Starting out in photography

S

SmallestGiraffe

Well-Known Member
I have been visiting zoo's frequently for over a year now with just my small Canon Powershot SX230 and have had some brilliant photos from it so can't complain ... however this year i decided that it would probably be worth investing in a better camera as i do love photography i've just never had the time, money or frequent subjects to photograph.

I bought a Canon 1100D last month which just came with the basic lens which is good for quality but i need one with better zoom, only problem is i'm out of my depth with the numbers and specs etc so any help would be great. I don't have a lot of money to go out and buy one so i'm saving towards it but would like to know what lens i'm aiming for so i can price them up etc.

I did take the camera to South Lakes yesterday as the animals there are pretty close anyway so i thought it would be a good trip to test it out and get a proper feel for it etc and got a few great photos.
I have a trial of Photoshop for editing but need a bit of practice playing around with that before i fully get the hang of it haha. Any recommendations for the best place to set up a page to display the photos? I was considering tumblr, i posted a few on facebook just to see if anyone liked them but wanted somewhere i could post as many up as possible to get feedback etc without my friends - who aren't as interested in animals - getting annoyed haha!

Any help is great, thanks in advance :)
 
I can't help with specific lens suggestions because I know nothing about Canon gear (I use Nikon, which is rather like speaking a different language). You should consider something in the moderate telephoto range to get some magnification compared to your kit lens. If you might want to shoot reptiles and small mammals think about macro capability too. You might be able to get a bargain if you buy second hand, but find a good dealer who will give you a guarantee.
Flickr is quite good for showing your photos, but there is a small fee; I have accounts on Photobucket and Ipernity too, which are free, but they don't have as many members and comments.
Image processing with Photoshop or one of the alternative programs is useful if you're going to take things seriously - but it does have a steep learning curve. The first step is to save your photos as RAW files instead of the basic jpg format.

Alan
 
As a Canon user on a budget there are two lenses for you,

EF-S 55-250 f4-5.6 IS II or EF 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM

A focal length range of 70-300 (equivalent to 112-480 on an 1100D body) is IMHO an ideal range for zoos, although you will also need a compact camera in your pocket for wider shots of enclosures, etc. 55-250 (equivalent to 88-400) is also good although you will sometimes miss that extra 50mm.

I just checked some prices for you from three online retailers as follows:

EF-S 55-250 f4-5.6 IS II - Amazon £120, Panamoz £130 and WEX £208

EF 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM - Panamoz £259, Amazon £316, and WEX £389

I would recommend the 70-300 but although the 55-250 is a budget lens I have heard many people on Talk Photography singing its praises.
 
I will definitely look into those suggestions and hopefully be able to get a decent lens soon as we have plans to visit quite a few zoo's in the summer which would be great to get some good photo's. Thank you JackWow for your help :)

Flickr is one i have seen a lot of people use so i shall look into it. I guess sharing them in as many places as possible can only be a good thing as far as getting feedback etc :)

Thanks for the tip about RAW files, i'll be sure to bare that in mind when saving.
 
gentle lemur said:
Image processing with Photoshop or one of the alternative programs is useful if you're going to take things seriously - but it does have a steep learning curve. The first step is to save your photos as RAW files instead of the basic jpg format.
Click to expand...

Bear in mind if you're going to try this that a) RAW files take up a lot more space than even the highest quality jpgs (about twice the size on my camera) and b) that you will need the right plug-ins for Photoshop (or equivalent) to be able to process the files - there is no standard RAW file and not even all Canon cameras will use exactly the same format; I found this when trying to process RAWs from my Nikon D90 and my dad's Nikon D300.
You also can't open the images in Windows Photo Viewer (or whatever it's called now) if you shoot in RAW.
Personally, I find that for my own purposes the highest quality jpg setting is fine; my dad is working on a photo book at the moment, so obviously shoots in RAW.

For zoos, I tend to use a 70-300mm lens (as with Gentle Lemur, I can't comment on specific lenses as I use Nikon) but a macro lens can also be useful for exhibits where you can't get very far back or need to get close to the glass to get a decent photo.
 
