Before the landscape gets blanketed with pure white snow, nature enters a multicolored phase which many photographers look forward to. Of course, spring has a selection of vivid greens and blue skies, but fall is where the real magic happens.
When leaves start to change colors, it often creates a stunning scene that’s difficult not to stop and admire. Whether professional or beginner, you should have a good-quality camera to get the perfect photos.
In this article: Sony a7 III Full-frame Mirrorless Camera, Panasonic Lumix FZ300 and Canon EOS Rebel T8i EF-S.
You don’t always have to travel beyond your city’s border to get great fall foliage photos, but it certainly helps if you know where to go. The most obvious places would be parks or forests; if there is a stream or waterfall nearby, that’s even better.
However, some towns in the U.S. are known for their brilliant display of colors from September to October. Thousands of tourists and foliage followers descend on Bar Harbor in Maine, as it has an abundance of trees and quaint rivers.
For a near-perfect experience in capturing the fall colors, few places can beat the Catskill Mountains in New York in mid-October. It is rich in wildlife and plenty of trees that change their hues, and many hiking trails snake through the landscape.
You’ll need more than just a keen eye if you want to capture your best fall foliage pictures. There are a few things that you must take into consideration before snapping away, such as the best time of day and composition.
Often, the best time to head out for amazing photographs is during what is known as the “golden hour.” The lighting is perfect for contrasting colors about an hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise. It can make a huge difference in your photos, but cloudy days or shifting rays can also work in your favor.
The composition also plays a significant role in the quality of a photo, but that is something that comes with experience. However, keep an eye on your exposure levels, as bright reds and yellows can quickly blow out the image. This usually happens with cameras that have an automatic exposure setting. It’s often best to manually take control of the settings, which lets you fine-tune the features to produce the perfect photo.
Sony a7 III Full-frame Mirrorless Camera
The full-frame camera is the perfect sidekick for taking fall foliage photos. It has a 24.4-megapixel backlit sensor and a 15-stop dynamic range. The ISO ranges from 50 to 204,800, ensuring you’ll always get the perfect color balance. It can shoot up to 10 frames per second, and the mechanical shutter has auto-exposure and auto-focus control.
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Panasonic Lumix FZ300 Long Zoom Digital Camera
This digital camera can capture 4K videos and photos, thanks to the Leica DC Vario Elmarit lens, which has 24 times zoom. The camera has a 12.1-megapixel high-sensitivity MOS sensor, incorporating the Venus engine for excellent diffraction compensation. It has a five-axis hybrid Optical Image Stabilizer and is dustproof.
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With built-in Wi-Fi, you can send your fall foliage images straight to social media. The Rebel T8i has a 24.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, Canon’s DIGIC 8 image processor, and 45-point auto focus. The optical viewfinder shows you about 95% of the viewing coverage and comes with an 18-55mm lens.
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Nikon CoolPix B500 Digital Camera
With the camera’s bright red body, it will fit in perfectly with your fall surroundings. This model is perfect for beginners, as it has 18 scene modes and an easy auto mode. It can continuously shoot up to 74 frames per second, and you can control the shutter through your mobile phone. It has a 40 times optical zoom lens and a 3-inch display on the back.
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Pentax K-70 Weather-Sealed DSLR Camera
This camera is a great choice for outdoor photography, as the body is sealed from dirt and dust and can withstand rainfall. It has a 24-megapixel sensor, an ISO range of 100 to 204,800 and a built-in shake reduction mechanism. It comes with an 18-135mm lens and has a 3-inch display.
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This is an excellent choice if you are just starting fall photography. It has a 3-inch tilting display on the back, a 24.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and five-axis image stabilization. To get the perfect lighting, it works with Canon’s Digic 8 image processor with an auto lighting optimizer. It comes with an EF-M 15-45mm lens.
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Fujifilm GFX 100S With Fujinon GF 80mm F1.7 Lens
This model is a high-performance camera that captures crisp and vibrant images by using Fujifilm’s X-Processor 4 quad-core CPU. The back-illuminated, 102-megapixel CMOS sensor produces large images to print. You can capture award-winning photos with the built-in Pixel Shift Multi-Shot, producing ultrahigh resolution, 400-megapixel photos.
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Perfect for beginner photographers, this 21.1-megapixel camera has a solid body with a fixed 35 times optical zoom lens. It uses Sony’s Optical SteadyShot Image stabilization to minimize shaking and motion blur. It has a 3-inch LCD screen on the back and a simplistic menu through the Easy Mode setting.
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Fujifilm X-T30 II XC15-45mm Kit
This camera uses Fujifilm’s fourth-generation X-Trans CMOS 4 back-illuminated sensor, which eliminates false color to produce accurate color reproduction. The 26.1-megapixel sensor can automatically focus on objects in 0.02 seconds, and this camera has better low-light focusing than the previous X-T30 model. It comes with a 15-45mm lens.
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Canon EOS 6D Mark II DSLR Camera
With a 26.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, the EOS 6D Mark II is an excellent choice. It comes with a versatile 24-105mm lens, which is perfect for up-close and faraway objects. It has an optical viewfinder with a 45-point all-cross-type auto focus system and a 3-inch LCD touch screen on the back.
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