Choosing the right DSLR for wildlife photography amature

[Karenw]

I currently have a Nikon colourpix600 but am looking to move up to a DSLR I don't have a huge staring budget so am looking for advice.  I do like Nikon but am open to other brands. I will be looking for relatively simple with capability to advance but mainly lightweight

[Black Pearl]

Welcome to the forum - please pop an introduction post into the Welcome Centre to say hello and to let members get to know you. 

 

As to you question then to be honest the camera doesn't matter as it will all boil down to the lenses you want to invest in. Assuming you're wanting to shoot animals at a distance then you need a very high magnification lens - typically in the 400 to 600mm range and they aren't cheap. A common one for amateurs is the Tamron 150-600mm which retails for around £700, you would then need a camera to put it on. Now you don't NEED something like this but I'd guess the results you envision being able to capture with a DSLR do NEED something like this. Many amateurs shoot with a more reasonably priced 70-300mm lenses which retail between £100-£400 but you will need to be very close to your subjects for them to be more than a spec in the frame and for birds right on top of them. Even with the £700 Tamron you are still very far short of the magnification you currently enjoy on your P600 so again be aware that you will need to get extremely close to get a good result. 

[Karenw]

Thank you for that it looks as though I need to consider wether to upgrade or stay with my current camera for best images

[Ryewolf]

I take a lot of bird photos, and I use a Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 Contemporary DG OS HSM (comes in both Canon and Nikon fit) - £699 - RogerW also has the same lens I think. One other thing to consider is the weight, the Sigma I have weighs 2.2kilo or 4 1/2 pounds in old money.

[Denis]

That is the lens I wanted to buy for my Nikon Geoff, but be aware that those lens only autofocus on certain Nikon models. If the camera body does not support HSM motor, the Auto Focus does not work.

I had the chance of an almost new one at a brilliant price but no worky on my D5300

[Ryewolf]

That's a good point, I seem to remember you posting about it.

[JamesT]

I use a Canon 70D with the Sigma 150-600C lens, but started out about 12 years ago with a 350D and a Cosina 100-400. 

On the Canon side I'd say that the 80D is probably the best bet currently, but  a secondhand 70D from a reputable source would be a more economical option, I don't know what the 750D and 760D are like but I had a 700D briefly and found it extremely fiddly to use (have to go into the menus for far too many things). 

I get the impression that the Sigma and Tamron 150-600s are pretty similar in performance (and much cheaper than any other really long lenses).

(As for why I use Canons -- the 350D was streets ahead of the competition in 2005, and changing system is a major upheaval).

[Ryewolf]

I've been looking at the Canon 80D for my next camera - but at £999 body only it's quite an outlay. I've also looked at both the 750D and 760D both between the £500-600 area and if I had to choose I'd probably go for the 760D. I also have a Canon 24-105mm f4L IS lens (around £500-600) that I use most of the time, Kev has the same lens, so he knows it's a real workhorse of lens and the quality of images is really supberb. For macro shots I have the Canon 100mm f2.8 (£350), Laowa 2:1 60mm Super Macro - £300 (see Paul's shots in the Macro forum to see what you can achieve with this lens - but it is all manual focus) and a couple of Canon Ext Tubes and ringflash.

I have at the moment a Canon 100d, which is the smallest DSLR that Canon do, for around £370 with a kit lens.

[kev7d]

7d mk 2 would be my choice. The 7d will lock onto fast moving objects for panning and delivers a burst rate that is pretty awesome.   

[ChrisLumix]

If you go mirrorless (talk to BP about Fuji) you can get virtually the identical quality for a greatly reduced size and weight. And I'd say it's not only the future but almost the present too.

[Karenw]

Thank you all for your ad I e really helpful I need to go and look around now

[fuzzyedges]

Whilst Fuji are excellent I dont think they do a lens around the 600 mark and if they did it would be very expensive the 100-400 is around £1500 

I dont know your budget but there are some good lens second hand in the nikon / canon  range but thats always a little bit of a gamble 

A credit card soon becomes your friend when you can spread the cost over 3 years and beyond 

oh and by the way Hi 

[vanguard]

On 05/02/2017 at 20:10, ChrisLumix said:

If you go mirrorless (talk to BP about Fuji) you can get virtually the identical quality for a greatly reduced size and weight. And I'd say it's not only the future but almost the present too.

i agree i swapping from a canon 7D to a Olympus EM1 for the reduced size and weight and still have quality.

[evan47]

Save your pennies and get a d500 or d7200 and the 200-500vr.

[Black Pearl]

8 minutes ago, evan47 said:

Save your pennies and get a d500 or d7200 and the 200-500vr.

Those are very capable combinations but entirely ignore Karen's post.

[evan47]

Well, the post was about the best wildlife combo at a reasonable price.