Ahh ... well for the time being (until i get the hang of everything etc) i had best stick to JPG's.

I'll have to spend some time looking through a few different lens options then but a macro lens is definitely a good thing as i do see a lot of animals which require close up to the glass.
 
gentle lemur said:
Image processing with Photoshop or one of the alternative programs is useful if you're going to take things seriously - but it does have a steep learning curve. The first step is to save your photos as RAW files instead of the basic jpg format.
Click to expand...

I think what format you take your images in depends on what you plan to do with them. Remember RAW files take up a huge amount of disc space, especially if you take a lot of pictures. Unless you are printing pictures at very large sizes then I would stick to jpeg's. The latest Photoshop Elements has quick, guided and expert editing options and has a very good organiser.
 
I've been using the Canon 70-300mm for several years now and I'm very happy with it's performance, both in zoos and elsewhere. I recently upgraded to the L-series model and I'm just as happy, but the non-professional series (black) lens is still good.

You should have got a computer disc with your Canon body - it will include a program called ZoomBrowser which will enable you to look at RAW files if you do take them (and it will also stitch photos together for you too).

You may be able to set your camera to take both a RAW and a jpg simultaneously; this is what I do. I can then quickly view the jpgs on my computer to decide what to keep, and then if I want to post photos online I can play around with them using the RAW copy. Several times images have been over- or underexposed and the RAW copy has been able to produce a very acceptable image.

But as has been mentioned, RAW files are huge - up to 30MB each. You need a memory card that is large (I use a 32GB card and I can get almost 900 shots, 8GB would be my minimum) and lots of space on your hard drive. Also be aware, it can take a while to download the files onto your computer.

Hope this helps.

:p

Hix
 
All good advice here so far, I'm also a canon user and although I currently use the 100-400mm zoom lens on my body before I bought it last year I used a 70-300mm zoom and couldn't fault it, lovely clean lens. There are some very good second hand options and a friend and fellow ZooChatter kaytronika would be able to tell you where he got his from as they are spotlessly clean and good as new.
I shoot in both RAW and JPG - always have as I like the versitility to be able to do what I want with my images processing wise. I would say though, if you are crazy enough to end up doing a wedding shoot in JPeg as the bloody post processing takes as long as the sodding wedding (once burnt never forgotten).
In terms of Macro lenses - I use them in a studio setting but have never taken them to the zoo - even close to the glass you can usually pull the lens back and stand far enough back to be able to use the small end of the zoom - manual focus to avoid the AF focussing on sticky finger marks and you will be fine.
There is no substitute for getting out and playing with your gear - I would say know what your controls are and what they do to make life less frustrating, if you are in Chester Zoo when I am there (most Sundays to be honest) and you have any questions just ask :O) But there are lots of keen photographers with nice gear at many zoos - if approached with a question I reckon the majority will help - I can't guarantee the validity of their knowledge but decide for yourself. If you have the funds there are some great people offering tuition combined with photo days for not too stupid prices - I have friends who do it for a living and they are bloody good - in the interests of not hijacking your thread with advertising - if you are interested then PM me and I'll elaborate - otherwise I'll get me coat :O)
As a rule of thumb there is no substitute for decent glass on your camera - buy the very best lens you can afford - if you can afford Canon go with that otheriwise there are a number of other decent manufacturers making for canon fit - such as Sigma & Tamron who I have had lenses from in the past - I couldn't comment on others as I don't know enough. Generally 'non manufacturers' lenses are a bit heavier, and slightly lower quality (massive generalisation) but if it's £200 cheaper and not crap then it's a good place to start. I've waffled a bit here - sorry - hope it's helped but please just go and play and learn and more importantly ENJOY your photograpy! Best of Luck
 
It's looking like a 70-300mm is going to be the best one for me particularly as it seems to be a good quality one which will do what i require it too especially while i am getting used to the camera etc.
Also think for now i'll stick with JPG although i will try shooting in RAW at some point just to get a feel for it and i'm sure i can alternate.

I'm definitely going to look at a second hand option providing i can find one that is of decent quality etc, any help with locating one would be fab although i am going to have a look around myself and then should be able to purchase one in the next couple of weeks.

