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Camera equipment

PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 3:57 pm
by Lennart Schmid
What type of equipment do you guys use for your photos?
I personally have a Nikon d610 with these lenses:
-Nikkor 18-35mm for landscapes
-Nikkor 20mm 1.8 for wideangle closeups and astrophotography
-Nikkor 6omm for close macros with flash
-Sigma 105mm for macros without flash
-Tamron 70-200 2.8 for most other uses
I also use a Yongnuo Speedlite sometimes, and a few filters (ND, polarizer).
Which equipment do you think is most suited for herp-photography?
Image
Shot with Nikon d610, Nikkor 18-35mm

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:41 pm
by Thor Hakonsen
There is for sure no facit for this question, but the last 12 months I've used the following :

Nikon D5
Nikon D810
Nikon D500

Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 - for extreme wide-angle

Nikon 60mm f/2.8 Macro - when I want a bit more background

Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR Macro

Sigma 180mm f/2.8 OS Macro - for portraits of venomous and shy lizards. Also to really get a soft background (and forground) - also works very good with teleconverter

Nikon 300 f/4 - for shy lizards, and also when I want a soft background.

ImageCalloselasma rhodostoma by Thor Hakonsen, on Flickr
Nikon D5 with Nikon 300 f/4 and 1.4 teleconvertor for that soft for- and background.

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 9:03 pm
by Lennart Schmid
@Thor Hakonsen
consider me jealous, what a great kit! :o and great photos also!

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 12:17 am
by Matthieu Berroneau
For me, in light mode:
Sony a7ii - a very small 24x36 with:
- Sigma Fisheye 15 2.8
- Sony Zeiss 24-70/4
- Sony 90 2.8 oss macro
And in heavy mode:
+ Tamron 70-200 2.8 or Sigma 400 5.6 Apo macro
And some accessories of course.

Image

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 7:20 pm
by Daniel Kane
Paul Aiscan wrote:Which equipment do you think is most suited for herp-photography?


Depends on the species & style of photographs you're after. The iPhone cameras can be pretty good in certain situations but will not have the same detail as an SLR. There's always a compromise.

For the last 6 or so years I've used a Canon 500D body. I enjoy macro photography so I use a Tamron 90mm lens for probably 75% of my herp shots. It's quite small and light and not something you really notice carrying.

Other lenses I've used include the Tamron 17-50mm VC (for herp-in-habitat photos) & 70-300mm VC (for more shy species). The Canon 50mm 1.8 can also produce sharp results but magnification is not great.

IMG_1992wp (2)s.JPG
Shot with Canon 500D & Tamron 90mm macro


I have recently switched to a Canon 6D, but still using the 90mm macro and 70-300mm VC for the majority of pics.

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 5:58 pm
by Tomas Klacek
Hi,
I have N D7100 (upgraded from D80 and D7000). I´m quite happy with it after focusing issues in D7000. Lenses I have:
- Sigma 150mm/f2.8 (older version without OS) - totally love this lens. I only take old tokina when weight/size matters.
- Tokina 100mm/f2.8 - it was my first lens, build quality and optical quality is great but it´s a bit slow. I did not sell it, because it´s lighter and much smaller then sigma 150mm. When weight/size matters it´s my choice.
- Tokina 11-16/f2.8 for wider scenes and landscapes. Great lens, bad against the light due to heavy lens flare issue. I consider switching my tokina for laowa wide macro.
- Tamron 17-50/f2.8 - great basic lens.
- Samyang 8mm for fun

But in last days I seriously consider to sell all my Nikon gear and go for sony mirrorless system. According to all reviews it looks awesome.
T.

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 11:47 pm
by Matthieu Berroneau
Dear Tomas.
I confirm, Sony mirorless are really good for herping. 8-)
See here my review of the a7ii :
http://www.herpetofocus.fr/3-jours-en-p ... a7ii-5700/
and here the review of the 90 macro :
http://www.herpetofocus.fr/fe-90-f2-8-m ... sony-6582/
(in french, sorry).
Very solid and compact full-frame camera, amazing pictures quality.

Just one default: low batteries, you need more than one.

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:19 pm
by Lennart Schmid
I thought, id just post my "old" crop sensor kit, just because ist kind of fun :D
-Nikon d5200
-Nikkor 40mm 2.8
-Tamron 70-300mm VC
-Sigma 10-20mm
This was my very first kit and I took it with me to my Australia trip. I really miss all of those light weight lenses :D But even though its not the sharpest setup I was quite glad to have it with me in most cases, only landscapes didnt work out too great in the end.

Image
Shot with Tamron 70-300mm VC, the CA is absolutely horrifying on this lens, but the VC and sharpness are awesome in return

Re: Camera equipment

PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 6:53 pm
by Ronald Zimmerman
I currently own a Canon 5D Mark III. I wrote something about my gear:
http://ronaldzimmerman.nl/recommended-g ... otography/

Image