Which DSLR for landscape and wild life photography?

3 years 4 months ago #702989 by Shadowfixer1

thetraveller333 wrote: Thank you all for the recommendations.

I am leaning more towards the D850, but I would like something with in-body stabilization.

What would be an equivalent camera to the D850, but with in-body image stabilization?

Nikon Z7 or Z7II. You will need to go mirrorless if you want IBIS. Sony A7Riii, A7RIV for high megapixel sensor. Canon R5 if you go the Canon route. There are other choices as well if you want a lower megapixel count. Nikon Z6, Canon R6, Sony A9, A7III. I would also consider a much smaller camera to compliment your main camera. A Fuji X100V, Nikon Z50 or several others when you just want to grab something to carry around town. I know most use their phone for this but I just can't do that. I need a proper camera. Good luck in your quest.
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3 years 4 months ago #703033 by thetraveller333
All other things being equal, would it make sense to go with a higher megapixel camera and a shorter lens or with a lower megapixel camera and a longer lens.


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3 years 4 months ago #703071 by Nikon Shooter
For wildlife, long focal length and higher MP is the
right way to go to avoid having to use TCs.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 4 months ago #703197 by Finn
:agree:   give you the size to crop in if need be


Photo Comments
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3 years 4 months ago #703273 by thetraveller333
Thank you again for all your recommendations.

I will be watching the black Friday specials for a good deal on a Sony A7R III for either body only or for a bundle.  Where would be a good place to look for a good price?

Since I am basically starting from scratch and I don't have a kit at the moment, I was also considering the Sony A7R IV, but most of the reviewers did not see a need for the 61 MP sensor and the size of the files would make it difficult to manipulate in post.

I will also be looking for 2 lenses: a 50mm and a 200 to 600 zoom.  Would these two lenses make sense for my intended use for landscape and wildlife?  If not, which lenses would you recommend?

Thank you for your continued advice.


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3 years 4 months ago #703289 by Shadowfixer1
The A7RIII is a good choice. It's one of the full frame options I have my eye on. The 200-600 is an excellent choice. I would also get a zoom in the 24-70 range. If it's not in the budget, the 50 will work just fine. You can add more lenses later. One thing, stay away from their kit 28-70 lens. It's horrible. Good luck.
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3 years 4 months ago #703375 by thetraveller333

Shadowfixer1 wrote: The A7RIII is a good choice. It's one of the full frame options I have my eye on. The 200-600 is an excellent choice. I would also get a zoom in the 24-70 range. If it's not in the budget, the 50 will work just fine. You can add more lenses later. One thing, stay away from their kit 28-70 lens. It's horrible. Good luck.


I sent a couple of other replies prior to this one, which included links to some of the items I am looking at, but the replies have not shown up on here yet.  Perhaps it is because links are not allowed???? 

Anyway, I'll try again without the links to see if it goes through.

I'm getting closer.

I replaced the 50 mm with a 85 mm f/1.4 for carrying around.  I looked at a 24-70 range, but I think the 85 and the 200-600 will work well for me in the beginning.

This is what I have so far:

Sony a7R III Alpha Mirrorless Digital Camera, Body Only:  $2,059
Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens:  $1,800
Sony 85mm f/1.4 FE GM Lens:  $1,469
Sony VG-C3EM Vertical Grip:  $300

Grand total of $5,628.  Do the prices look reasonable?

A little more than my $5,000 budget, but I think its worth it.  I'm hoping to find some better prices on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

I'll be looking for a tripod next.  Does anyone have any recommendations for a reasonable travel tripod that can support the A7R III and the 200-600 lens?

Sony VG-C3EM Vertical GripSony VG-C3EM Vertical Gri


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3 years 4 months ago #703387 by Shadowfixer1
Nice selection and good prices but if you're going to be shooting landscape you will need a wider lens. The 50mm will be to long in some instances. The 85 will be great for portraits but you really need wider for landscape. Good luck on your shopping.
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3 years 4 months ago #703393 by thetraveller333

Shadowfixer1 wrote: Nice selection and good prices but if you're going to be shooting landscape you will need a wider lens. The 50mm will be to long in some instances. The 85 will be great for portraits but you really need wider for landscape. Good luck on your shopping.


