Digital Nature Photography

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I need a camera for my 14 yr old who does nature photography as a hobby?

I am looking for a camera for my 14 year old son that would be great for nature photography as well as just playing around with his friends. He spends a'lot of time hiking, backpacking and snowboarding when he is not playing a sport, and he loves taking nature shots when he is on the trail. He has an old digital camera that we gave him last summer, and though it works well still, I would like to buy him something a little nicer for Christmas this year. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
My budget is going to top out at $500. I would of course prefer not to spend that much, and we never have a problem buying used. He would like a camera that zooms quickly so that he can take wildlife shots as well. I was thinking of a digital SLR, but there are so many to choose from in so many different price ranges, that the information can get overwhelming.

If your budget is $500, then I suggest thinking about getting him an SLR camera.

You can get the Nikon D40, with a kit lens for $500: http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-SLR/25420/D40.html

Or Ebay a slightly older SLR camera, like the Nikon D70 or D80 (the D70 is a bit old), for about $300-400, and then later let him choose a lens or two.

*Keep in mind though, if you plan to get a used SLR, make sure you find out the shutter actuations for the camera (the number of photos taken already). Why? Because most cameras only have an average limit of about 100,000 shots. And some used cameras might be higher numbers than others. (And btw, 100,000 is only an average. I've heard people getting up into the 200,000 with this camera).

Wildlife Photography On Safari with your DSLR Equipment, Techniques, Workflow


digital nature photography5
digital nature photography5