Best camera and lens for outdoor photography

[benbo30]

so im caving on just spending the money on getting a nice camera for outdoor photograhy , every time im out i see alot that i want to take pics of but i dont have a nice enough camera to do it with , so tell me what is good to get im looking at nikons ??

My wife is starting to slowly get into professional photography as well but mainly of my kids and as she gets the hang of it and better at it she will be offering her services , she keeps looking at a $3000 canon mark 3 for doing profesional pics of my kids , as all the times and money she has gone to professional photographers is really adding up in my wallet , seems like every month i have to spend money to get pics of these kids 

She seems like she has it all figured out on what she wants to get so my question would be which is better a nikon or canon and which models for me to do some outdoor photography when i am out in the hills and woods???

[DBHAWTHORNE]

Tagging for updates because I am interested in what the guys say.

[benbo30]

Tagging for updates because I am interested in what the guys say.

yea im not to experienced at photography looks like a few guys on here know what they are doing so id love some input , id just love to share some shots from out in the field with everyone .

[Todd_ID]

so my question would be which is better a nikon or canon and which models for me to do some outdoor photography when i am out in the hills and woods???

Ford or Chevy?  1500, 2500, or 3500 better in the woods?

It's the same debate with about the same price tag when you get to the upper end stuff; brand plays little into it.  I'm not an expert, but I do think that your $3k number you mentioned is best spent buying a good, used $500 body and the rest on glass.  The shots that we all like on here are pretty much all shot with bodies that are several-to-many years old with $3-20K of glass and a high-end tripod.  They are not the snapshots you and I get while wandering around in the woods; they are bowhunting with a camera: it just takes longer to set up for a photo shot than a bow shot, and you need better light.

[benbo30]

the $3K body was for my wife for her "professional shots" as she calls it of the kids , she insists on thats what she needs , i keep telling her to get a cheaper body but she just doesnt understand my point of view , as for me i was planning on getting a cheap body and then spend money on lenses

[DBHAWTHORNE]

so my question would be which is better a nikon or canon and which models for me to do some outdoor photography when i am out in the hills and woods???

Ford or Chevy?  1500, 2500, or 3500 better in the woods?

It's the same debate with about the same price tag when you get to the upper end stuff; brand plays little into it.  I'm not an expert, but I do think that your $3k number you mentioned is best spent buying a good, used $500 body and the rest on glass.  The shots that we all like on here are pretty much all shot with bodies that are several-to-many years old with $3-20K of glass and a high-end tripod.  They are not the snapshots you and I get while wandering around in the woods; they are bowhunting with a camera: it just takes longer to set up for a photo shot than a bow shot, and you need better light.

I have always heard it's more about the glass... So if I take my Nikon D60 10.2MP from 2008 and put good glass on it then it will be capable of taking excellent shots?

[jackelope]

I'd venture a guess that 98% of the  pics you see on here are not taken with a $3k dslr body. Get a good Canon 40d 60d etc or whatever a similar nikon is and spend the big money on glass. No sense on having a $3k body unless you can afford another couple grand in glass. Now if you can spend thousands on a body and thousands on glass just to take pics of your kids then go for it.

[wapiti hunter2]

so im caving on just spending the money on getting a nice camera for outdoor photograhy , every time im out i see alot that i want to take pics of but i dont have a nice enough camera to do it with , so tell me what is good to get im looking at nikons ??

My wife is starting to slowly get into professional photography as well but mainly of my kids and as she gets the hang of it and better at it she will be offering her services , she keeps looking at a $3000 canon mark 3 for doing profesional pics of my kids , as all the times and money she has gone to professional photographers is really adding up in my wallet , seems like every month i have to spend money to get pics of these kids 

She seems like she has it all figured out on what she wants to get so my question would be which is better a nikon or canon and which models for me to do some outdoor photography when i am out in the hills and woods???

