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I didn't want this to get buried under all the snow...

There are some very nice point-and-shoot (P/S) cameras out there. The Canon products are excellent. I have been using a Sony 828, admittedly a high-end P/S and perhaps more money than some are wanting to spend, but nevertheless a really nice camera—easy to take into the field and it does not require additional lenses. Its predecssors (the 707 and 717) are still widely used by many field herp folks with excellent results. All of these ought to be available on the used market for pretty reasonable prices. Below are some images from the field this year, all taken with the 828, using fill flash (with diffuser to soften the light), and without using a tripod (which I do use, especially for small stuff). The keys to good pics are composition and lighting...the camera truly is not as important. I have a Nikon D80 (DLSR) on order, and am looking forward to seeing how it performs. However, for ease of use and portability, the 828 will be hard to beat.

This was an early attempt at a landscape shot, and I did not get the lighting on the snake right.

Good luck with finding the right camera!

Cheers,

Bob

here Bob. I agree lighting and compostion are going to make the pic. Most of these new digital cameras far outperform us. You seem to get the most out of yours though. I love the way you capture the colors and detail. I thought I was getting close to settling on something but now I'm not sure. LOL

Thanks for your input and thanks for posting. Those are some excellent pics Bob.
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Vichris

Vichris Variables

Hey Chris:

One thing I neglected to mention, aside from composition and lighting, is the importance of "post-processing." Meaning, what one does with an image file in a photo-editing program on the computer. Having some basic skills in Photoshop or something similar makes a HUGE difference...if you saw how some of my images started out, there is a world of difference in the BEFORE and AFTER versions! You can correct (to some extent) for over or under exposure, color balance, oversaturation (a common problem with reds and oranges in kingsnakes), contrast, and can even ovecome a wee bit of fuzziness if your focus was a hair off. The great thing about digital cameras is that it's easy to experiment and obtain rapid feedback. Although I shot 35mm herp stuff for many years, it took me a while to get similar results with digital, but I was helped by a couple of herp friends who owned the same camera and were quick studies. Having such resources was much better than trying to figure out a poorly translated user's manual.

PM me if you need any other info.

Cheers,

Bob