Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been looking to get a digtal camra for like 3 months now, i like the cool pix ones, for all of you that take digtal pics and post them is the NIKON COOLPIX 4600 DIGITAL CAMERA a good camra, and can some people post pics of there photos that tey took with there camra ands what type of camra they use

thanks for your help

is the Nikon Coolpix 7900. Go check one out.

and I'm really not crazy about it. I think the problem lies with me more than the camera. The camera is probably much more capable than I am which is why I'd rather have something less sophisticated. There are Sony and Kodak digitals that are basically point and shoot types that work better when you're trying to get pics of a moving target. Anyone who has ever shot snake pics knows it's tough to keep the subject still sometimes. There's no time to fool around with settings so everything is best adjusted beforehand. I prefer a point and shoot type of camera, which mine may very well be. Sometimes more options are not necessarily better. Anyone else have the same camera with better success?

The Nikon Coolpix (i have a 4800) is the ticket. By far the best, most accurate color for snakes with the least tinkering with settings I have seen.
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Rich Goldzung
Reptile Basics Inc
www.reptilebasics.com

you've confirmed my belief that my camera is much more capable than I am which is a good thing. My statement was just to say since my pics tend to scome out crappy the Nikon 4800 is not a just point and shoot type of camera. Maybe I need to use the macro mode all of the time. If you have any recommended foolproof ways of shooting great pics I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

I used to own one. I have talked at least one person into buying one for the main purpose of snake pictures. See some of his recent shots here:

http://www.redtailboas.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21580

The 4500 was the last of the swivel-body line. I highly reccomend it for macro (close-up) shots, which pretty much is most all boa shots.

sentiments about Nikon cameras!

I currently use one of the higher end Nikons (digital SLR) but have used MANY of the Coolpix models and loved ALL of them! A couple of my favorites include the Nikon Coolpix 995 and the Nikon Coolpix 5700.

They no longer make the 995 but you can pick one up on Ebay for a really good price (probably around $150 to $200 with accessories). That's a GREAT camera. I would definitely recommend one with a pop up flash as opposed to a regular flash because the pop up flash tends to be further away from the lens allowing you to use it without washing out the coloration on your animals as much as a regular flash would.

Depending on how much you are looking to spend, there are several different, good Coolpix cameras you can look at. I really like the 5700/8700 line of Coolpix cameras that have the solid camera body style with a swiveling LCD screen. I haven't checked in a LONG time but the last time I helped a couple of friends pick up the 5700, they got it for around $450 after rebates and everything and this was probably about a year ago.

One of the most important things, no matter what camera you get, is lighting. It is key to have good lighting, especially when we are talking about reptile photography and all the pinks and oranges and yellows and reds that boas have. White balancing your camera before every photo session under the lighting you will be using for that particular shoot will certainly help. I know a lot of people like shooting photos outside in a brightly lit shady area so give that a try too.

Anyways, I hope this helps. Good luck with your camera shopping...I know it's a hard decision nowadays with all the options out there. I find that usually, the more I think about it, the more my head hurts LOL!

Thanks,
Celia
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Celia Chien

www.BoaConstrictorMorphs.com

Celia Chien Photography

www.ExoticsByNature.com
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