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

Digital Nature Photography

1

What lenses to buy for nature photography for a Nikon D200?

I am about to buy a Nikon D200 for my backpacking trip in Canada. This will be my first digital camera and I would really like to get some nice lenses. I have been looking around and so far I think what I would like is the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor for my main, 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor for a macro, 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D ED-IF AF Zoom-Nikkor for a wide angle, 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor for a telephoto, and 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor and for a fisheye. Are these the best choices? I am not up to date on the Nikon equipment and am not sure if I am making the right choices.

That plus a tripod is a lot of gear to haul around... unless photography is the purpose of your trip.
The 18-200: a great all-in-one lens if you can find it in stock anywhere.
105mm micro: good choice.
10.5mm fish eye: another great lens. The 12-24 that fhotoace suggests is also very good in case you don't really want/ need the fish eye distortion. The 12-24mm replaces the legendary 17-35 for digital bodies. The 17-35 is still the landscape lens to beat in terms of image quality but it's an awkward range with the 1.5 crop factor.
You're losing me with the 18-35mm and 85mm f/1.8. Or rather, why purchase a $750 18-200mm if it's not good enough? Perhaps skip these three lenses and get a 12-24mm in combination with a mid-grade 18-70 f/3.5-4.6 and used professional quality 80-200mm f/2.8. Or a new 70-200mm f/2.8 if cash is not an issue. And if cash & weight is not an issue, you might as well get the 17-55 f/2.8 instead of the 18-70mm.
You can use the 80-200 and 70-200 in combination with teleconverters to extend you reach.

Springtime Nature Photography Show


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digital nature photography5