What is a good digital camera for taking Alaskan wildlife photos?

D

Davidroland

Guest
We are looking to purchase a digital camera to use in taking photographs of wildlife on our Alaskan vacation this summer. We currently have point and shoot digital cameras but are thinking we should probably get a digital SLR with a telephoto lens. Ease of use would be helpful as we would be novices with this type of camera. Cost is not really an issue as we are looking at this as a once in a lifetime trip and want to make sure we have photos to preserve it. There is no specialty camera store anywhere near where we live so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
That is a tough question as there is ALOT of excellent digital cameras out there. One can never go wrong with a Nikon ( D300 is what I use) or Cannon. To be honest it is best to try a couple and and see which one you prefer. One thing to keep in mind is that good lenses will cost more than the camera which is why I stayed with Nikon. Also if you are going to take lots of wildlife photo stick with a camera that has a smaller senser so that a 300mm lens is actually a 450mm in reality. The down side is wide angle is harder to achieve with that senser. I have used one of the 400mm zoom image stabilezed lenses for alot of wildlife and it works very well. Cost is a factor here as it is a little spendy. Team it with a Low power zoom in the 18mm-70mm range and you will have most bases covered. Hopes that helps and feel free to PM me for more info if you would like.

Jay
 
I know nothing about cameras or taking pictures, but I have a Nikon D90 and it is GREAT! Easy to use and shoots outstanding pictures and HD video.
 
make sure to buy a lens that has an image stabiliser, worth the money. my wife has a canon rebel t1i and loves it.
 
Im not sure if you left for alaska yet but if not this my be of use to many others.I use to use a canon 35mm SLR EOS-10 with all the lenses ets ets...how ever after spending tons of time loking this and that up back and forth here what i got and why..I was going to go the new digatal SLR cameras but as a person whos taken many 1o,ooo's of thousands of pictures i went a CANON POWERSHOT SX20IS...the bigger SLR lenses would cost a fortune plus be bulky and weigh a ton....plus a reg 400mm lense is only equal to a 8x power binos....10x is about 500mm..this canon is a 12.1 mega pixal...with a 20x with 28mm-560mm with built in image stabilizer...all in a compact size..plus as a world traveler lithium batterys are hard to find outside the usa..(even in it at times)especially for your camera..i got this one over the powershor SX30IS..as that one uses lithium..where my sx20is uses reg AA batterys with you can get in the darkest africa or jungle in asia...sure AA may not last as long but its no biggy..this camera not a battery drainer as is the comperble nikon i was looking at.....imho canon a great camera..(I will get a conon sx30is later,as i need it for long range shots)..bt this sx2-is i got from amazon for less than $400.00 ill use all over as my main take any where camera....you can not buy a decent 400mm lense for $400..never mind what they want for a nikon or canon dig slr........i got a great bag for it..its a "lowepro"nova 140aw..it has a pull out rainsuit to cover 99.9% in case of rain..i did add a 1"heavy duty square to the inside to give it that extra bit of protection..even thou the bag a great one..uses a strap or put it on a belt..
 
ps i am a field ornithologist (55 years )=I take bird photos and there tiny and hard to get a good picture of yet this canon powershot SX20IS is simple to use and so veratile....ill take it with me friday for the knoxville tn knife show to take knife pictures......most likely your after scenic and large game and imho this is the camera id get..its also has a movie camera mode
 
The D90 is a great camera, so is the Canon Rebel ti3
Both will be compared to each often and both will be rated as recommended. If you want a SLR with great lens options you will not go wrong with either one.
I have a Canon Rebel ti1 and ti2. The ti2 is awesome and my lenses work from the ti1. The ti2 takes fantastic pics.

If you want a simple point and shoot, look at the Nikon Coolpix models. There are several models to choose from. Also highly rated in reviews.
 
I've got a Canon Digital Rebel (the second or third model, a bit old now). It works very well and
I have nothing bad to say about it for what you want. A Nikon would be just a good, the lenses
would be of comparable range and quality, the user interface would be different -- you might
prefer either one.

That said, I'm switching to an Olympus E-PL3 as soon as I can get my hands on one because I
really, really, really want a smaller, lighter camera with interchangeable lenses and comparable
picture quality. This is probably not an issue for your immediate application because a small,
light camera body doesn't help if you plan to use it with large heavy lenses (it may even hurt
because the balance will be worse).

One thing you might look into for this one trip is renting one or more of the exotic telephotos
instead of buying it. Lens rentals are available for the serious professional lines of camera.
For example, a quick Google showed a site that rent's the Canon 300mm f2.8 L IS USM for
about $400 for two weeks. That's a lot of money, but the lens costs around $7000!
 
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I like Fuji Cameras , thier lenses are the very best , as a matter of fact, fuji makes lenses for many major camera MFG.They are one of the few mfg who make thier own lenses. You can spend a 100$ or 500$ you will find the same high quality lenses in all thier Cameras.
 
My vote is for Sony cameras. I have tried just about ever brand, and Sony is the only one that I can count on having an actual glass lens..generally Zeiss, and I have even owned a couple that had SWAROVSKI lenses.

It might not be important for wildlife photography, but I have found that when photographing knives, there is a marked difference between using a camera with a plastic lens, versus one with a true "glass" lens.
 
My vote is for a digital SLR. I have used mostly Nikon but Cannon and the others are all good. But have personally seen several Pentaxes with severe problems. The Sony if I remember correct is the old Minolta company that has been improved and is also very nice stuff. In the Nikon line the D300 and above is a metal framed camera which in my opion is much better for hard use than the graphite bodied cameras. But with that comes the price increase and weight. Keep in mind the lenses are where the money really is. A quality lens makes a huge difference. All the big companis make various grades of lenses along with aftermarket companies. Check lens reviews before you buy. The Nikon gold series are outstanding glass and highly recommended.The other thing is digital zooms are just blowing up the image and I can't recommend them for serious work. Just my thoughts and what I have seen in 30 years of serious photography:)
 
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