Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've seen some excellent photos on this board and was wondering which camera/lenses were giving the best results. I'm in the market for a digital camera and have noticed there are many brands with many options. Could anyone recommend a good camera set-up (either digital SLR or point-and-shoot with macro capability)for a budget around $1000? I'd like to purchase online and would also appreciate any links to trusted online retailers.
Thanks!
Brad

a Nikon D100 with a Micro Nikkor 105mm lens. I love my setup and it works very well for me. Unfortunately, it would go over your $1000 budget. For that budget though, I would look into some of the higher end Nikon Coolpix cameras like the CP5700 or a couple of Nikon's newer models. I know they just came out with two new models but I haven't really looked into them so I don't know very much about them.

As for online retailers, be very careful who/where you buy from. Really do your research and stick by the rule of thumb...if it's sounds too good to be true, it probably is! I would recommend checking out BizRate.com's online merchant rating system. I've personally purchased from Digital-E-Tailor, 42nd Street Photo, Adorama, and B&H Photo.

What I generally do is search for a product to get an idea of the price range. I usually will not buy from the absolute cheapest company unless I've dealt with them in the past with no problems. I will buy from some of the retailers in the lower price range. I always ask some specific questions:

1.) I'm interested in such and such camera...do you currently have it in stock, ready to be shipped?

2.) If so, is this camera a U.S. Model that comes with a U.S. Warranty? You want to be weary of non-U.S. models or Gray Market Cameras.

and finally...

3.) Does the price you have listed for this camera come with all the manufacturer's included accessories (i.e. battery, battery charger, software, etc.)? Some companies will list an insanely low price for a camera but it will be for the camera by itself and then they charge you extra for all the accessories it was supposed to come with.

Beware of the hard sell. A lot of places will try to sell you extra accessories saying that you definitely need them, etc. These extras do come in handy but you can pick them up much cheaper elsewhere most of the time.

I didn't mean to make this so long LOL. Anyways, hope this info helps...

Celia

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Celia Chien

Celia Chien Photography
My Snakes

www.ExoticsByNature.com
www.BallPythonMorphs.com
www.CornsnakeMorphs.com

Get a Nikon 5400. Stock lens will allow you to focus with 1/2inch from the subject. I believe this was the camera CE was using for his absolutely great pics. I just bought one on ebay for 375.00. Will get it tomorrow and I'll find out if I was screwed or not.

but I have heard many good things about it. However, it might be well worth the extra $100 or so and get the Nikon CP 5700. The reason I say this is because the 5700 has a pop up flash while the 5400 does not. The pop up flash is farther away from the lens than the flash on the 5400 and therefore (from my experience) doesn't wash out the subject as much. I'm sure you can adjust the settings on the 5400 to compensate for the flash but it may take a little fiddling around with.

I believe there's still a rebate available on the 5700 so I think you can pick one up for a pretty good price right now...

Celia
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Celia Chien

Celia Chien Photography
My Snakes

www.ExoticsByNature.com
www.BallPythonMorphs.com
www.CornsnakeMorphs.com

market at dpreview.com.
I have a Canon D30 (discontinued) and a Canon 10D. They are both digital SLR's.
You don't need an SLR to take great pics, though.
CE took some of the best herp pics I have ever seen, and he was shooting a Nikon Coolpix...I'm not sure which one.
Remember, the camera doesn't necessarily make the pics. Having a good understanding of photography is more important.
Digital photography allows you to take 100's of shots and have immediate feedback...and you will learn from your mistakes.
Back in the days of film, you would have to take your rolls in to be processed and wouldn't know for days whether you have any good images.
$1000. is enough to get you a real nice digital system. Research and be careful about who you buy from. Usually if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
Good luck!

I learned pretty quickly that any camera over 3 megapixels is probably more then you really need to buy unless you plan on printing your images. Nikon is known for it's excellent macro lenses , and honestly any of the coolpix line cameras will do the job.. lighting is the key! I honestly never learned how to use all the functions of my camera , just learned when and where was the best time to take a photo to capature the animal accurately. If you want to spend 1000 dollars on a camera , go for it , but chances are you will never use 75% of the features that 1000 dollars buys you.

CE

Who said you could post pics of my animals???

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recycle your pets

It was about $200.00 when I bought it and it takes super Macro photos. I used it in Costa Rica and the pictures came out great! They now have one with a 10x optical zoom lens (which I will be getting before I go back!)
Here is a macro head shot of one of my Salmontine X Colombia/Suris

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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

All I use is an Olympus D390 2 megapixel, and it works quite well when I take the time to take close up pix. Nothing spectacular but not bad for a camera that is only 100 bucks at Best Buy..

This is my Ivory anery male who in the pic was about 30" long, so still a little guy.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com
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The best online retailer bar none is www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com
B&H and Adorama are very good (I've dealt with both of them for buying film SLR equipment), but bestpriceaudiovideo really does have the best prices. They are very easy to deal with. My dad just bought a Canon Powershot S60 from them, and had absolutely no problems. I was really impressed. I urge you to visit their website.

If you want the potential to take the best digital photographs possible, you'll need to get an SLR. With your budget, we're talking about the Canon Digital Rebel. It's the only digital SLR under $1000, even with the 18mm-55mm lens and a 512 Meg flash card. Fortunately, it's gotten great reviews. To bring the price down, Canon sacrificed some of the more complex features, but not picture quality. See www.dpreview.com for a full review.

The high end "prosumer" point and shoot cameras such as the Nikon Coolpix 8700 and the Canon Powershot Pro 1 don't cost any less than the Digital Rebel, so I wouldn't even consider them. I don't see these being around much longer. If you want to drop down a couple hundred bucks in price, get the Nikon Coolpix 5400, the Canon Powershot G5, or the Sony DSC-V1. The Nikon has the best wide angle focal length of the three. The Canon has the best telephoto focal length, lens aperature, battery life, and it takes RAW format pictures. Both Canon and Nikon have better features than the Sony, but the Sony costs $100 less. Again, see dpreview.com for a comparison of these three models.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Tyler