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Best camera/lens for bird photography WITHOUT a tripod (1 Viewer)

gandytron said:
Also worth checking out the emerging reviews of the Nikon 1 V3, which allegedly has the character of a DSLR but in a small, lightweight body, and with pretty good image quality. You can use a nikon DSLR lens on it (with nikon's ft-1 adapter) and the 2.7x crop factor gives you an effective 810mm if using a 300mm lens.

Nikon are also launching a purpose-built Nikon 1 series 70-300mm lens that will have an effective focal range of 189-810mm. It remains to be seen how good that is, but it will be a tiny package (lens weighs under 600 grams!) so might be ideal for travelling.
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Sounds good, I have often wondered why Canon do not make something like a little 2.5x crop Camera. I used to have a SX50 which is a 5.6 crop with 1200mm 'reach' and IQ is almost usable - even something twice as big but with the same 1200mm 'reach' and a bigger sensor would be very lightweight. Perhaps it would encroach on their DSLR market too much!!!
 
Roy C said:
Tony, as Mike and others have mentioned, you cannot buy your way to success. You need to fully master your current gear before contemplating an expensive upgrade IMHO. No matter what gear you have you will always be wanting more focal length with bird snapping. I have seen loads of Novices upgrade to something like the 500/4 (+ a decent tripod and Gimbal head) in the hope of instant success only to see them popping up in the 'for sale' section within 6 months or less!
I know that a taped 1.4x tc on your 100-400 (560mm) is pants at AF'ing but it gives you a good idea of the 600mm focal length. If this is not enough focal length for you then the only option is an heavier lens with a tripod.
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Thanks Roy. The 600 bit is the bit I am happy with this as I currently have this. The bit I'm not sure of is the AF and IQ of the various set ups (300 x 2) or (400 x 1.4) and what the extra weight would feel like. The advice on this thread is excellent but it's clear there's no definitive answer. I think I've mastered my current gear and got all I can from it and I'm ready to take the next step with the next level of kit giving me a better spec that I can then try and master !
 
Tony Knight said:
Thanks Roy. The 600 bit is the bit I am happy with this as I currently have this. The bit I'm not sure of is the AF and IQ of the various set ups (300 x 2) or (400 x 1.4) and what the extra weight would feel like. The advice on this thread is excellent but it's clear there's no definitive answer. I think I've mastered my current gear and got all I can from it and I'm ready to take the next step with the next level of kit giving me a better spec that I can then try and master !
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Sorry about that Tony, what with you not knowing anything about various size sensors and the crop factor plus assuming that a 500/4 prime would be around the same weight as your 100-400 I put 2 and 2 together and made 5!
 
Roy C said:
Sorry about that Tony, what with you not knowing anything about various size sensors and the crop factor plus assuming that a 500/4 prime would be around the same weight as your 100-400 I put 2 and 2 together and made 5!
Click to expand...

No problem Roy! I've used this camera set up a lot but no idea of the science behind it all or the terminology. The advice from you guys has therefore been really useful !!
 
"Your 550D with a 300mm f2.8 MkII and 2x MkIII TC will give you 600 mm x 1.6 = 960mm equivalent.

I think the ants pants solution would be this lens + 2x TC and the 7D MkII ..... whenever it gets here! You could wait for it, or go with a 70D, or current 7D bodies for now (both APS-C or 1.6x crop), as has been mentioned previously. This should help with the AF performance and ISO, IQ and DR abilities, and your learning curve."

I guess I should buy the f2.8 MkII and 2x MkIII TC now and try it first with my 550D. If that works ok I can then wait for the 7D MkII, if not as an interim (or permanent) I could go for the 7D mkI which I guess will be being discounted heavily in advance of the MkII ? Been looking around and it looks like I can get the 300mm f2.8 for less than £4000 from some dealers on the net. Not sure if reputable dealers like Wex will price match.
 
Tony Knight said:
Been looking around and it looks like I can get the 300mm f2.8 for less than £4000 from some dealers on the net. Not sure if reputable dealers like Wex will price match.
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Tony, the chances of any Canon approved UK dealer price matching this or anything like it is absolute zero. The cheapest UK price at the moment is over £5100 from Dales with WEX and a load more coming in next at £5299 - I would not be surprised if you would not be able to get anything at all off of these prices. Kerso over at Flash Cameras is doing it for £4949 (US imports but shipped from the UK so all duties paid) and Digital Rev are at £4999.
The ones you are seeing on ebay from the far east would almost certainly be the price without VAT and other UK import fees - I most certainly would not buy a lens like this from a far east dealer and remember you would be classed as the importer if you try to get it in illegally!
EDIT: the import charges as far as I can see is 20% VAT plus 6.7% import duty - this takes a £4000 lens from HK to over £5k
 
