameras afeild. I had a camera that took stills and video, which was my start in this whole film business, and it took great stills(8mp)but unfortunatly it is broke:( wont turn on anymore:(. So if I want a photo i have to video it and make it a still which is nowhere near the clarity! Anyway I rambled, but any advice would be good!
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GTA — You may be beyond most of us here re cameras, from the sounds of it. For me and others I know, a hunting camera falls into the same limiting category as hunting binoculars: If it’s not small and light, I won’t carry it. Thus my “good” camera stays at home or in the truck, and the shirt-pocket goes with me, same as binocs. Only real loss I know of is greatly reduced telephoto abaility — 3x vs. 12x. The world of digital SLRs has grown even more complex than the old film cameras and you can easily spend thousands on body and lenses. One big gain, even for the full-sized SLR’s, is that they weigh only a fraction of the old film jobs … though the lenses are equivalent. Your habit of long research is admirable both from the standpoint of not buying a pig in a poke (anyone else know the origin of that saying?), but also for stringing out the anticipation of a purchase. This ties in with another thread running now about developing patience. Sounds like you already have more (patience and cameras) than I ever will. I want very little materially in life and view possessions as anchors to freedom. But when I do “get the hots” for a new toy, I can’t get it into my hands fast enough. It’s a fever. Tell us what you learn, please, and best luck in your search. dave
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Well Dave that is exactly the type of advice I was going for! Like the big or small. Heavy or light, but I must say that I am used to going afeild with alot of extra gear, I carry the important stuff extra clothing incase I get cold, extra gloves, socks, sweatshirts ect. But then there are the obviously important things, my bow and my tripod with my camera! I just hope one day I dont get tired of luggin around all the extra weight, I think I would regret missing some great photographic opportunities!!! Thanks again dave!
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lol! I hope I don’t come across as a know it all. I worked in and managed camera stores and am VERY familiar. I also toyed with the idea of becoming a professional nature photographer along with doing seminars, etc. Anyway…
First, I would recommend either Nikon or Canon. Do NOT buy one or the other based on the camera body. Purchase based on the system as a whole. What is the most you are willing to spend for the camera, lenses, etc? Lenses are MUCH more important than the body. Bodies are improved upon all the time. Lenses are not. -
I’ve got a little “point and shoot” Canon PowerShot A720. It’s 8mp and 6x zoom. For a little job, it’s got a lot of options and is small enouth to carry around in a pocket while still taking great quality photos. As an added bonus it takes great video too.
A little while back I was doing some research on timelapse and found a free download for this camera that allows much more control. One of the features allows you to connect the camera to a computor so you can program a timelapse sequence and save the images directly to your hard drive. I haven’t got around to loading it on the camera yet though so I don’t know how well it works.
If you don’t mind my asking, what video camera are you using?
ch
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I guess it depends on what you want to accomplish. Are you going hunting or photographing? What types of images do you hope to capture? What is the end product going to be used for?
So far, all my TBM cover shots were taken with SLR’s, both film & digital. However, the image quality of some compacts is so good that I no longer carry my DSLR in the field when hunting. That’s just too much weight & bulk in my pack. Case in point – last year I hunted deer in Ohio. My Canon 40D & 24-105mm lens in my pack, & my Canon compact in my vest pocket. Guess which one had 95% of the images on it? This year, my DSLR stayed home in Oregon and I took only my Canon G11. And I took it with 100% confidence that it would get me what I wanted.
All that said, when going out to photograph nature I use my DSLR’s all the way. So read the first paragraph again and ask yourself those questions. You may just save yourself a lot of money and weight in your hunting pack.
Jerry Gowins
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I have to agree with Jerry, which is nothing new. When it comes to photography, I take his word as gospel.
That being said, my camera work is split between a DSLR and a point and shoot. While I really enjoy using my Canon 20D (now a dinosaur), the weight and bulk of a DSLR pretty much means it stays behind when I’m hunting. IF I’m not out to specifically take photographs, I bring my Canon Powershot SX100IS along.
The only thing I don’t like about my point & shoot is that it doesn’t shoot in RAW mode. I didn’t think I’d miss RAW when I bought it, but I was wrong. If I had that purchase to do over again, I’d go with the Canon G11.
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I figured some of the fellows that have taken cover shots would come in! Thank you! I want to get my degree in Digital Film making and Video Production with either a minor or AA degree in Photography or graphic design! With that said I am leaning towards photography! For the simple fact that I think it would be of more help in the future. When I first decided what I want to do with my life I was very torn between film and still! I knew that photography was it, but just which one! So I decided that I could do both but physically get my degree in film! So basically I want professional photographs, and would love to get into freelance photography! Plus that and good quality stills really can add to a film! So to awnser questions above . . .
