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DSLR + lense for wildlife photography beginner (1 Viewer)

I have used the 1-4 for 3.5 yr now, take thousands of shoots - and maybe used a tri- or monopod 10 times! Granted, I have got a lot of shitty images too, but I regularily get sharp images @400m and 1/125s. The 1-4 and 40D make a great combo.

Thomas
 
If you haven't shot with an SLR or big lens before, you are likely to be very disappointed with your results and think you wasted your good money. I'd suggest getting a zoom in the wide to telephoto range as well, just so you can see good enough results to keep you interested in your photography. Unless you are planning to ONLY shoot birds with your setup, you aren't going to find very many everyday uses for a 100-400 lens on a crop-sensor SLR.

Get a cheap zoom with good image quality. not sure what to recommend though. I have an 18-55mm and a 28-135mm. The 55mm end is too short, and the 28 is not wide enough, so I do not recommend either of them. The new 18-135 is probably the best compromise of range, image quality, and cost. Those are assumptions, since the lens is not available yet...
 
Nikon Kid said:
You can use both lens 100-400mm and the 400mm f5.6 handheld, I would say most use them handheld... Don't think about the IS being the magic thing thats going to get you sharp images, just hold the lens still... wait for s**t to hit fan 3:)
Click to expand...

Yeah, don't count on the IS to do the magic. Hold as still as you can and use the highest shutter speed you can (at the highest ISO you think looks good). BUT, without IS you'd get far, far fewer decent shots. Absolutely keep it turned on, but don't think it will make up for lousy technique.
 
cab, I'm getting a camera first (probably 450d) with standard kit lens (18-55) so will practise with that first before getting a big zoom...

cheers for the advice
 
I shoot butterflys and dragonflys as well as birds, mammals ,people ,scenery with my 100-400mm so hows that not every day use.
 
IMO mistake getting a 450D. This is a "consumer" body. Better bet get a s/h 20D, 30D or 40D (all prosumer bodies with great sensors for detail) now with decent glass up front. These cameras can be found for the price of a new 450D.

With a 450D and small lens you will quickly fall out of love with the whole idea. My advice start off with best equipment you can afford.
 
Robert L Jarvis said:
IMO mistake getting a 450D. This is a "consumer" body. Better bet get a s/h 20D, 30D or 40D (all prosumer bodies with great sensors for detail) now with decent glass up front. These cameras can be found for the price of a new 450D.

With a 450D and small lens you will quickly fall out of love with the whole idea. My advice start off with best equipment you can afford.
Click to expand...

I know that a lot of people rate the xxD bodies highly and are dismissive of the xxxD ones. Personally I prefer shooting with an xxD body as I prefer the larger size and the faster frame rate, but there is no denying that the 450D can deliver stunning results. A good friend uses a 450D (the small size is a big plus for her), she's getting great results with it and a 100-400. The glass you put on the front will make much more difference to your shots that the body will, really xD, xxD or xxxD is just personal preference.
 
Robert L Jarvis said:
IMO mistake getting a 450D. This is a "consumer" body. Better bet get a s/h 20D, 30D or 40D (all prosumer bodies with great sensors for detail) now with decent glass up front.
Click to expand...

Don't know where you get your information from. The 450D outresolves all the mentioned bodies according to every single test I've seen!
I used a 350D with my 100-400L IS before getting a 40D late last year. Yes, the 40D is a much better camera - especially for bird and wildlife photography. BUT it is not because of the greater resolution (not much at any rate). It's because of faster frame rate, bigger buffer, better build, and better AF and VF. I am currently considering a 450D as my "macro-body" where AF, fps, and buffer mean very little.

Thomas
 
Here's a few images with the 450d + 400mm f5.6
 

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Robert L Jarvis said:
IMO mistake getting a 450D. This is a "consumer" body. Better bet get a s/h 20D, 30D or 40D (all prosumer bodies with great sensors for detail) now with decent glass up front. These cameras can be found for the price of a new 450D.

With a 450D and small lens you will quickly fall out of love with the whole idea. My advice start off with best equipment you can afford.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, but I am a consumer, not a prosumer! I really cannot imagine the difference between these cameras is going to affect me, so given the choice buying a new one would give me more peace of mind!

I take your point with getting the big lens straight away, but I don't intend to shoot wildlife with the kit lens, just to get a feel for the camera and practise using all the features as I am a complete novice.
 
If you can get a second hand 40D for a similar price to a new 450D, I would definitely go for the former. I have a 400D and a 50D and I would say that the biggest difference between the two series of cameras is how quickly you can change camera settings. The 50D is just a much better designed camera. The wheel thing on the back of the xxD series enables you to change exposure compensation very easily, which I find invaluable. Also the 40D has 3 customisable settings which you can quickly select with the dial. This is incredibly useful for when something good flies overhead. With the xxxD series it is generally very tricky to quickly alter settings and I can't tell you how many Harrier and Falcon BIF shots I missed with my 400D due to not being able to change aperture, AF mode, exposure compensation and focus point selection quickly enough. With the 40D you can select your preset Bird-in-flight setting in a split second and shoot away!
The 400D is a great camera but for wildlife photography, when you frequently do not have much time to get the shot, the 40D or 50D are certainly superior cameras. Plus of course 6.5 Frames a second is far better than 3.5 FPS for flight shots!
 
OP I was recently in your boat. I decided to go with the 70-300 IS as my first and only lens and I have no regrets. It is true that 300mm is no where near enough reach, but you can still get great shots of tiny warblers if you can get about 10 feet from them.

I think a good plan for someone on a budget like yours is to start with the 70-300 IS, learn on it, and save up for a 400mm f5.6 prime and a teleconverter.

Feel free to pm me with any questions about the 70-300 if you want a beginner's perspective on the answers.

good luck, this is an exiting time for you!
peace
 
I've actually decided on something completely different...and probably controversial to some of you!

I was previously completely unaware how good the latest compact superzooms are and having looked into them, I've decided that definately the best option for me is to get one of them to start me off without such a huge intial cost. To be honest the portability is also a major plus. If I want to take the hobby more seriously in future I can always get a DLSR at a later stage..
 
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