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Roy C said:
Tony, the chances of any Canon approved UK dealer price matching this or anything like it is absolute zero. The cheapest UK price at the moment is over £5100 from Dales with WEX and a load more coming in next at £5299 - I would not be surprised if you would not be able to get anything at all off of these prices. Kerso over at Flash Cameras is doing it for £4949 (US imports but shipped from the UK so all duties paid) and Digital Rev are at £4999.
The ones you are seeing on ebay from the far east would almost certainly be the price without VAT and other UK import fees - I most certainly would not buy a lens like this from a far east dealer and remember you would be classed as the importer if you try to get it in illegally!
EDIT: the import charges as far as I can see is 20% VAT plus 6.7% import duty - this takes a £4000 lens from HK to over £5k
Click to expand...

Thanks. Not eBay but it hadn't occurred that these were imports on which I'd be due to pay vat and duty. No mention on the websites!! I wouldn't want to buy direct from the far east in case of counterfeit goods.
 
Tony Knight said:
Thanks. Not eBay but it hadn't occurred that these were imports on which I'd be due to pay vat and duty. No mention on the websites!! I wouldn't want to buy direct from the far east in case of counterfeit goods.
Click to expand...

That would be some sort of impressive backyard operation ! :eek!:

Most likely they are foreign spec items, so manuals, documentation etc would be in hieroglyphics or chinglish at best! Warranty and support would be questionable - at best you'd have to cover shipping and insurance to far flung lands in the event of any issues, and jump through goodness only knows what communication hoops. Not saying they are dodgy..... just that it would involve a lot more hassle, time, money and expense. At worst you might be playing roulette with previously returned items, samples, 2nds, or refurbs etc.

The 300 f2.8 MkII + 2x MkIII TC on your current 550D body will certainly give you a handle on the reach and portability and handholdability of the rig. IQ and AF within the limits of the body (low iso etc) should be impressive, though actual performance would step up markedly with a 7D MkII body once it finally gets here! ..... later this year ???

I wonder if Canon will match the Nixon D7100's extra 1.3x in camera crop?.... 1200mm eq @f5.6 with killer AF, fps and sizeable non-limiting buffer (UHS-II compliant), along with higher ISO and Dynamic Range, sure would be nice :t: ....are you listening Canon ?!



Chosun :gh:
 
So many sellers - how do you tell which are reputable and which are not ? Wex and parks have for sale at £5295 but the sellers below claim to ship from the UK and prices inc VAT etc. Are they all refurb/ex repair risks ? What other reputable sellers should I price check ?


Top end electronics £3815
Simply electronics £4045
Play £4640
MobiCity £4501

Thanks
Tony
 
Really appreciate all the advice. I got as far as putting lens and 2x in a basket at shopping basket at value-basket.com. Given the decent google trading mark of 4/5 over 9880 reviews, and given the £1000 saving, I thought I'd take the risk and buy by credit card for the protection. However I did a quick search and this article => http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4200631 scared the pants off me !!
I guess there really is no such things as a free lunch ! I've used wex in the past with good experience so will probably place the order with them, have a less healthy credit card balance, but sleep well tonight !!

Thanks again for all the advice guys !!!
 
There is at least one thread on simply electronics in birdforum (if I recall correctly, :eek!: )

Niels
 
Geordiestew said:
I think I'd be comfortable with HDEW, Panamoz, Digital Rev, Flash Camera. All if you're willing to take an import.
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Yep, trouble is that HDEW and Panamoz do not sell this lens (or any other big white superteles) and I have already given Digital rev and Flash Cameras prices. I have bought several lenses from Ian over at Flash Cameras.
 
Just bought from Flashcamera and like many others found the service and price to excellent. I accept not a £5k lens but if it was me spending that kind of money, it seems to me that Flashcamera maximise the price versus risk versus service equation very nicely. For a £5k lens, I would not be going anywhere near Jessops nor would I be punting on a far east import or from anybody who has a questionmark over their rep. Not sure where you live, but Flashcamera allow personal collection which makes things even better.
 
Thanks Guys. I'm based in Herts, where are Flashcamera based as I can't see on their website other than that they ship from Scotland ? looks like they're out of stock at the moment anyway. We have a trading relationship with Canon, though not on the camera side, and I'm investigating if I can get the lens and extender at a discount direct from canon at the moment !
 
I would add a recommendation for Flash Cameras.

I suspect you are making the best choice of lens. I bought a s/h 400 DO for walkabout. It is ideal for carrying, but many images lack punch. Wish I had bought a 300 2.8.

Mike.
 
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