 

One great thing about the pro Canon bodies like the MK 3 is that they are water proof.  They are also heavy.  But any good glass is heavy too. You can do well with the older used Canon bodies and can price good ones at B&H Photo Video and Adorama.  Both are very reputable dealers.  You are wise to spend money on Glass.  It is never wasted.

[benbo30]

tell that to my wife she doesnt seem to understand it  i keep trying to tell her that , the 3k body was what she wants for doing professional pics of the kids and what not so we dont have to keep spending money on photographers and then if she enjoys doing it maybe she can offer her services ,

as for me i was just gonna get a decent body for around 500-800 and get good lenses

[Bean Counter]

I have always heard it's more about the glass... So if I take my Nikon D60 10.2MP from 2008 and put good glass on it then it will be capable of taking excellent shots?

Not yes, but heck yes! Its all about the lenses. Nikon, Canon, et all have made a lot of money in the last decade on the so-called 'prosumer' market. Lots of people trading up to get more megapixels  thinking that is the key to a good photo. Wrong. Six megapixels is enough. http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm.  To repeat, if you're on a limited budget: get onto Craigslist and find a gently used camera for $400 bucks and spend the rest on lenses.

 For Canon, one of the better lenses out there is the 70-200mm L IS USM. You can either get it with F/4 or F/2.8. The newest edition of the F/2.8 will cost you about $2K new. If you're just getting started and want a decent cheap lens for indoor shots without a flash, I love the F/1.8 50mm, aka the "classic plastic" aka "the nifty fifty." Not the sharpest photos, but I've had some good results.

I have had a Canon 400D with the crop sensor and I may 'upgrade' to a full frame sensor camera, but that will be a used, old 5D. The point is not to get a 'newer' camera with useless crap like video capability or more megapixels, but to upgrade to a full frame sensor. The full frame advantage.

If you live near a Costco, go to the magazine rack and look for the Mag Book entitled "Getting Started in Digital Photography." It costs about $12--yes that's right for a magazine.  Best magazine I've ever purchased. It will teach you the basics of aperture priority vs. shutter priority, how to compose a good shot, ISO settings, etc. It is a GREAT read and worth its cost many times over.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

Thanks for the good info BC. 

[smdave]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pho/3545501425.html


http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pho/3545512286.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ele/3524880825.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pho/3507364713.html

[Bean Counter]

Thanks for the good info BC. 

NP--that magazine changed my life! 

Ken Rockwell's site is great, too. Just browse around. I love this one: Should I Upgrade?

[uplandhunter870]

im no expert/pro for sure but i'll reverb whats been said great photos are all about the lens. the higher quality of lens you can afford, get. you dont necessarily need a $3k body.

me id go with a used body with a shutter count under 100k, spend $4-500 on the body (canon xxd series or nikons version of that line) and put the rest towards quality glass.  me i shoot a canon T2i body and decent glass (all i can afford right now) and can get tack sharp photos when i do my part and get the settings correct.

a great source of info on understanding photography is a book called "understanding exposure" by Bryan Peterson, a wealth of knowledge in easy to read and understand format helped me by leaps and bounds

[Wazukie]

I have always heard it's more about the glass... So if I take my Nikon D60 10.2MP from 2008 and put good glass on it then it will be capable of taking excellent shots?

I am a Nikon shooter, the D60 is very capable camera.  One thing to keep in mind when buying a lens for it though is that only AF-s lenses will auto-focus because the D60 does not have a built in focus motor.  I mention this because with Nikon body's, any AF lens will fit, but only the AF-s will auto focus.

Many Nikon Body's have a built in motor.

One advantage to Nikon over Canon, at least in my opinion, is that all the older Nikon lens's can be used on the Nikon body.  Some only manual focus though.  Canon can not do this(At least to my understanding).

The advantage of Canon over Nikon, well I cant think of any 

In all actuality, Canon glass seems to be less expensive than Nikon glass.  Either or would be a great choice.

Just my humble observations.