Canon Camera and Lens questions from a beginner

[Boy Wonder]

Have been wanting to take the plunge into the world of DSLR for a while now and am getting ever closer to making it happen. Canon seems to be the best move to make so that's part one done.

Part two is the body. How come the 450D does pretty much what the 40D does but has more mega-pixels and a lower price tag????

And finally part three, the lens. I would like to get a prime and have heard good things about the 400 f/5.6 but everyone dislikes the lack of IS. I read that the IS on the 300 f/4 makes it two stops faster......... if I get the Canon EF 2x extender which reduces the stop by two would they cancel each other out to leave me with a 600 IS lens of f/4........ does that make any sense at all......?

I may have been doing my research but I fear not much has sunk in :brains:

Any help and advice is hugely and greatly appreciated

BW

[avwh]

I have the 300L f/4 IS, but use the 1.4x TC with it. (Most of my photo friends it seems to me have found too much degradation in image quality for the extra reach of the 2x TC, so I've only tried & used the 1.4x.)

I have the 40D, and I am quite happy with it.

If you get into birding, you'll want a longer lens than the 300 even, eventually, but it's a great place to start. (I now have a 500L I use with a non-reporting 1.4x TC, so I maintain AF.)

If you want to see a range of bird images, mostly taken with the 300L + 1.4x on a 40D, you can look here:

backyard bird gallery: http://allenh.zenfolio.com/f448269862

mostly avian wildlife gallery: http://allenh.zenfolio.com/f557097489

[postcardcv]

The 450D does not have all of the features of the 40D - it has a smaller buffer and slower frame rate, it's a fine camera but IMO not as good as the 40D. Don't be fooled into thinking that more megapixels means better images, it's not that simple. Best bet is to try both cameras and see which you prefer the feel of, if budget allows I'd definitely recommend the 40D.

As for the 400 f5.6 I for one do not mind the lack of IS, adding IS would up the weight and the price. I have the lens and love it, it is very sharp and with a bit of support you can get away with fairly slow shutter speeds. Here's a shot taken with it on a 40D - http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/189232/ppuser/3294

As for the 'two stops' from the IS, this purely means that the IS would allow you to shoot at shutter speeds two stops slower than with a non IS 300mm lens. If you add a 2x tc to the lens you be at f8 and will not have AF (unless you buy a 1D)!

[Boy Wonder]

Thank you for your feedback. Some amazing shots with the 300 and a cracking Barn Owl portrait. What is the range that you find the lenses work best at?