Photography questions for the average photographer

I would like to hear the experiences of the average photographer on this forum. What kind of shots were you able to get and what kind of equipment did you use; from point and shoot to lower leve DSLR%26#39;s. it was suggested in another post that a 400mm lens is esential, (among other posts)the price tag along with that is steep and not budget friendly. But I want the best shots possible. Thanks.

Photography questions for the average photographer

That rather depends on the subject matter that you like to shoot, but for the ';average'; photographer taking the typical ';vacation pictures';, such as general scenery, maybe a shot of the kids near Old Faithful, and even some roadside wildlife within 100 yards or so, any decent point and shoot or entry level DSLR should work fine. The way the manufacturers are refinning the technology today, there are several very good hi-megapixel digitals with 10x and even higher optical zoom available in the under $300.00 range, that are capable of taking poster quality photos.

I often mention the 400MM lens as a minimum when answering questions pertaining to wildlife photography in particular. By wildlife photography I don%26#39;t mean taking a wide angle shot of a group of bison within 100 yards of me. I%26#39;m referring to being set up with a tripod, trying to get a fairly close up, good detail shot of a wolf or bear that%26#39;s more like 3 or 400 yards out. That, I%26#39;m afraid, will require investing in somewhat higher end equipment, but to me, that doesn%26#39;t really fall under the heading of ';average vacation photographer.';

Photography questions for the average photographer

my husband has rented lenses before for vacations. The Canon 100-400 is pretty darn cheap to rent, actually. (the longer and fixed lenses, not so cheap) :) but... if you do have one of the lower end DSLR%26#39;s like the Rebel, you might consider simply renting a lens for the trip. That%26#39;s how we%26#39;ve done it and just a thought--

My kids bought me a Canon Power Shot Sx100 IS digital camera last year for Mother%26#39;s Day and I used it in our trip to the Black Hills and Yellowstone. It takes great pictures, cost less than $300 and is very easy to use. Several of the pictures that I took I had blown up to put in my den and the others are on my digital photo frame.

Hawkeye%26#39;s comments are valid. For most photos, any of the current digitals will do. You can buy several cameras that have optical zoom to 15 - 20 power; mine is the Panasonic Lumix 18 power.

Don%26#39;t recall if you have seen these two Inside Pages:

For wildlife viewing and photography:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60999-c96653/Yellows…

Packing for your trip:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g28973-c100586/Wyomin…

Key words to remember:

1. Optical zoom. Digital zoom is cropping. You can do that at home and do it better. I have a small camera that I can carry in one hand, go from off to ready to shoot in about 2 seconds and has 10X optical zoom (Panasonic Lumix TZ-1). You need a steady hand to shoot a hand held at 10X which brings up the second set of key words.

2. Image stabilization. When shooting with a zoom lens, of course it is best to use a tripod, but do you have one in your back pocket? Can you set it up in 5 seconds? Sometimes that%26#39;s all the time you have to compose and shoot an animal picture. While your friend it getting his tripod out, leveled, camera mounted and focused, the animal he wanted a picture of left. You just put the camera up, zoomed and snapped the pic. Your will come out fine because the camera took the shake out that would otherwise make the picture blurry. You can crop it to what you want later if your composition wasn%26#39;t perfect because your picture has sufficient megapixels so it doesn%26#39;t get grainy.

3. Megapixels. Usually more is better but the practical limit seems to be about 5 megapixels. That is enough to make an 11 by 13 picture that looks sharp. When you get more megapixels, the picture quality can actually decrease because of the way the image sensor is made. Read the reviews on megapixels.

4. Camera size. You need a camera that is big enough to be comfortable to hold and not lose if you set it down, but small enough to be portable. You may have seen the old cameras that the pro%26#39;s used. Huge, bulky things. Not something to take on a hike, but that is when you are likely to see the perfect picture waiting to be taken. I like hand sized cameras. Something I can carry and shoot with one hand.

I use a 17-85mm telephoto for a ';walking around'; lens with my Canon DSLR. That captures everything I want unless I decide to get really close in on something, which is rare for me. Unless you want to capture the glint in an animal%26#39;s eye, something like that is all you%26#39;ll want or need in Yellowstone.

Thanks for all of your thoughts. Where do you rent a lens?

I have a Nikon D40X. I have 2 lenses up to 200mm. Takes great pics and I love to photograph nature. I would definatley put myself in the amature category - maybe that%26#39;s the term I should have used rather then average. I will be very sad if we are lucky enough to see a bear, wolf, moose, etc. but not able to capture the image. On the other hand, as I said, a larger lens is a bit pricey.

RM-MN, your excellent comments warrant an Inside Page, especially with re: the National Parks, YNP in particular.

the place my husband rented from: http://www.lensprotogo.com/

There are other companies out there, but no personal experience with them. This place was good.

oh-- another thought-- what about an extender? We have a 1.4X Works well, altho makes things a tick softer. They are ';cheap'; compared to a lens. Others can steer you better when it comes to gear?