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Tonya

best camera for wildlife and paintings

My boyfriend has been a wildlife painter for several years and wants to sell his paintings online. In order to do that we need a camera that will take good pics of his paintings. I also enjoy taking pictures of the lake where we live and the wildlife around and on it. Ducks, deer, other critters. I've been doing photography for a few years. In the past I've always taken pictures with film. I do have a digital but because of a stupid mistake I ended up in the lake and the camera with me (that won't happen again). I need advice on what to get to get both kind of pictures. thanks for the help.

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March 10, 2006

Kerry L. Walker

Just about any good SLR, whether film or digital, will serve these purposes. I suggest you go to a good camera store and see which one you like handling the best. The feel of the camera in your hands is a lot more important than you may think.

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March 10, 2006

Stephen J. Innes

Hello Tonya-good question! I'd suggest it's not so much down to the camera but more to the lighting you would use to photograph the artwork. A good camera with a zoom that gets you in close should be fine but using flash might create a bright spot and maybe reflections if the artwork is behind glass or is varnished or similar. I used to photograph my brother's artwork with a film camera and a 50mm lens on a tripod and had two very cheap photoflood lamps to give nice, bright and diffuse light (500 watt bulbs - bright and hot!). Each lamp I placed at 45 degrees to the subject and used a colour correction filter to take away the yellow cast. On a digital camera you can set the white balance yourself, so you don't need the filter. I suppose if you're going for a non-SLR digital camera it would be best to go for as wide a zoom range as you can get, for wide angle shots of your lake, maybe a bit of closeup and of course a good telephoto capability for the wildlife. If you're going for a digital SLR you get to choose the lens yourself and we are spoiled by the range of good lenses to choose from. And maybe if you go for a smaller, non-SLR type camera, you can get splashproof and - for some models - even waterproof housings - that way if you do end up in the drink again, the camera might survive!

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March 10, 2006

Tonya

thanks. there are eagles that I'd LOVE to photograph. course they are REALLY high in the sky usually. the artwork is just oil paintings on canvas. no frame or glass yet. at some point we will put glass and frame around them but not yet. much easier to ship without glass and frame. I don't plan on ending up in the lake again. I know to let go of the bowline of the boat instead of trying to hold on to it to keep it from pulling me in the lake with it.

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March 10, 2006

Tonya

thanks. there are eagles that I'd LOVE to photograph. course they are REALLY high in the sky usually. the artwork is just oil paintings on canvas. no frame or glass yet. at some point we will put glass and frame around them but not yet. much easier to ship without glass and frame. I don't plan on ending up in the lake again. I know to let go of the bowline of the boat instead of trying to hold on to it to keep it from pulling me in the lake with it.

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March 10, 2006

Tonya

thanks. there are eagles that I'd LOVE to photograph. course they are REALLY high in the sky usually. the artwork is just oil paintings on canvas. no frame or glass yet. at some point we will put glass and frame around them but not yet. much easier to ship without glass and frame. I don't plan on ending up in the lake again. I know to let go of the bowline of the boat instead of trying to hold on to it to keep it from pulling me in the lake with it.

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March 10, 2006

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