Help! Camera suggestions for landscape photos...

Wendee · August 15, 2007

I'm a wee baby in the world of photography; I work for a landscape company and I need help finding the right camera to shoot waterfalls, trees and plants, rock design, etc.

Any suggestions for a decent, moderately priced camera?

My boss will be paying for it and will keep it long after I'm gone...I'm thinking he'll pay in the neighborhood of $500-$800.

gus · August 15, 2007

Mrs.Bear wrote:

I'm a wee baby in the world of photography; I work for a landscape company and I need help finding the right camera to shoot waterfalls, trees and plants, rock design, etc.

Any suggestions for a decent, moderately priced camera?

Massive question. To assist you properly we need to know what sort of money you are prepared to spend.

Wendee · August 15, 2007

gus wrote:

Massive question. To assist you properly we need to know what sort of money you are prepared to spend.

Very helpful. Sorry I didn't think of that. I edited the first post.

gus · August 15, 2007

Mrs.Bear wrote:

Very helpful. Sorry I didn't think of that. I edited the first post.

Ok...my take. You are j u s t entering into the bottom of the DSLR dollar range...the very basics & i think it would cause you more problems than give you joy so i wouldnt personally recommend going that way. There is so much more to know & spend than the DSLR camera alone.

I would look at any of the canon 'A series' range. They are well under your price range but exceptionally good small cameras. I have seen many photos from them & never stop being amazed at what they return for such a small outlay. Leave it on auto & shoot away.

sirsloop · August 15, 2007

Tight budget for serious equiptment. Is this just going to be for a website or something?

To put it in perspective, I dropped like 600+ on just a ef10-22 ultra wide angle lens.

You know... it is possible tho! Pick up a used 300D.. that'll be like ~$300. You can probably get away with a 35/2 which is $225. Being outside, you probably don't really need an super ultra wide angle. It would likely open up some new doors for you as far as photography, but you usually can just take a couple steps back outside. The camera will likely come with a battery, charger, and possibly compact flash. If no, the flash is super cheap. If you can snag a kit lens you'll get 18-55mm out of the thing. That camera on a tripod, stopped down to f8-f/11 should do well.

There ya go... that's like a $600-700 setup that'll walk circles around a canon A series.

Now, go sell it to him and say it was all your idea

Wendee · August 15, 2007

Thank you! Very good ideas.

Awais Yaqub · August 15, 2007

Any thoughts about sony R1 it has 24-120mm carl zeiss & big CMOS it is about 700-750$ in Pakistan.

gus · August 15, 2007

sirsloop wrote:

There ya go... that's like a $600-700 setup that'll walk circles around a canon A series.

I would have been of the same opinion until i saw what those little A series can actually produce last week (doctorIT has one with him here)...that & that i, personally have never been knocked over with the 300D's images.

claudermilk · August 16, 2007

Considering the budget, use, and environment the camera will be in, I would actually suggest a P&S over a DSLR.

My brother-in-law does that exact kind of work (I've shot a couple of his waterfalls for him), and he gets by fine with a P&S. Considering the abuse the camera will suffer in a construction environment, a P&S might be a better choice.

Maybe something like the Canon G-series if you want to get fancy. Poking around it looks like the Panasonic Lumix series has some models with wider wide ends (about 28mm vs the typical 35-38mm). That will give the ability for an overall shot of the project and detail close-ups. To do that right in a DSLR will cost far more than the budget allows--a wide prime by itself is not a good route to take IMHO.

Help! Camera suggestions for landscape photos...

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