A
Beginner's Guide to Wildlife and Nature Photography
Choosing a Camera Body
Obviously, this is
the most used piece of equipment; though it usually does not make or
break the photo, care should be taken in its selection since everything
else you buy will depend on it.
All of the cameras
in the world can be broken down into two major groups: Those with
detachable lenses, and those with lenses built in.
Cameras which
accommodate multiple lenses are nearly exclusively Single Lens Reflex
(SLR) cameras. These use optics which project the image through the
viewfinder in such a way that what you see is very close to what you
get on film (or memory card). By accepting a variety of lenses, one can
shoot wide-angle shots of scenery as well as use telephotos to zoom in
on distant subjects. These are the standard of professional and amateur
photographers alike who are interested in composing classic wildlife
photos of high detail. (I say this because other photographers actually
use homemade ‘Pinhole’ cameras or cameras such as
the
Holga, which was meant as a camera for the masses.) To them, the notion
of using anything less is unthinkable, but for a beginner may be the
only option.
Ricoh KR-10
Super 35mm A film SLR
Those cameras with
built-in lenses range in quality from point-and-shoots with about the
same capability as a camera phone to pocket size digitals with high-end
zoom lenses and photo quality, which, in certain situations rivals much
more expensive cameras. If you are choosing the film road, I would
definitely skip these altogether, since for the same price you can
purchase an SLR which will give you much higher quality and far greater
flexibility in the long run.
Digital is
different since compacts and SLRs are not at all comparable in price.
Digital cameras with built in lenses should be considered as a serious
option if budget is a concern. There are cameras which look, feel, and
handle like SLR’s, but aren’t since their lenses
are fixed.
They are referred to as ‘mock SLR’s’. For
someone
with a budget, they can provide a compromise between the great
flexibility of interchangeable lenses and the advantages of digital
shooting. With one, you sacrifice the ability to take shots in adverse
conditions (requiring a wide-angle lens, telephoto, or low light
levels), but should be able to maintain a respectable photo quality in
most situations. Of course, Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras
combine the advantages and flexibility of digital shooting with the
high quality shots and lens choice of an SLR. As a result, they are the
most expensive option - starting in the $700 dollar range and extending
far into the kilobuck region.
Whatever you and your budget choose, there are options that you should
pay special attention to:
The most important
is the ability to shoot in a full manual mode (where you set the
aperture, shutter speed, and focus yourself). Wildlife is tricky since
you will often be photographing in lighting conditions which fool
modern camera senses. In these circumstances, it is imperative that you
have the ability to over ride the camera’s programming to
ensure
proper exposure (the amount of light in the photograph, which makes the
difference between awful and awesome pictures). All old and most new
film cameras will have this option available; only digital cameras
designed with artistic photography in mind will have this ability
(beginning with the cheapest mock SLRs).
Olympus Camedia C-4000
Zoom A Digital Point n' Shoot
Autofocus is the
ability of the camera (and lens) to automatically adjust the lens to
bring the subject into focus (who’d have thought?!). Keep in
mind
that both the camera and lens (for SLRs) need to have an auto focus
feature in order for it to work. With manual-focus cameras and lenses,
you must adjust the lens by hand for each distance shot to get a sharp
photograph. Thus, auto focus is especially important in photographing
fast moving animals, or any situation where the window of opportunity
to take a picture is short (for example, manually focusing on a flying
bird would be very difficult). One can become very fast at focusing by
hand, but it takes a lot of practice - so expect to miss some
opportunities and make some mistakes at first. All older and some newer
film SLRs are manual focus, while nearly all digitals are auto focus.
Not all auto focus is created equal however - if you’re
planning
on spending what you feel is a large sum of money, look up how fast the
auto focus is. My personal experience can tell you that some cameras
(including my main one) cannot focus fast enough for some subjects.
A camera’s
‘motor drive’ is literally that in a film camera -
something which advances the film automatically after each shot. If you
want to take bursts of pictures very close together within a short
amount of time (to capture an exact moment, such as catching the right
glance of an animal) a motor fast motor drive is a must. Obviously,
there is nothing to advance inside of a digital camera, but the time
between photos differs. This feature is rated in terms of Frames Per
Second (FPS). The higher the FPS (if there is one, since some film
cameras have no motor drive at all) the more photos you can take, and
the better the odds of getting a picture at the right time. For
example, I use my digital camera’s ‘burst
mode’ (the
setting in which you can actually use your FPS rating) to capture
fleeting moments, such as whales coming up to feed. Timing a single
shot would be difficult, and by having multiple shots, you have
multiple chances of having one that you like. Many film cameras have
this feature (with attachments sold for some older cameras without it),
while digital cameras differ from seconds between shots, to fifths of a
second between shots according to the “you get what you pay
for” trend. Bracketing is a related feature which you may
find
useful. Three or more pictures are taken in a burst at slightly varying
exposures, almost guaranteeing that one of them will be correct. Of
those cameras with a burst feature or motor drive, some will be able to
automatically bracket.
12" Release Cable
A remote for your
camera (in the form of a mechanical cable, electronic cable, or
Infrared device) will enable you to take photographs without touching
the camera (which is mounted on a tripod). In some conditions, this can
be very useful in eliminating blur from your photographs. Almost all
midrange cameras will have this feature.
If purchasing an
SLR, be sure to find out what type of lens mount (thus which lenses
you’ll be able to use) it has. I do not want to get into
‘brand wars’ on this website - there are plenty of
articles
and debates on the pros and cons of various brands already. Basically
though, what you purchase for a given price will be on the same level
as any other brand’s product sold at that price.
Release Cable screwed
into KR-10
Of course there
are many, many more features out there, but these are the most
important. If you have any further questions, just send me an e-mail. I use two cameras. One is a Ricoh
KR-10 Super, a manual, film SLR with a built in light meter (standard
these days) from the 60s or 70s. I love it for experimenting with film,
taking wide-angle landscape shots, and using the telephoto for
wildlife. There’s no motor drive, and focus is manual, so I don’t use
this camera when in a rush. The other I use is a Sony F828 mock DSLR.
The optics are very nice, and it provides a lot of the same features as
a real DSLR. It has done an excellent job thus far, though the ability
to use a larger lens would definitely be useful. It's gotten the job
done and given me a great learning experience.
