Wildlife Photography

[BrandonsBirbs]

I have a Nikon D3500. It is recommended for those new to photography and is cheaper than many other good options I found. I was able to get a black Friday deal, too, which helped with the price. It came with two kit lenses: a 18-55mm and 70-300, as well as the case. View attachment 3260237

I don't have any new pictures to post due to the fact that the storage on my phone is already taken up by all my other photos. It got to the point that I had to delete the snap bridge app (which allowed the camera to easily transfer pictures) or the phone would stop being able to receive messages of any sort. In addition to that, I moved across the country so haven't had much of a chance to get out anyway. On the bright side, I found a really cool camera store here that I couldn't help but check out. I was able to try out a really expensive camera with a motorized 400mm lens. Basically everything was way too expensive for me, but it was fun to play around in.

Thank you for this, very useful!

The ones I found so far, last one seems like a good deal? But it's not the 80D so not sure?

 

[SarahLadd]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turks_and_Caicos_rock_iguana The Turks and Caicos rock iguana. Some local butterflies. Up north in the boundary waters, the butterflies seen are congregating around some natural source of salt.

 

[SarahLadd]

Are you ready for ocean birds?? A telephoto rental was used for this one. You know the one... the great big white one. Yeah. Anyways, we got some birds here. At one point, I identified them all. I labeled none of them, although I recognize the osprey. The iguanas were actually elusive. Typically, a paid charter is necessary to get close to the islands that they frequent, but in my case I had a guy I met at a dive bar on the coast that took a liking to telling me pirate-treasure-hunting stories about spanish gold... And took me on a low-tide tour of an area he knew the iguanas liked. A rare opportunity. Let's take some pictures. We traveled by air boat, and saw sharks and rays along the way. Little dog came with, the man and his dog were inseparable. It took us an hour to find any iguanas, scavenging through brush that was wildly sharp against bare shins.

Feel free to attempt identifying the species.

 

[Bakbuk]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turks_and_Caicos_rock_iguana The Turks and Caicos rock iguana. Some local butterflies. Up north in the boundary waters, the butterflies seen are congregating around some natural source of salt.View attachment 3260903View attachment 3260904View attachment 3260905View attachment 3260906View attachment 3260907

WHOA, nice White Admiral!

 

[Bakbuk]

Are you ready for ocean birds?? A telephoto rental was used for this one. You know the one... the great big white one. Yeah. Anyways, we got some birds here. At one point, I identified them all. I labeled none of them, although I recognize the osprey. The iguanas were actually elusive. Typically, a paid charter is necessary to get close to the islands that they frequent, but in my case I had a guy I met at a dive bar on the coast that took a liking to telling me pirate-treasure-hunting stories about spanish gold... And took me on a low-tide tour of an area he knew the iguanas liked. A rare opportunity. Let's take some pictures. We traveled by air boat, and saw sharks and rays along the way. Little dog came with, the man and his dog were inseparable. It took us an hour to find any iguanas, scavenging through brush that was wildly sharp against bare shins.

Feel free to attempt identifying the species.

View attachment 3260911View attachment 3260912View attachment 3260913View attachment 3260914View attachment 3260915View attachment 3260916View attachment 3260917View attachment 3260918View attachment 3260919

The birds besides the Osprey are a Laughing Gull and some American Oystercatchers.

 

[Rise722]

This was in our pond one morning...

 

[mdees88]

Thank you for this, very useful!




View attachment 3260622
View attachment 3260624
The ones I found so far, last one seems like a good deal? But it's not the 80D so not sure?

Alright that is the equivalent of an American Rebel t7 (not t7i). That's one camera before the CMOS dual pixel AF so you do not want that one. The european version of a rebel t7i is called a canon 800d. The 800d would be a huge upgrade over your current one. That said, I still would prefer a used 80d over an 800d (t7i) if I could find one. The only way to get an 80d around your budget is to find one used though. I just sold mine for 450 a couple months ago. I've seen them sell for 400. This is in the US though, maybe harder to find where you're at.

That 250d is almost a t7i. It has the CMOS dual pixel AF. The only problem with it is it only has 9 AF points. The t7i (800d) and the 80d have 45 AF points which is a big improvement.

Those kit lens bundles are okay and that 75-300 would be a big improvement over what you're currently using, but that 55-250 IS STM is the sharpest "cheap" lens Canon makes. Since I'm a sticker for getting sharp photos, I would happily give up the extra 50mm to get a sharper image.

I definitely wouldn't rule out Nikon though....

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

Alright that is the equivalent of an American Rebel t7 (not t7i). That's one camera before the CMOS dual pixel AF so you do not want that one. The european version of a rebel t7i is called a canon 800d. The 800d would be a huge upgrade over your current one. That said, I still would prefer a used 80d over an 800d (t7i) if I could find one. The only way to get an 80d around your budget is to find one used though. I just sold mine for 450 a couple months ago. I've seen them sell for 400. This is in the US though, maybe harder to find where you're at.

Those kit lens bundles are okay and that 75-300 would be a big improvement over what you're currently using, but that 55-250 IS STM is the sharpest "cheap" lens Canon makes. Since I'm a sticker for getting sharp photos, I would happily give up the extra 50mm to get a sharper image.

I definitely wouldn't rule out Nikon though....

As always, your information is greatly appreciated and very helpful! Do you know a resource which lists the models and differences between different lens types, etc. Not particularly knowledgeable on anything like that so would be good to have a resource to refer to on my search. Currently only really look at canon or Nikon but both seem quite rare(?) to find? For a longer ranged lens (cannot get closer to most birds I regularly post) what is a good range, 50 --- 300 or more? Will continue my search!

 

[mdees88]

As always, your information is greatly appreciated and very helpful! Do you know a resource which lists the models and differences between different lens types, etc. Not particularly knowledgeable on anything like that so would be good to have a resource to refer to on my search. Currently only really look at canon or Nikon but both seem quite rare(?) to find? For a longer ranged lens (cannot get closer to most birds I regularly post) what is a good range, 50 --- 300 or more? Will continue my search!

Not off the top of my head. I usually go on bhphotovideo.com then set the filters to canon then to ef-s and that will list all the lenses they make.

Might be different in Europe but plenty of used Canon and nikons can be found on ebay. Another good site is fredmiranda.com which has a classifieds section.

The more the merrier. I would say 300 is about the minimum for most wildlife. 400 is more ideal but will cost more. I use a 100-400 and 100-500. A common budget choice for birders is the sigma 150-600 but it's a pretty big and heavy lens that you may or may not want to lug around all day.

The smaller the bird, the longer the lens you'll want. You're current camera is a 20mm-1200mm. I bet somewhere it will show you what mm you are at when you are zooming. Set it 250, 300, 400, and 600mm and take some pictures to get a feel for the reach.

 

[Bakbuk]

A common budget choice for birders is the sigma 150-600 but it's a pretty big and heavy lens that you may or may not want to lug around all day.

This is what I use. I'm a serious birder, so I don't mind carrying it because it's so worth it.