I am willing to spend less than a grand! I really like the Canon Rebel XSI, but I think that might be just a bit too expensive, but like I said earlier this purchase is at least a year in the future, so that camera will probably be outdated. I want a SLR because I want control, I know that you can manually do everything with a point and shoot, but I would rather control stuff without the use of those little tiny buttons. Basically when I had photography we used old film SLR’s and the picture quality totally trumped the quality of the point and shoots when using the “auto” settings. Eventually I wish to have both like alot of you guys up above, but I am just a college kid and finances are not the greatest, if you know what I mean, so if I want to purchase something like this I need to save for it!
Thanks for all the imput, hopefully you guys can give me more after you read the awnsers I have provided!
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Clay Hayes wrote: If you don’t mind my asking, what video camera are you using?
Not at all Clay, I use a Samsung SC-MX20, which is amazing for its tiny body! I think I will be frustrated at first with a professional DV camcorder, but I will just have to get used to it. It is a point and shoot, but often times I use the manual settings in the feild. Because it doesnt realize that there is a deer behind that thick screen of brush! It is standard definition, but I make them HD when I edit, which I dont think it ends up truely HD but it makes it look really good! The only problem is that I updated my editing software to AVID liquid, and it doesnt support MP4 files, which is what my camera shoots in, AVID is a professional editing system, so it is designed for SD and DV files primarily.
Off course, but my camera has a built in timelapse mode, which I absolutely couldnt live without, lol. As you guys may well know I add at least one time lapse per film unintentionally. But it just happeneds. You can set it to take pictures ever 1,3,5,10,15, or 30 seconds and there are 30 pictures combined into a second of film! So that will give you a idea. The only thing that is doesnt do for me that I wish it would is lower the shutter speed low enough. It only goes down to 15 frames per second:( my sister has a point and shoot where you can make it go to 30 seconds!:shock: So you can get those cool blurred light shots, and stars. THat is my main wish, to time lapse the stars!! Anyway I went alot overboard but there it is!
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I would STRONGLY encourage you to buy the camera body used. I too have a Canon EOS 20D. I “shutter” (pun intended) to look at the prices they are selling for now compared to how much I paid(new). I’d recommend you buy either a used 20d or 30d.
I would recommend a 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS and the oft overlooked 50mm f/1.8 for available light shooting. I would forego the “standard” zoom if it doesn’t fit your budget at first for 2 reasons:
1. The 70-300mm lens will help force you to look for tighter shots. People tend to include too much in their photos. I think it’s a great teaching tool.
2. It will be more practical for wildlife. -
StandingBear wrote: Patrick, without pointing to a single camera company, could you list various companies that would fall under your listed criteria.
SB
ONLY because of the volume of bodies, lenses, and accessories available (including 3rd party lenses, flashes, and even camera bodies) do I limit my recommendation to either Canon or Nikon. They BOTH have their strengths and weaknesses. The only reason I had listed specific Canon bodies was because GTA already mentioned Canon. There are many other great companies, but he’d be much more limited by choosing one them when looking around on the used market AND when looking to upgrade to bigger/faster lenses. Personally, if starting over, I’d have a VERY difficult time choosing between them.
Personally, I REALLY want a Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS. If I had a Nikon system, I’d be jonesing for a 200-400mm f/4 VR.
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I wouldn’t go with a kit lens when you buy your DSLR, especially Canon. Their 18-55mm kit lens is a coke bottle. It will be hard to get started professionally on $1000. What is it you want to photograph professionally? That makes a big difference in lens selection.
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What do you mean by coke bottle, lol? I realize that it will be hard to get started on a grand but I figure we got to start somewhere. I also figure that if you can get a good body, and a good starter lense then you should have extras you can get down the road after you pay back your intial investment!? As far as what I want to photograph professionally, I would say that I would love to photograph wildlife however noone wants pictures of little bucks? And we are not in the best area ever. So as far as that is concerned that might be hard. I also think it might be hard to find editorial film work right out of school, so I will probably have to work for a news station to gain experience. But I dont think I will need a extreme telephoto lense to start, possibly something in the middle???
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I literally mean a coke bottle as far as sharpness goes. 😆
Wildlife, eh? A “crop” sensor body would be a good choice (most DSLR’s are) with the 70-300mm IS lens mentioned previously. That will give you roughly a 420-450mm film equivalent, depending on what body you buy. If you go with Canon, buy the new version of the lens. The first generation 70-300 IS is also a coke bottle, but the new one is pretty good. Now here’s the deal as far as wildlife goes; most wildlife photography is done in parks, preserves & refuges where the animals are used to people.
