Lens question

I'm thinking about getting in to photography,mostly wildlife. My question is are those lens pretty much interchangeable between brands? Say I bought a Canon camera that came with a 35mm lens,could I later buy a Nikon 150mm lens and it would fit the Canon body?

Actually, most are proprietary and not interchangeable. There are aftermarket lenses that fit different brands, but they're not usually interchangeable between brands. Nikon and Canon are both great brands, either one will do. I'm a Canon guy myself, mostly because I already have all the lenses so I keep buying the cameras that work with them!

This is usually the case, even moreso since cameras have gone digital/autofocus. However, some older cameras may handle others, and there may also be adapters you can buy. Good luck, OP!

We have a really good shop here in Lubbock, Armadillo Camera. I would search out a good shop in your area and go talk to them. Some have introductory classes that will help you identify what you need to get started and get you up to speed on using it.

Consider a Nikon p1000 or p900.

If you go mirrorless, then with adapters, some will crossfit. There are 3rd party lens makers, like Sigma or Tamron, that make lens for specific brands, like Sony, Canon or Nikon too. Nikon D500 and Nikon 200-500 or Canon 7D II with Canon 100-400 are excellent choices.

If you decide you want to go the superzoom route, the newest Nikon Coolpix P950 is the one to get. It covers the range 24-2000mm and can produce some nice pics. Here's a few examples:

Haven’t heard of the 950. What’s basic short answer difference between 900 1000 an 950?

950 has improved image stabilization for handheld shooting, is about the same size of the smaller 900, with an excellent electronic viewfinder similar to the 1000. Image quality is identical for all three.

I have used digital Canon cameras and lenses since 2003. What I have is old but still works for me. I have a Canon 50D and Canon 7D both are over 12 yrs old now. I have the smaller lenses that came with the cameras but have purchased a 100-400mm and 500mm 4.0 lens. With most of the Canon cameras you get a cropping factor of 1.6x that in makes an image taken with the 500mm now like that of an 800mm lens. I shoot handheld with the 100-400 and tripod only with the 500mm due to weight. Both have Image Stabilization which I need. I have a friend who shoots Nikon and Nikon lens and she gets some amazing quality and pics with her setups. I have a Manfrotto tripod and Gimbal style head. Lens for wildlife need to be longer focal and lower f-stop for better images. That comes with a price and added weight for those style lenses. My 500mm weighs in at over 8lbs and throw in a camera body with 2 battery pack and it is heavy. If I were going to start over I would get a camera body I like and then rent lenses to see how I liked them and how they did for wildlife photography. With my 500mm I like to take pics of deer from 60 yards to about 120 yards for the best pics. I can still crop them on my computer at longer distances. With my 100-400 they need to be under 80 yards. The newer lenses are much better than my older ones but they come with a price to match. I have seriously considered buying a Sigma 150-600 lens to fit my Canon cameras. I could replace the 100-400 lens with it if I wanted. It is large and heavy though at around 5 lbs but I have the tripod already. It takes great pics from the ones I have seen. One thing also to consider is the materials the camera body is made from...you want waterproof or resistant cameras and lenses since you will be outdoors with them. I have had my camera shut down due to moisture on very wet or damp rainy/foggy/snowy days even in a box blind.
It is a fun hobby that I really enjoy. I have great equipment it is just old. I am not the knowledgeable about my equipment by I am always learning and trying to use the equipment the correct way. I may not use the correct words when talking about them but I get by. I take a camera with me to the blind about 90% of the time now. It is great that I have friends with ranches that let me come and take pics of their deer and other wildlife.
This buck was at 60 yards or maybe a little more..so I had to turn the camera to get him in the frame. It was not cropped.

This coyote was at about 90-100 yards and it is not cropped.

This buck was at about 200 yards and it was cropped.

Some great pics and suggestions,thanks. To be honest I'll probably just keep the camera hanging around my neck to take pics while in the blind. I see lots of interesting things there. I think I could get by with a fixed lens,maybe 100mm? Definately need the longer lens. Anything would be an improvement over my phone pics,LOL.

