Looking for wildlife camera: I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been...

dbeals Loc: Washington State

I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been looking at canon 5D, Sony A99, canon EOS 7D, Nikon D30s . I'm not a professional but would like to take high quality pictures.

Thank you for your opinions.
dbeals

BasqueLady Loc: Woodburn OR

One of the best wildlife camera is the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. You can pick them up at a reasonable price. I have been using one for a few years and like it a lot.

amehta Loc: Boston

dbeals wrote:

I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been looking at canon 5D, Sony A99, canon EOS 7D, Nikon D30s . I'm not a professional but would like to take high quality pictures.

Thank you for your opinions.
dbeals

Let's get specific about the cameras you are listing:
1. Canon 5D Mark II
2. Canon 5D Mark III
3. Sony A99
4. Canon 7D (APS-C)
5. Nikon D300s (APS-C)
6. Nikon D700
7. Nikon D810/D800/D800E
I included the second and third versions of the Canon 5D series, and added #6 and 7 because they are the Nikon analogs of #1 and 2. A good place to find information about all of these is dpreview.com. Note that #4 and 5 are APS-C cameras with a smaller sensor than the rest of them.

How much do you want to spend, both on the camera and on the lenses? The older cameras (#1, 3, 6) and the APS-C cameras will be much cheaper than the current models (#2, 7).

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

dbeals wrote:

I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been looking at canon 5D, Sony A99, canon EOS 7D, Nikon D30s . I'm not a professional but would like to take high quality pictures.

Thank you for your opinions.
dbeals

Wildlife is usually far away when you need that good shot. This means two things will help greatly. First, a LONG telephoto lens. Second a LOT of pixels so you can crop that desired shot out of the one that you actually got. Ideally a combination of both is highly desirable. For this reason I highly suggest the Nikon D800/D800E/D810 series of bodies. They will get you the shot AND give you the image size needed to make deep crops and still print very nice images.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

dbeals wrote:

I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been looking at canon 5D, Sony A99, canon EOS 7D, Nikon D30s . I'm not a professional but would like to take high quality pictures.

Thank you for your opinions.
dbeals

DB, welcome to the Hog!
You are not very specific about the Canon 5D, but since you also mention the 7d I'll just assume you are trying to spend less than more.
The 1DlV that was mentioned is indeed a very good nature camera, but they run about $3000 even used!
My suggestion is that of what you mention you look into the 7D, but look at them used, not new. They are running at around $600 which is a bargain for a camera that was designed from the ground up as a semi-pro nature/sports camera.
IF you could spend $5500 on a lens, I would look into a used Canon 500mm mkl. That would be a formidable Nature camera/lens combination on par with what the nature pros are using. I would spend it on the lens before the camera if you want really good shots. If the lens is to much, look at the 100-400 and you can always put a 1.4 behind it with the pins taped for AF.
Maybe a little more specific on what you are willing to spend. Good luck. ;-)
SS

crimesc324 Loc: West Palm Beach, Florida

dbeals wrote:

I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been looking at canon 5D, Sony A99, canon EOS 7D, Nikon D30s . I'm not a professional but would like to take high quality pictures.

Thank you for your opinions.
dbeals

Welcome to UHH

dbeals Loc: Washington State

I would like to stay around the 2,200 or less for body or body with lens

Balboa Loc: NJ

dbeals wrote:

I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been looking at canon 5D, Sony A99, canon EOS 7D, Nikon D30s . I'm not a professional but would like to take high quality pictures.

Thank you for your opinions.
dbeals

from personal experience stay away from D800 and A99 both have very slow AF.

dbeals Loc: Washington State

Thank you for your opinion. Any specific reasons

amehta Loc: Boston

Balboa wrote:

from personal experience stay away from D800 and A99 both have very slow AF.

Slow compared to what? And with which lenses?

Balboa Loc: NJ

dbeals wrote:

Thank you for your opinion. Any specific reasons

Yes, Both suffer from slow AF. Both take good pix but if you're trying to shoot a subject that is trying to get away from you afap you want a camera that responds to your button press immediately. In such a situation one or two seconds can be a disaster. At one time I owned both. After two weeks I returned the A99 and after 6 months I sold the D800.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

Balboa wrote:

Yes, Both suffer from slow AF. Both take good pix but if you're trying to shoot a subject that is trying to get away from you afap you want a camera that responds to your button press immediately. In such a situation one or two seconds can be a disaster. At one time I owned both. After two weeks I returned the A99 and after 6 months I sold the D800.

*******************************************
What did you replace them with??

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

dbeals wrote:

I would like to stay around the 2,200 or less for body or body with lens

Not much of a budget for an outstanding wild life camera set up.

Suggest you look at the Panasonic FZ1000 which is less than 1/2 your budget, lens and all and will get you out to 400mm.

Since it has a 1" sensor your cropping ability is limited...but then so is your budget.

You may also want to consider the M4/3 cameras which have a larger sensor. The major shorting is the slow long lenses which limit you to bright light.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

dbeals wrote:

I would like to stay around the 2,200 or less for body or body with lens

DB, @ $2200, I would(personally) get a used Canon 7D($600-$700)and a used 400mm, around $1100, plus a used 1.4x($300). That comes in at right at your budget.
If you need more versatility, then get the 100-400, also about $1100(used).
You could even look at the new Tamron 150-600 for the same amount. I just don't know enough about them to recommend one, and it's resale is probably poor. Don't know about the focus system and they are not sharper, though a bit longer, but not longer than the added 1,4x.
Good luck with your search, and again welcome. ;-)
SS

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

dbeals wrote:

I'm new to the forum and looking at wildlife cameras. I've been out of photography 10 or more years. Any recommendations for a great camera/ I've been looking at canon 5D, Sony A99, canon EOS 7D, Nikon D30s . I'm not a professional but would like to take high quality pictures.

Thank you for your opinions.
dbeals

What kind of wildlife?

$2200 will buy you an entry level setup - probably a used Nikon D300S and a new Tamron 150-600mm.

A D800 is a great wish list option - AF performance, while not quite up to D4S standards, is still as good as any other body in their line. It's fast and accurate - but you need to set it up correctly - and there are many options. I use single point continuous AF and it nails it 90% of the time.