Wildlife photography is an intensely competitive field. I know. Unfortunately we have to compete with the folks who can afford the extreme telephoto lenses. That just means we have to be a little more creative. 😀
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Exactly Weasel (on all counts)!
You want a lens that gives you INSTANT manual focus override. Those cheap (ie crappy) kit lenses don’t give you that ability.
People are shocked to find that wildlife photography is very much akin to traditional bowhunting: up close and personal. Even with long lenses.
I’m tellin’ ya GTA, you’re making a mistake if you focus on the body. The camera bodies get all the glitz and glamour, but they’re old news before the next season, even though they made perfectly acceptable images when they were introduced. Focus on the lenses. I’m NOT saying the camera body isn’t important.
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Okay coke bottle, good to know! I think any type of photography is probably competitive to the extreme. And I would be willing to bet that the guy with the resources will probably win! That is interesting that wildlife photography is done on reserves and whatnot, I have always thought so but never really heard of it. I figure that some folks probably go to places that have whitetails to raise for scents and what not where they just grow and grow?!
Patrick, I would think that wildlife photography is exactly like traditional bowhunting!!!
As far as the advice from you guys! Lens=important, body=not so important! Thanks a million! Any tips or tricks to the actual photography part is helpful!
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I figured you’d already have the sense of how close you need to get due to your video background. That was just a general observation.
You had noted above that you have a tripod. That indicated to me how serious you are. It’s a must for obtaining CONSISTENT results. Does your tripod allow you to inter-change heads? If so I’ll give my Bogen Pan/Tilt head. A ball-head is preferable, but that’ll come later ($$!).
I almost always use aperture priority or manual exposure. When shooting in consistent lighting I use manual exposure. In variable lighting: aperture priority.
1.Your foreground is very important and is often overlooked.
2.Try to get low. Gives a unique perspective.
3.The camera should have “depth of field preview”, so you can see the image through the viewfinder as it’ll appear on film. Without it, you are always and only looking through the viewfinder at it’s shallowest depth of field. It’s not as critical since you have instant feedback with digital, but it’s still very useful.
4.As I mentioned above, don’t try to include too much in the shot. “Ask yourself, what do I like about this subject”
5.CRITICALLY look at photos online, magazines, etc.There’s so much! Lol! I haven’t even scratched the surface.
Check out these sites:
http://www.jimbrandenburg.com (my favorite photographer)
http://www.johnfielder.com
http://www.birdsasart.com (sign up for his bulletins!)
http://www.moosepeterson.com
http://www.luminous-landscape.com
http://www.charlescampbell.com
http://www.georgelepp.com -
Actually I have three tripods, one is toast from the last 3 years of tromping around the mountains with it, but I suppose that just happeneds. right now I have the one I use often with a 3 way fluid head on it, and a tiny one with just a 3 way head, and then my old one was just 3 way. I dont think it has interchangable heads? It wasnt terribly expensive, that is another thing I need to purchase, a really good tripod. Dont get me wrong, I love the one I have, all of them are great in there own situation. But none are of professional standards. But a tripod is definatly a must for me, I can not shoot video without it, stills are different SOMETIMES, but generally a tripod wont hurt!
Depth of feild is considered the most important thing to me! I try my hardest to get that 35mm feel, and that is very dificult without the correct adapter! I cant get the adapter for my camera:( but they do make them.
I think also that leaving too much in a frame can be just as bad opposite as well? Just my opinion, I am not a expert yet, lol.
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:lol::lol::lol: okay, got me, no question, just unsure of myself!
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Just a couple of observations about camera (primarily point-and-shoot type) selection…
1. While many still cameras will take video and many video cameras will take still pictures, neither one does the other chore very well. The best still images come from cameras designed for that purpose and vice versa with video.
2. Make sure when you buy a camera that you have ensured it has all the features you are going to want. Don’t assume anything.
Case in point: I purchased about a year ago a small Nikon camera as a companion to my Canon DSLR for the same reasons others have already mentioned, (size, weight, portability, etc.) I assumed that, being from Nikon, it would have all the common features. Big mistake. Then I got up in the mountains only to discover that the camera has no self-timer mode. Thus, when I’m alone, I cannot use it to take shots of myself with my trophy. I couldn’t believe Nikon would leave out so basic and common a feature, but they did.
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