When it comes to photography Stxranchman is the man to go to, his pic's are the best on the forum. He probably doesn't know it but he's the one who really got taking photography serious and I can't thank him enough for it. I'm pretty stuck on the NIKON P series camera's mainly because I don't like messing with lenses and I don't have time to set up, I have to take what's available. Almost all of my shot's are from the truck. You definitely don't want a NIKON P-1000 hanging from your neck, it's a big camera. A P-900 of a 950 will probably suit your needs but even with the 1000 you're not going to get the quality of photo's STX gets with his Canon's.

I haven't paid any attention to the P-950 since I have a 900 and a 1000 so I did a little research and found one thing for sure that would make me pick a 950 over the 900, the eye piece is much bigger than the 900's, look like it shares the same one as the 1000 and that makes a big difference when trying to frame your picture. I have to really squint when using the 900 compared to the 1000. The 950's a little heavier than the 900 but no where near the weight of the 1000.

Were I to go the Canon route I'd probably try the PowerShot SX70 first, that would probably cover 90 percent of my needs. It doesn't have near the zoom capability's as the Nikon P series but if the picture quality is good enough you can do as STX said and crop the picture. The SX70 will zoom out to 1000 mm. My brother recently got a Canon and this may be the model he got. I haven't seen any of the pictures taken with it but it would be interesting since we were shooting side by side on a group of Aoudad about 250 yards away. I was using the P-1000.

Dodge great pics sir

STX fantastic

Incredible pictures Sir, that coyote pic is probably the best I've ever seen.

I think you'll be surprised at how little zoom 100mm actually is. You're going to want 300mm minimum. Sigma makes a 120-300mm Sports lens that is great and, as stxranchman said earlier, the 150-600mm is also a great lens that will cover pretty much every focal distance you'll need to cover in the deer blind.

I was taking these to show him as you responded to his post. 1.6x cropping factor on each pic using a 100-400mm zoom lens and the feeder is just over 85 yards from my front porch. Set on 400 IS with no editing or cropping and handheld. It was very low light with foggy mist , so they are darker.
Here is 100 mm (160mm equivalent)

200mm

300mm

400mm

A picture is worth 1000 words. Stx, do your pictures have the 1.6x cropping factor because you're using cropped format lenses on a full frame camera or is that really just a standard cannon feature?

Cropping sensor is a standard feature on the Canon APS-C cameras and they also have the Full Frame models as well. I believe all Canon DSLR cameras in the EOS line have the cropping sensor.

stxranchman, you definitely the man, have admired your buck photos for years. I like the comparison at different focal lengths for the OP. Most folks, me included, initially think you can grab a camera, for cheap, and get great photos(like wysiwyg thru binocs). My eyes were opened years ago attempting to shoot my kids basketball & volleyball games. Most pics came out dark & blurry. Little did I realize that it takes expensive cameras, and even more expensive lens, plus some practice/luck to get good photos!

OP, 100mm can be used if you get within 20 yards, say in a bow blind. Might still need to crop some to get what you want. Be sure to get a camera with a silent shutter or game could be spooked at that range. I've had mixed experiences with that, but quieter is better. Superzooms are silent, mirrorless can be set to electronic shutter and silent, while some dslrs have a silent mode, but are still relatively loud. At 50 yards, no big deal either way.
I like the option of a variable lens so that if a critter pops up at 10 yards, or crosses a trail at 400, I can still get a pic without changing lens. Sigma has a new 60-600mm zoom lens for dslr cams that looks appealing.

I just grabbed a couple of skulls and a box of shells for size reference, stepped out in the mist & shot these from 50 yards so you can get an idea of what the higher zoom/reach gives you in photos. That buck photo I posted earlier was at 370 yards & 3200mm equivalence after cropping.

600mm

800mm

1200mm

2000mm


Good luck on your quest, but be careful, wildlife photography can become as addictive as hunting.

Gotcha, I guess I thought the 50D and 7D had full frame sensors. I was wrong.

I believe the Canon 5D line and some other models are full frame. I think they are now offering full frame in the EOS line of cameras also but don't hold me to that. Camera equipment changes year to year so fast is difficult for me to even try to keep up....my knowledge is limited.

Yep, they've also gone mirrorless. Canon EOS R5 is the latest full frame sensor, priced at nearly $4K.

