Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone

I am going to buy a new camera today and I am leaning towards the Nikon D50. Does anyone have any other opinions of cameras that are worth checking out before I make this purchase?

Thanks

Do you want a point & shoot or DSLR?

Do you want to have to purchase different lenses to get the same effects or shots as you would from a point & shoot?

IF your unsure of this.......or didnt think about it like that......look into the NIKON CoolPix series cameras....thery take wonderful pictures (including MACRO) for a fraction of the cost of a DSLR...

If you want to go the DSLR route.............the NIKON cameras are very good as are Canon......I am a Canon person in the DSLR area, but either the 20D or D50 are great cameras at a mid-level price range.....even the Canon Rebel XT is a great cam....

Megapixel count in irrevelant for you unless you plan on making VERY large prints.....(over 24". If you want the camera for posting pics online......look into a camera with a range of 5-8MP........8 being the very high end as you will never really utilize the full count for internet posting.....( I use the Canon EOS 5D - 13 megapixels.....and you can't even tell the difference in quality between this and my coolpix when i post pics online........)

Remember.........its not the camera but the person behind the lense that makes the pics great.....

You can go and spend thousands on all your gear and take crappy pics.......it all has to do with what you knoww and how you do it!

Most importantly........keep a steady hand.........90% of the pics you see here are blurry not because of a bad camera, but because the photographer does not know how to stay still.....or has shaky hands....

If you have this problem......get a tripod and DONT TOUCH!!!

Hope this helps and answers any questions you may have had..

The attached pic was taken with a NIKON COOLPIX 4500.......

Jared Horenstein

lighting set up do you use. Can you post a bad picture for once and show yourlight set up. Do you use a light tent and spot lights etc.

I dont know how to take "bad" pictures..................lol...............i have been doing it for a long time and the only ones that come out poorly are the ones when the snakes move.........aside from that only good shots here

As for a light set-up........believe it or not........i use either natural light or the flash on the camera....you dont need to drop thousands on light tents, boxes, etc......to get a good pic........you just have to kow what your doing......

I am going to experiment and get some pro lights but im not expecting them to make my pics any better.......maybe just "light"er lol....

on a side note.....for my 5D i do use gary Fong's Lightsphere......this helps diffuse the flash and make it even........i can thank Celia Chen of EBN for turning me on to this great diffuser........it really does work!!! and not just for the snakes..

Jared

I am EXTREMELY happy with it and wouldn't trade it for anything else. I tried the new Sony A100 dSLR and was extremely unimpressed. The Nikon D50 is just a younger version of the D80 and from everything I read/heard, it is an excellent camera.

IF you are looking for a camera that you won't have to upgrade too near in the future and if you want one that will take excellent scene and family photos as well as nice shots of your snakes, then the D50 would be a good choice. IF you are only wanting a camera to take macros of your snakes then a good point and shoot will give you excellent shots for posting. That being said, I have seen the D50 on sale for a little over $500 which is comparable to a good point and shoot.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Here are some shots I have taken with my D80, both snakes and fall scenes. I have only had the camera for 5 days now so I expect to get even better pictures as I get more used to the camera.