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Canon 450D (1 Viewer)

Joseph N

Joseph N

Lothian Young Birder
Hello,

I have recently been given a sum of £3000 by grandparents, who give their grandchildren money as their 16th birthday is approaching. Having received it, I have come to the conclusion that I'd like to spend £1000 of my budget on both a camera and a lense, as I would love to get into photographing birds. I am completely new to the world of bird photography and thus am unfamiliar to any camera terminology (IS0, D etc), but I have nonetheless got advice from a couple of individuals and they have reccomended me a certain Canon camera, namely 450D. I would be wanting to buy this type of camera for about £400-£450 second hand, leaving me about £600-£700 to spend on a new lense. Lense wise I have been reccommended a Sigma APO 150mm-500mm, which I hear are in the 600-700 pound price range.

As someone who is new to photography, I have a few questions to pose to you all, and I am aware a lot of you are knowledgable within this field. Would getting a Canon 450D camera body and a Sigma APO 150mm-500mm lense be a good combination? If so, what sort of picture results would I get? Any examples of pictures taken with either the Sigma lense and another camera or with the combination of Canon 450D camera and the Sigma lense would be very much appreciated! My main question however, is this. As I have said previously, I have an £1000 budget to spend on photographic equipment, and I want to know whether any of you can show me via links or tell me any Canon 450D' bodies that are in the price range of £400-450 second hand and also show me any Sigma APO 150mm -50mm lenses in the range of £600-£700 new., preferrably from forums rather than big companies such as misfuds (amazon and ebay would be ok). Countless thanks if anyone can help me with this!

Sincerely,

Joseph

PS: I have also heard the Canon 40D is good. Is this a similar price range to the 450D, and would any of you say it is is better for bird photography than the 450D?
 
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The 450D should be closer to £300 secondhand and you should be able to pick up a 40D for ~£400 (there's normally at least one for sale in the classifieds on here, mine might be there soon...) Both are good cameras, though the faster frame rate and more solid build of the 40D give it a slight edge in my opinion. That said a friend uses the 450D as they prefer the smaller, lighter body and they get excellent results from it. As for lenses, I'm not a fan of the Sigma 150-500 (I know a few people who have had problems with it), but I reckon you should be able to get a used 100-400 IS or 400 f5.6 for just about within your budget (if you shop around).
 
I bought the Canon 450D brand new early last year for £475 then got the Canon 400 5.6 L lens (which a lot of people say is one the best birding lens there is) this year second hand for £800.

I would have thought you could get a second hand 450D for around £300 now and there has been a couple of second hand Canon 400 lenses recently for around £750, which would be pretty close to your budget.

BTW I'm by no means an expert in these sort of things, just happy snapper who enjoys photographing birds o:D.

Here's a few shots with the 450D and 400 5.6 L
 

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Got to agree with Pete about the 40D vs the 450D. The frame rate and ergonomics of the 40D would swing it for me.
 
Even though I use a 450d the 40d would defintley be the better option.A few of my mates have the Canon 400mm L lens,along with a lot of folks on here,and the shots really speak for themselves.Again saying that I use a Sigma EX 50-500mm but I am just mean with money ;).
 
would the 450D be better for a beginner?
I haven't used the 40D but is it ok for someone learning everything?
I have to agree, if you can get a 400/5.6 for £700 the you've got one hell of a lens!!!!
 
I have the 450d, and I only have two main complaints about it. One is high ISO performance, and the other is RAW buffer, since I can only take a few bursts before it is full. It also has 3.5 fps, which I don't have a problem with, although some people might want slightly more, although I don't know if you could get 8 fps with its small buffer. Anyway, I'm looking to upgrade soon, but my lens, not my camera, since except for those two problems, I'm very happy with it.
 
I think both cameras would be great for beginners. I never used the 450D, but have a 350D and a 40D. And I actually think that a beginner would find the 40D slightly easier to use. Though that's only MY impression, and I came from film SLRs. I obviously cannot comment on the 450D's high ISO performance, but the 40D is very fine in that respect. ISO 400 is my standard "work ISO" , but I regularly use 800 or even higher. With the 350D I generally try to avoid anything above 400. The 17 frame buffer is really one of the major advantages that the 40D have over "lower end" Canon dSLRs. The 4 RAW I could squeeze out of the 350D in a tight corner was driving me nuts. Picture (bad pun) sitting in a hide ready to capture a series of shots of animal behavioral - and the buffer is full just as the shot possibility come up! The 450D is a little better than the 350D in that respect too, and has a steady, if slow, frame rate once the buffer is full (as opposed to the erratic rate of the 350D in that situation). But I would still imagine that the 40D is much better here. I have still to experience problems with a full buffer with that camera.

Thomas
 
Ash1456 said:
would the 450D be better for a beginner?
I haven't used the 40D but is it ok for someone learning everything?
Click to expand...

I would say the 40D is better, because it's easier to make adjustments. Why add learning a complicated control system to learning how to shoot?
 
Thank you for all your information folks, it's really helpful to me. I'll see about whether going for the 40D or the 450D, it kind of depends on prices etc. As for the Canon 400mm L lens, I've seen a few shots taken by one and I must admit they are superb! However, where would I be most likely to get one of them second hand for £700?
 
Joseph N said:
As for the Canon 400mm L lens, I've seen a few shots taken by one and I must admit they are superb! However, where would I be most likely to get one of them second hand for £700?
Click to expand...
Keep checking the Bird forum Classified- For Sale thread, that's where I got mine. There was one for £750 a week or two ago.
 
Wow that's a very cheap 450D. I've saved that on my favourites and may come back to it. Cheers Mike for that. Would I be right in thinking the 40Ds are more expensive?

Also thanks Shaggy270 for reccomending the classifieds thread on Birdforum. I'm about to give it a look and will keep an eye on prices. ;)
 
I'd like to suggest one other thing. I have the 40D (which I really enjoy using) and a 400D. My wife has the 450D. I use the 400D in "hazardous" situations - we like to go kyaking and I take the 400D then, just in case we end up going for an unplanned swim. There would be tears, but not as many as if my 40D were drowned. The point is, after using the 400D I am glad to get back to my 40D. The 40D is bigger (and heavier) but fits my hands so much better. It is far more comfortable for me to use. My wife's 450D is a little bigger than the 400D, but not by much. For long periods of use (sometimes I'm photographing all day) I couldn't imagine using the 400D. You might like to try the two cameras in your hands - you may find as I did that "feel" is also an important factor. They all take great pictures!
 
My 1st DSLR was the 450d its a great camera for a beginner and if you get a 400mm f5.6 to go with it your made for the next year. Then you can look at your options to upgrade your camera body, the lens will stay with you for ever. I think getting a 40d might stretch over your budget but if you can afford to go over than go for the 40d.
 
It seems that there isn't too much of a difference between the two camera bodies and that they appeal to different sorts of people. I'm keeping an eye on prices on ebay and will look at the Classifieds on Birdforum for any possible deals.

Cheers,

Joseph
 
Hey everyone!

First post here and looking forward to getting involved!

I'm in a similar situation as Joseph and was also wondering about the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM; @Mike: you said you'd recommend that over the 400mm L for more keepers.... could you or anyone with experience on these lenses elaborate on the differences between zoom- and prime- lens in this comparison? From what I've read so far the 400m is sharper than the 100-400?

Thanks a lot in advance, and good luck searching Joseph :)

Best birding-wishes,

Vincent
 
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