SLR camera and lense for nature & wildlife photography...?

Question

I'm looking for a serious amateur/professional camera for nature landscapes. I also want to do a little wildlife photography, but mainly landscapes. Do I need two different lenses for this? I don't want to get two different lenses, but from all that I've read, these two types of photography require very different lenses. Is there a lense I can get that will cover both landscapes and up-close wildlife without compromising too much? I'm looking at the Canon 30D EOS camera to go with the lense because I keep seeing good reviews on it, but let me know if you think I should get something else.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I am afraid you are going to need two lenses for this. Serious wildlife photography is going to require a long fast lens. Think very big money. These lenses will cost anywhere from $1,000 to $12,000. The ideal lenses will be between 400mm and 800mm. That said if you are looking to be able to take the occasional picture of a squirell or a deer in the woods a 70-300mm lens will be fine. They will run from a couple hundred up to one thousand dollars. A good one to look at would be the 70-300 F4-5.6 IS at about $500.

For landscapes you need to get the Canon EFs10-22mm wide angle lens.

There are some zoom lenses out there that go from 18mm to 200mm but they are not long enough for wildlife or wide enough for landscapes.

Answer 2

Well your probably lost by now with all this mumbo jumbo. Yes it s true you need different lenes for different shoots. Do you have your heart set on Canon. Nikon offers the 18-200VR lens which will cover both ends of the spectrum and save you money. You can also look at the D40 and or D60. I am not pushing a brand at you just canon does not offer a lens such as this.

Answer 3

Wildlife photography requires a long, fast (expensive) lens and a sturdy tripod, not to mention knowledge, dedication and time spent to get the shot.   A 300mm lens might be OK for zoo photography, or birds at the backyard feeder.  With a teleconvertor you would be getting closer, but the falloff in light is limiting.  

Landscapes are suited to wide angles.  You still need the tripod, good landscapes are done in low light.  Having a fast lens is not important in landscape photography as you will be on a tripod and usually shooting near the middle or  minimum apertures to get good DOF.  A good macro lens is also useful to get good closeups.

Practically any entry or mid-level dSLR body would be fine.  Some won't autofocus with some older lenses.  You could start with one of the superzooms, Nikon has an 18-200vr that is an all right performer, but 200 is not really long enough for wildlife.  I have a cheap Tamron 19-35 f/3.5-4.5 that I use for film, but it's not really WA enough on a crop frame dSLR.  All the camera and lens manufacturers are making a super-wide zoom, in the neighborhood of 12-24mm which would make a nice landscape lens.  You could start with the kit lens, then add glass as you discover what focal lengths you feel you are missing.

Answer 4

How Can A Camera Be Amateur And Professional

Oh, And The 30D Isn't A Professional Camera..

But, it's a good camera to start out with...

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-8-2MP-Digita...

it's 737$, prices are going down i see....

And you say you primarily want on lens that can be used for both close-up wildlife photography, and for landscapes: traditionally, you would use two different lenses, but i guess you could keep with one good one until you can save up to get another one.

This is a great lens for for landscapes and for portraiture, as well as close-up nature work ( but not to close though ).

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-70-300mm-4-5...

that's the 70-300mm IS lens, It's 528$, Which is quite expensive, but you seem to be doing work in the night, so maybe you want the non- IS version to save some money..

http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-70-300mm-4-5...

that's a Sigma 70-300mm lens, it's also a macro lens, do it's another thing you might consider.

Answer 5

If I was starting from fresh it would be the EOS 450D and the 18-55mm lense & 55-250mm it does push the price up but you have a very nice range ( 55-250mm )and that covers telephoto to semi wide angle for Landscape. They haven't made a lenses to cover all ranges in one, optically ny impossible, For really close work you will want a Macro lense, Not many of the above have that but there are some 3rd party dedicated macro lenses at very keen prices. You don't have to purchase a complete oufit right away, get the best body and one lense of quality and add to it as and when you can afford it.

My advice is ......go for the very best you can afford now, it will pay dividends in the long term,  but most important of all is  enjoy, it's a great hobby and art.