herping camera reccomendations

[Nephrurus]

I definately want to take better pics of my herps but have always had an interest in taking pics pf landscapes etc. went for a look today at the canon 1100 and nikon D90, the canon was a little cheaper but think there was a little bit of a mix up with there price tags for the nikon D90 with 55-200 lens and the 18-105 lens for under a grand? SOLD! pretty frikn good from what ive seen online, im happy with that! excited to have a play around with it and learn how to get the best out of it, see how we go cheers.

Good choice. If you're really keen for some up close and personal shots, you'll need a macro. Tamron make a very cheap optically excellent 90mm macro that many people use (including me!). The D90 also has Nikon creative lighting system (CLS) which allows you to control a nikon speedlight (SB600/700/800/900/910) as a slave flash. This is very handy for getting more even/creative lighting in your macro photos.

 

[crocka79]

thanks, really into the geckos and thats all i keep so yes pretty keen to get good close ups. had a quick muck around earlier and could only get so close/focused without a macro. still got some good pics but need to get closer! probably wait a little while before getting to carried away with buying other lenses and lighting etc. gotta suss out these short courses so i can get half an idea on what im doin lol. cheers

 

[Elapidae1]

Be warned the d90 with kit lenses is a good choice and relatively cheap to get you started. Add a macro lens it quickly becomes 1200-1600 bucks + flash $1600-$2400= bag to carry your new gear $2600 and on and on and on. Digital photography never ends.

My advice to most is unless your going to embrace photography as a hobby you will get better value and quality images from a $300-$500 point and shoot.

I'm by no means a great photographer but I get a lot of enjoyment out of DSLR photography I have some decent gear yet often would get better images in the field with a mid range point and shoot.

 

[hrafna]

I definately want to take better pics of my herps but have always had an interest in taking pics pf landscapes etc. went for a look today at the canon 1100 and nikon D90, the canon was a little cheaper but think there was a little bit of a mix up with there price tags for the nikon D90 with 55-200 lens and the 18-105 lens for under a grand? SOLD! pretty frikn good from what ive seen online, im happy with that! excited to have a play around with it and learn how to get the best out of it, see how we go cheers.

congrats. enjoy playing with it. just a quick hint for you with your playing around.
the dial that gives you your options, put it onto A, it is not auto, what it does is allow you to control your depth of field (how much is blurred and how much is in focus.) using the dial under the main button, use it to go from f4.5- f32 etc etc. this allows you to control the dof and will take care of the controls for everything else. also just remember when shooting that 1/60 is the generally the slowest shutter speed anyone can take a pic without shake. this does vary from person to person but it is a general rule of thumb.

don't be affraid to play around and experiment. enjoy.

p.s. would love to see some of your early attempts at pics.

 

[Snowman]

NIKON D7000 And I have no idea what I'm doing. Great starter camera.

 

[crocka79]

Be warned the d90 with kit lenses is a good choice and relatively cheap to get you started. Add a macro lens it quickly becomes 1200-1600 bucks + flash $1600-$2400= bag to carry your new gear $2600 and on and on and on. Digital photography never ends.

My advice to most is unless your going to embrace photography as a hobby you will get better value and quality images from a $300-$500 point and shoot.

I'm by no means a great photographer but I get a lot of enjoyment out of DSLR photography I have some decent gear yet often would get better images in the field with a mid range point and shoot.

thanks for your advice elapidae1, rest assured if i did not plan on "embracing" it as a hobby i would not waiste my time or money, i enjoy a few hobbys such as fishing, boating, project car, herps none of which are cheap, but watever i have a passion for and enjoy i stick too. I might add i always shop around and i could have easily spent more but i cant justify that. The amount i spent . including camera with 2 lenses, carry bag, and decent memory card was a little over a grand, not much more than an old camera we bought about 5 or so years ago. After half hour of having a quick suss and taking a few shots its miles ahead of any camera i have used. Im pretty much a hands on man with a trade background, probably dont do my self justice explaining myself over an internet forum but im sure i will manage to work it all out to decent degree.

 

[Rattler]

cannon 550D's are pretty good

 

[crocka79]

chuck some pics up 2 nite hrafna just a couple randoms, thanks rattler purchased a nikon D90 yesterday very happy with it cheers

couple of early "attempts" and i use the word "attempt" strongly lol. my dog bundy was the first victim! managed to get one shot as he usually legs it as soon as a camera is pointed at him.View attachment 249983

couple more pics of geckos but uploader is being a pain

View attachment 250001one of my phyllurus platurus

View attachment 250008wa oedura marmorata

View attachment 250013oedura monilis brigalow form

 

[crocka79]

Pictures by crocka79 - Photobucket hopefully that works! few pics from up onkaparinga gorge cheers