You can pick up a used Nikon D70 body for under $200 on ebay.
I used to have this camera, and it took superb photos. I now have a D90, but for the vast majority of images, the image quality of the two are indistinguishable.
With 500mm on a DSLR you will need a tripod (or if you are using a non-DSLR with a lens extender); also, with that weight, either the lens needs it’s own tripod mount to balance, or the camera body better be pretty solid and the tripod mount need to be solid. (Some non-DSLR’s for example, go cheap with plastic tripod holes).
Then, your camera will likely shake like crazy when you push the shutter. Therefore, either you need to use the 2-second timer or have a remote. Most DSLR’s have the remote as an option… but usually they need to be used from in front (i.e. take self-portraits) another complication.
Modern cameras - the last few tyears - have added anti-shake, either the lens or the sensor moves a little to compensate for camera movement. This can add up to 2 f-stops of exposure in lower light conditions. Of course this is useless in situations like sports or moving subjects, but it can compensate for indoor low-light shots that might be ruined by hand movement camera shake at 1/4 second…
The latest and greeatest is the micro-4/3 camera system; no SLR mirror setup, so the camera is much smaller, lighter, but still has a relatively big sensor. Even with this system, some lenses do more functions that others and some features (such as anishake) may not work.
The little consumer cameras tend to have sensors about the size of your fingernail - smaller sensor, smaller lighter lens systems and body, incredible optical zoom (not to be confused with digital zoom where th picture is cropped to look closer), but so much less light that low-light perfomance is crappy and on-board software goes too far in attempting to correct the noise problems that result. (Hence the comments above about full sunlight). Most consumer cameras can have fantastic zoom, but the lens quality is sometimes not that great and of course very few of these are removable lenses.
If this is a big investment for you, research your choices at a camera site like dpreview.com; good luck!
Oh man, out of curiosity I just looked to see what the D-100 body is selling for: $200? I’m so glad I forked out $1500 for mine new…:rolleyes:
You can just get a wired one like I have. You can’t get more than two or so feet from your camera, but I can’t imagine you’d want to in this case.
A remote can be useful but not terribly useful for nature photography - usually you’re reacting to a subject that can move and you need to be in control of the camera up until the moment the picture is taken. It’s better just to learn proper shooting technique to remain steady, and the image stabilization systems will help.
For things that aren’t moving, like landscapes, it can be helpful to have the mirror lockup and a remote just so you get the maximum possible image quality.
Yeah, if there’s anything that depreciates faster than computers, it’s digital cameras…
It’s a decade-old camera, that’s not depreciating very fast. A more modern example like a D90 still sells forr more than half the original price.
Thanks guys, have this thread bookmarked, will be evaluating my options this weekend most likely.