what should i get?

Hi everyone,

My name is brian and I'm a 38 year old radiographer living in Pennsylvania, U.S. and Its been along time since I've been into taking pictures seriously but I'm ready to jump back into it here in the near future.

I just joined the forum and the first thing I would like to do is get some educated opinions on is what would be the best canon digital slr to buy for my purposes which would be wildlife and landscape photography. I would also like to play with other techniques like "painting with light".

I was into photography in my early teens but that seems like eons ago. lol. I do have a samsung compact digital that does pretty good but would like more options to play with and I am ready to get a new camera here in the near future and get back into photography.

The second issue I would like to address is: How do I copyright my work for an online gallery?

Thanks very much in advance for any info you ladies and gents have to offer.

Brian

Hi Brian, and welcome!

You will probably get better advice on camera selection in the gear sub-forum, but I can probably pre-empt their response;

1)What is your budget?
2)What sort of wildlife (birds in flight requires a different approach to say, insects) are you interested in shooting?

Answering those 2 questions will help dramatically in picking the right body and lens(es).

WRT copyright; I think in the US your work is copyrighted as soon as you create it, but it helps to have registered it if you need to go and dispute misuse of your images...but it's best to have a look at the Business sub-forum as it is a very common topic over there!

Welcome to the forum, Brian. I have to admit I chuckled at your introduction: "I'm a radiographer and it's been a long time since I've been into taking pictures..." What do you actually do from 8-5?

Dave

Wildlife and landscape is not too demanding on the body (unless you are shooting birds in flight mainly or plan on shooting in bad weather), so I'd say go with the cheapest body you can tolerate. The Rebel T2i, 60D, and 7D all use the same sensor, so it should yield the same image quality for subjects relatively still or slow moving as AF and frame rates won't matter. The 60D and the 7D feels better in the hand and they are more robust.

Full frame cameras like the 1Ds MIII and 5DMII cost more and so do ultrawides for them, but if ultimate image quality is your goal, then the 5DMII may be the better body.

If you are shooting birds in flight and fast moving animals primarily, then consider the 1DMIV.

I'd say go with the least body you can tolerate and spend the rest on lens if money is a factor, so in this case the rebel. Otherwise, I'd maybe consider a 7D for all around use or a 5DMII if you want full frame format.

Lenses make much more of a difference, so I'd go with spending the most on lenses.

As for copyright, in the US, copyright is implied if you take the shot. You can register them as some suggest and you can watermark your images, which some think is easily removed. So you'll have to decide on your own comfort level in terms of copyright protection, going from registered copyrighted with watermark on flash to prevent online theft to nothing at all.

Good luck.

Hey, Brian, go for your budget -- you can go with a range -- check out the 50D, the 60D and the 7D, along with a couple of lenses -- actually the "kit" lenses of the 18-55IS and the 55-250 IS are pretty good for getting a start into what you are interested in, and with one of those cameras you can get off at a running start. Once you want to advance, well, money gets involved, so consider your needs and count your nickels and dimes1

Thanks everyone for your replies, especially Dave's. Touche! you got me on that one I suppose. lol. Also love your tagline "always available to shoot your dog" That's pretty good.

As far as the other replies, I'm thinking of moving to Florida and when at my friends place we take his canoe out often and see plenty of wildlife of all sorts. I guess birds mostly. Landscape photography interests me...in the form of sunsets and such.

I'm also a diver and contemplate underwater photography.

My budget is yet to come to light. I am willing to spend about 1 -1.5k. From what I see on the market, this should get me going with some decent gear. I'm sure I will get my money's worth. I may not use it a lot at first but I am in the process of planning some serious (positive) changes in my life.

Thanks for all of your input.

Best regards

Brian