Thank you again for the input.

Would it make sense then to replace the 85 with the Sony FE 24-70 f/2.8 GM or perhaps the Sony FE 24-105 f/4 G OSS?


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3 years 4 months ago - 3 years 4 months ago #703396 by Shadowfixer1
Either one of those would be great. You will find that those will be used for the overwhelming majority of your shooting unless you are only going to be doing wildlife. In my system I have the equivalent of a 24-80mm, 90mm, 150mm and 150-600mm. The 24-80 is used 80-90% of the time. Now, your use may vary but I think you will find the 24-70 or 24-105 will be your most used lens. You may want to look into some of the Tamron lenses. They are very popular for the E-Mount. The 28-75 is wildly popular at a much lower cost. Go watch some David Oastler Youtube videos. He now shoots Sony cameras and talks about all different kinds of lenses. He uses the Tamron 28-75 in his wedding business.  
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3 years 4 months ago #703397 by Piechura
I'd also look into the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and the 14-24 f2.8 if you want something ultrawide. Or the Sony 16-35 f2.8 or f4 depending on your budget. Maybe the Tamron 17-28 f2.8.

I have the Sigma 100-400mm, which I've been happy with. It's a good alternative if you don't want to size and weight of the 200-600mm and you're willing to sacrifice the extra range. But it's probably also more useful at the short end for telephoto landscape photography. Lots of landscape photographers will carry a 70-200, so the 100-400 range includes a lot of that but then gives the flexibility for wildlife too. Sony also do a 100-400, but it's much more expensive even than the 200-600.


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3 years 4 months ago #703405 by thetraveller333

Shadowfixer1 wrote: You may want to look into some of the Tamron lenses. They are very popular for the E-Mount. The 28-75 is wildly popular at a much lower cost. 


I studied a number of reviews and comparisons between the Sony 24-70 ($1,650) and the Tamron 28-75 ($780) and I just can't justify paying an additional $870 for the Sony lens.  There are some very minute differences at the edges of the frame where the Sony lens performs marginally better as well as the missing focus lock and the AF/MF buttons on the Tamron lens, but these small differences will not affect me at all.  I'm definitely going with the Tamron 28-75.

Thank you for suggesting the Tamron 28-75.


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3 years 4 months ago #703407 by thetraveller333

Piechura wrote: Lots of landscape photographers will carry a 70-200.


This is a great suggestion to fill in between the 28-75 and the 200-600.  I'll have to start looking at that once my budget recovers a bit.

Thanks for the recommendation.


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3 years 4 months ago #703493 by thetraveller333
Pulled the trigger today, Black Friday.  This is what I ended up with:

Sony a7R III Alpha Mirrorless Digital Camera, Body Only:  $1,994
Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens:  $1,744
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Lens:  $1,034
Vivitar VG-C3EM Battery Grip:  $80
Peak Design TT-CB-5-150-AL-1 Aluminum Travel Tripod with Ball Head:  $315

Grand total of $5,167.  Just slightly over my budget, but still better than I imagined for the quality of gear I ended up with.

The only item I wasn't sure about was the Vivitar battery grip, but the Sony battery grip was over $300, so I figured I would try it and if it doesn't work, then I'll switch.

I can't wait to get started.  During 2021 we will follow the warm weather north, starting in January from Key West, Florida to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and back to South Florida by the end of November.  My wife and I will spend June, July and August, 2021 traveling all over Alaska in our RV and I can't wait to put everything to the test.

Thank you all for the advice and recommendations.


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3 years 4 months ago #703521 by Shadowfixer1
Very good price on the camera body. Where did you find it for that price if you don't mind me asking?
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