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hey everybody, i've been doing photography for about 4 months. i'm currently using an ultra-compact point-and-shoot, the Nikon Coolpix S9700. my interests are wildlife, sunsets, and astrophotography. i'd like to start doing portraits of people too.
the Coolpix is obviously limited for a lot of what I want to do. it can do some passable macro photography, it's good enough for landscapes. i can't do any astrophotography with it. even for an ultra-compact the images aren't particularly crisp.
i have a budget of $3K for a DSLR body, lenses, and I think I should get a good swivel tripod, although i'm strong enough to handhold a heavy telephoto lens. i want to capture birds in flight.
i'll be visiting B&H this week to check out gear and feel how it handles.
ahead of my trip i'm hoping you guys can recommend specs I should be looking for in a camera and lenses. one question i'm struggling with is APS-C vs. full-frame. my understanding is that i can get cheaper lenses for working with APS-C than full-frame, and the advantages of full-frame aren't very important over APS-C. however, as I want to take night sky pictures, i've heard that full-frame is better with high ISO, which i'll be using for astrophotography.
thoughts? anyone want to recommend bodies and lenses? thanks for any help.
pic related, a snake I took with my coolpix s9700.
