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Recommendations for beginner camera for wildlife? (self.photography)

submitted 1 year ago by stochasticity to c/photography

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I want to take wildlife/outdoor photos recreationally. I don't want to get frustrated by photo quality, but I also don't want to spend more than I need to. That being said I'm willing to consider expensive equipment, but only if it benefits my needs. Does anyone have some canned recommendations?

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[–] Photographer 4 points 1 year ago (4 children)

What is your budget and would you accept second hand cameras?

Personally I would start with a second hand APS-C camera. APS-C crop cameras will give you an extension on your focal length, and when birding you want long lenses.

Any camera from the last 10 years from Nikon, Canon or Sony will be fine, I would go Nikon or Sony myself but it's your choice. Sony for the quality of the camera, Nikon for the lens range. Canon is fine but the build quality on their bottom end cameras is weak.

New: Nikon Z50 or Sony A6700

Used: Nikon: 3200, 3300, 3400, 3500, 5300, D5500, D5600, D7100, D7200, D7500, D500
Sony: NEX-7, a6000, a6100, a6300, a6400, a6500, a6600

You can find some of the used models new, a feature you might like is in body image stabilisation, but image quality wise they're all close enough that image quality will be more lens dependant than body dependant. Newer/Higher end models have better AF.

then you want a lens, 200mm 2.8 is nice, 300mm is nicer, some sort of stabilisation is useful for you too.

If you like mirrorless sony is good, if you prefer a DSLR used Nikon is good.

[–] stochasticity 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This is really helpful! thank you,

A few people have suggesting used, which is looking better and better to me. For example, I am seeing things like this in my local classifieds:

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/72698130

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Is that your budget? Because you'll likely still need another lens for the wildlife bit.

Could you elaborate a bit more about the kind of wildlife you're taking? Does it include smaller animals like birds? Will it be in a setting like a nature park, or a more guided experience like a safari tour?

Edit: One last question, what's the weight you're willing to carry? Not uncommon to exceed 4kg on a serious wildlife kit.

[–] stochasticity 2 points 1 year ago

It is not necessarily my budget. I would share my budget if I could figure out what it is. I'm aware that's not helpful.

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