Sticky finger marks and scratches on glass are what my smaller digital camera likes to focus on which is really annoying! I might put the macro lens on hold for now and see how i get on with a new lens then if i find a need for one i can get one :)

Playing around in the house allowed me to get a feel for the camera controls in general but shooting stationary objects are nothing compared to shooting animals and i found it very handy testing it at South Lakes. I am going to Chester for the adoption day but apart from that it will be possibly June/July before i can get there again but would be great to get some tips in a zoo setting. Thank you for your help :)
 
I am a Canon shooter and a photo instructor at a professional photo lab, so I like to think I can be of help on topics like this. (Whether or not I am truly helpful or it is all in my mind remains to be seen).

The one advantage of the all-in-one cameras like the one you were using before is they can have massive zoom ranges that far exceed the telephoto reach you will get with an SLR lens. The model you had, however, was a more modest range and you should get roughly the same reach on the telephoto end if you follow everyone's suggestions and get a 70-300.

I did a lens presentation for a camera club and used the Canon 300 (zoom and non zoom) lens as an example of what is available. If I remember correctly, there were something like 11 different choices available to get a lens for Canon that goes to 300mm! (This is of course including other brands in Canon mount, like Sigma and Tokina and Tamron).

Assuming you do not use a tripod, which most people do not, a lens with Image Stabilization (or Vibration Compensation or whatever the brand of lens calls it) is great if you can afford it. Your previous camera would have had it built in, as virtually every all-in-one camera does, but on Canon SLR's it is in the lens not the camera. If you cannot afford it, don't worry about it, you can always increase the ISO to get a fast enough shutter speed if the pictures are a bit blurry.

Bottom line - any 70-300 in a Canon mount will work great, even the least expensive ones. If you can spend a bit more or find a better model used, even better.
 
You definitely are in a place to advise then!
Yeah i have to say that is one thing i love my all in one for is the great zoom, i have had some great photos from it but what it makes up for in zoom and stabilisation it doesn't do so well in overall image quality.
I'll bare the stabilisation tip in mind when choosing a lens, what i'm hoping for is to find a decently priced and good quality used one then i can get a better lens for the price of a brand new one. But i don't want to end up getting one that isn't in the condition it's stated as which means a lot of looking around to find the best one.
Thanks for the help :)
 
A word of warning, do not buy the Canon 75-300 f4-5.6 lens. It is much cheaper for a reason.

I just had a look on the MPB Photographic website (a company well known for dealing in used equipment) and they have Canon 70-300 (11 of them) for £234 (Condition: Exc+) and £249 (Condition: Exc++). However for these prices I would definitely get a new one from Panamoz for £259.
 
I agree with karoocheetah...the 75-300mm is a pretty good lens, but it you can afford a 70-300mm IS I would definitely recommend that. It's what I use and the IS makes a difference more than the 5mm focal length difference. I started with a 75-300mm on my Canon 40d and the 70-300mm is better. Yes, it's more expensive but it's worth it. I use the 70-300mm lens for about 90% of my zoo photography and rarely use my 18-200mm.
 
Just to add to karoocheetah's post I've picked up a 70-300 is usm lens (Image Stabilization, UltraSonic Motor) second hand from MPB Photographic - Buy Used Canon & Used Nikon Digital SLR Cameras, Lenses & More for £210. It was going for around £350 at the time and mine was in as new condition. Not sure if they have stock as they tend to move stuff on quick.

Also picked up the none IS version for about £80 since for my wife. Again, no problems with it.

I'd been warned about second hand lenses but figured they had a six month warranty. Had no cause to use the warranty.

I bought a Tamron 70-300 new and was never happy with the quality, lots of purple fringing and very soft at 300mm... It broke just after the warranty ended... That said I have the same lens for an old Pentax body that lasted me a good two years at least.


Software wise I view images using FastStone Image Viewer, but also Picasa by Google is fun to use for a beginner.


I was put off by companies like Panamoz because they're Hong Kong based so you're potentially dealing with grey import, possible warranty issues, import duty....
 
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