I think buying a camera is very similar to buying a deer rifle. You should start with something simple that is of good quality, but nowhere near top end. You don't need a $2,000 Zeiss scope when first starting out. You don't need a custom barrel, or trigger or stock, when first starting out. You need a quality name brand in that is affordable, but also reliable.

With a camera, it is easy to buy what the pros have, but just about impossible to do what they do when starting out with the same stuff they use. It takes a massive amount of time to learn how to operate the camera, and then after becoming proficient at it, most will never get good pictures because the lack the artistic eye. Just look at how many wedding photographers take horrible pictures!!!

Technology has made it very easy to buy an all in one camera that includes a zoom lens that you can use indoors, or take pictures of the craters on the moon. In auto mode, you don't have to think about lighting, exposure, or anything else. You just work on getting the nicest image possible every time you pick up your camera.

I have a Canon SX50 that I'm extremely happy with. Nikon makes excellent cameras too.

It's more important to have a camera that you will use all the time, then to have a very fancy, high end camera, that is never touched.

After looking at the high quality photos on this thread I almost hate to mention it but apparently they're now making point and shoot cameras with long range lens on them? That's news to me. I'm not super serious into photography yet so I'm thinking I might do some more research on those.

Swamp, Im not sure exactly what you mean by "point and shoot" but the p series Nikons(p1000) and super zooms Im pretty sure operate as you want as point and shoot. They have capabilities of doing more but you dont have to use the extra features.

Im pretty blown away by all the info on this thread. There is a bunch i want to reply to but its too much. I guess its because photography can be so complex, or simple, depending on what you want.
-As for me, you have to take my opinions with a grain of salt cause I know little about cameras but I have bought a p1000 and do a lot of deer photos and it is like a point and shoot to me cause I dont know how to use all the features. It zooms so incredibly far it really helps us with identifying and managing our deer and thats my main purpose for now. It takes great pics but I think not pro quality.
-Eddiewalkers advise was great, basically about starting off slow but other good points.
-STx photos definitely the best and his abilities are way over my head. Similar to his higher level of deer management advise, his photo advise is more for those at a higher level, at least till I put more into learning and I havent.
-100mm zoom-as someone said, thats not very much zoom AT ALL for wildlife.
-All in one zoom-everybody is different but for me I am a hunter that always has a camera. I am not at all to the point that I want to carry around extra lenses and bigger lenses and have to take time to deal with that. The p series Nikons(and others) are all in one zoom. To me thats the only way to go unless you are photo only and not doing any hunting or driving/photo like Hwyman.
-p950 Nikon--Like Hwyman I never knew anything about it so i quickly checked. To me it seems like a suped up version of the 900. The big difference in it and the 1000 seems to be much less bulky and it zooms considerably less(but still a ton.)
-Hwyman-I may pm you. We have the same camera and even though you are more advanced you implied you are mostly not at the pro level. You referenced the eye piece and I dont ever use it so maybe im missing out. Real curious about your side by side comparisons as well. And someones gotta explain what the whole 1.6 cropping thing even means. Like I said im a rookie.

Another example of zoom from a P-1000. It starts at 23 mm distance is 35 yards.



500mm


1000mm


2000mm


3000 mm

This pic is using the 2x digital zoom 6000mm.

Hwyman i have a p1000 as well and i have no clue what a "2x digital zoom" is. But that example of what the various zooms do is a very excellent example.

This is by no means a quality image at all but it shows the zoom ability of the p1000. This is at a half mile. For my purposes I’m wanting enough from the photo to help make management/hunting decisions. The fact that you can zoom the pic a little and see a one inch point is what’s important to me. Of course the cam is able to make a much better image but that’s point and shoot and without holding extremely steady which is critical at such high zoom.

Wow,that's insane.The detail and clarity is unbelievable.

Same disclaimer as my other post on this not being a clear quality image. My only point is the tremendous zoom. This pic is at ONE MILE. The p1000 and just in full auto mode point and shoot and not really super steady hold which you need for any mega zoom. For my hunting/deer management photo purposes if I am able to tell at a mile that a buck is within 10" or so BC then it is of value regardless of pic image.

That's a helluva buck!