Mike Holmes Loc: The Villages Fl

I am new to wildlife and landscape photograph. After much reading I have come to the conclusion that the ideal solution for me as a armature photographer is a Canon t7i camera with a sigma 18-250 zoom lens and the new canon 100-400 zoom lens. Do to the 1.6 magnification in the crop sensor I will have an effective range of 29 to 640 with two lenses. I am sure there are other solutions and would appreciate hearing the cons to this solution.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

The IDEAL camera would be the Nikon D500 camera and the Nikon 200-500 lens, both designed for shooting wildlife. A wide angle lens would make it ideal for landscape photography as well. With the D500 you would have a camera that with various lenses could do about anything you ask of it with minor exceptions. It is one heck of a camera for amateur photographers as well as professionals due to the 200-500 lens.

Dennis

bigdukeor

you have some overlap there with these two lenses. I would look at perhaps something in the 18 to 100-120mm. This would give you much lighter and more versatile lens for the majority of photos, and the long tele for your long shots. The T7i is a great versatile camera that you will really enjoy, as is the Nikon D500.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Sounds like you actually have an excellent setup. Some Nikon fan boys will not like it but it sounds like you have done good research. The 100 - 400mm is the best lens by a wide margin that is available from any maker.
With practice and discipline you will get incredible award winning quality photos with that set up.
Again you have done excellent research and have selected a great system in your budget. Yes there are more expensive options that have a few more bells and whistles but they will in no way make you better. Also if you want any excellent video of wildlife like a bear catching a fish there is nothing from Nikon or others like the Canon DPAF to get great in focus video.

Mike Holmes Loc: The Villages Fl

Thanks for the input!!! My main concern is that the "Big Boys" all seam to prefer full frame cameras for image quality. Am I really giving up that much image quality by going to a crop sensor camera? It seems that I gain a lot in lens magnification but at what price?

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

As a hobbyist photographer with about 45 years of SLR and DSLR (Full frame, Crop, and micro 4/3) equipment experience, I think there is little difference between FF and crop sensor images when the image is well composed, shot in good light, etc. Yes, in lab test differences can be detected, but again 99% of people viewing images would never be able to tell the difference between good FF and good crop sensor images.

The Canon body is good, and I have also read many good comments on the D500. If you haven't already made your purchase, the best bet is go to a good camera store and take enough time to handle both choices. Feel in your hands, button positions, etc are important in making your decision. I doubt you can go wrong with either Nikon or Canon.

Good luck and have fun.

Logan1949

[armature? did you mean amatuer or arm-chair photographer?]

It all depends on what you want as an end-result. Are you satisfied with prints less than 12 inches in size or electronic displays?

Landscape photography does not usually need fast focus, but usually needs very high resolution. Many landscape photographers use full-frame or Medium Format (film?) cameras. Some people stitch panoramas together from several smaller shots. Landscapes are often shot with small apertures (f/8 to f/22 or smaller) to increase the Depth of Focus. But you can also use focus stacking of near, medium, and far-focus shots.

Wild-life photography needs fast focus systems with good stabilization in focusing, especially for Birds in Flight (BIF). Wild-life photographs may also need fast lenses, f/2.8 or f/1.4, for low light in morning, evening, or heavily wooded locations. Also, it would help to have a fast continuous shooting capability, at least 10-12 frames per second? Birds in Flight may also need a fast shutter like 1/1000 or 1/2000 second; but this limits the amount of light available, requiring either high ISO, fast lenses, and/or a larger sensor.

It sounds like you are looking for an All-In-One-printer type of solution for your camera, which is reasonable if your constraints are financial, weight-carrying concerns, or you just want to learn one camera system really well, and are willing to work around the camera limitations.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

For most of my wildlife I shoot either early morning or late afternoon. The difference between the full frame and crop sensor is the ability to handle noise from using high ISO's due to low light senerios in the best shooting hours. For Birds in flight and other active wildlife you need to up your shutter speed which increases your ISO settings. I'm currently shooting with a crop camera as well as my full frame took a dump. I'm in the process of replacing it. Nothing wrong with crop sensors, I would only suggest you purchase full frame lens and if at some time in the future you decide to up grade to a full frame camera you won't have to repurchase the lens. It all boils down to what it's all worth to you. Until you get good at capturing the images it doesn't really matter, if it becomes a passion and you get good at it, then it all matters.....

Mike Holmes Loc: The Villages Fl

You are right, print is my main goal. This all started with a booking of a month long trip to Alaska in July and the desire to upgrade from a point and shoot camera. I am am old SLR film photographer and am amazed by the current state of the technology. I do not think National Geographic will be asking me to join there organization. But as a retired mechanical engineer I have been consumed by the hardware available.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Who’s the fan boy here? How about that Nikon “fanboy” Steve Perry?

https://backcountrygallery.com

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

First - WELCOME TO UHH!

You can combine the 2 lenses into 1 and not have to change back and forth. The Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD Lens for Canon EF might suit you. It should be fine with a T7i. A step up is the Canon 80D (7 frames/second). For high speed (~10 frames/second) for sports or birds in flight you should consider the 7D MK II.

Mike Holmes Loc: The Villages Fl

I looked at the Tameron and it sounds like a great lens. The reason for the 18-250 is that it is a small lens for travel and general photography. The Tameron is very large to carry around while traveling. Thanks for the reply

bigdukeor

A lot of photogs use both. Yes, there are some limitations I guess, with a cropped image, but unless you are going to be enlarging them to super size, you won't notice much. And, like most full frame users, I do crop quite a bit to get the image I prefer. With the new cropped sensor cameras, like the 7Ti, the quality is there, and for a first camera, it is a good choice and a good way to start. I did for several years, and they are much higher quality images coming out of them now. Good luck!! I know you will be quite pleased with the camera, and the images you get.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

The answer to that is,...it depends. But here's a landscape I took on a very cloudy/drizzly late afternoon in early summer with a 20mp crop Canon 7D Mark II and a Canon EFs 15-85mm @ 15mm. The raw file was finished in DXO Photolab. Click on (Download} under the image to see it in full screen, and click again on the full screen image to see it in higher resolution.

(Download)

Selene03

The 100-400 II canon lens with the 1.4 teleconverter is a very good combination for birds and wildlife with my 5d mk iv. It focuses quickly and is quite sharp. I only have the sl2 as a cropped camera and haven't tried it out. Some of the best safari photos I have seen were taken with the 7d mk ii and the 100-400 II with the 1.4 teleconverter though. I am sure the Nikon cameras and lenses are great too.