• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Help needed: best digital camera for bird photography (1 Viewer)

The Raptor

The Raptor

Bristol City's No.1 Fan!
I want to buy a Digital Camera for bird photography, so what Camera plus lens do BF members think is the best value. I have been told that the Canon EOS 350D with Sigma 50-500 lens is very good. I do not want to make a mistake after saving hard to have around £1500 to spend.

Rod.
 
The Raptor said:
I want to buy a Digital Camera for bird photography, so what Camera plus lens do BF members think is the best value. I have been told that the Canon EOS 350D with Sigma 50-500 lens is very good. I do not want to make a mistake after saving hard to have around £1500 to spend.

Rod.
Click to expand...

The best value for money, and that is only my opinion, is the Canon 350D, the Canon 30D is a better camera and more money, and the Canon 5D is even better, but loads more money.

As for lenses, that is much more difficult. I use the Sigma 170mm-500mm lens, other people use the Tamron 200mm-500mm lens.

I steered clear of the 50mm-500mm lens because it is so large and heavy, also I have other lenses at the lower focal lengths. However, if you are going to have just one lens, and are prepared to carry around a monster, then that is different. I expect lots of other people will give their advise. Also go through the indices of the various forums.
 
For me it's the Canon 30D+Canon 400mm f5,6. The 400mm f5,6 is without doubt the sharpest lens I've used - but not much use for close up photos - for bird photos though it's hard to beat without moving up to a very expensive 500mm prime.

The 350D would probably get you within budget with the 400mm f5,6 and without doubt is a superb camera.
 
Nikon D50 is fantastic value for money (£327 at Warehouse Express!!), and feels much less like a toy than the 350D (the 350D is tiny).

The Sigma 170-500mm is a great lens, as mentioned above - just do a gallery search for "Psilo" and look at her 170-500mm pictures.

Bear in mind you'll also need CF cards, spare batteries, a bag/case, tripod(?), tripod head(?)...

What kind of bird photography are you looking to do, incidentally? And will it only be bird photography?

These points can really make a difference to the recommendations (for example, a prime might not be a great solution if you also want a lens you can use for general "walkabout" shooting, taking pictures of the kids, etc).
 
Last edited:
Sigma 50-500, excellent lens, bit heavier than 170-500 but, more importantly, far faster AF.
Checkout most of my gallery for images from this lens used with a 20d, therfore expect the same from a 350d.
Most of the images were taken with the lens supported on a tripod or beanbag, but that is good practice with a non-IS 500mm lens. Gigrin farm Red Kites were taken in a 3 hour non-stop session all hand held (discovered, on arrival, my tripod head was poorly!)

All the best

Paul
 
Last edited:
help needed: whats the best but cheapest digital camera for bird photogaphy?

The Raptor said:
I want to buy a Digital Camera for bird photography, so what Camera plus lens do BF members think is the best value. I have been told that the Canon EOS 350D with Sigma 50-500 lens is very good. I do not want to make a mistake after saving hard to have around £1500 to spend.

Rod.
Click to expand...

I quoted the above as my question is virtually the same, the main difference being I do not have a huge amount spare....I've been looking on ebay for used cameras of the sort suggested in the thread I borrowed this quote from, but even used those ones are around $1000AUD...way outside my price range :eek!:.
I have only ever used non-SLR cameras, so I am open to suggestions on compact cameras as well that have a decent zoom, or, cameras that have interchangeable lenses so I can buy a decent zoom lens. I would probably prefer to buy an older, used camera that will take a decent long-distance shot of a bird, with auto-focus lens than a brand new one for the same price with less capabilities, if that is at all possible....any suggestions please?|:||
 
cmconsidine;2294944 I have only ever used non-SLR cameras said:
What is your budget? You'll probably get more meaningful comments if you say.

Many seem to get acceptable results with superzoom bridge cameras, sometimes coupled with a teleconverter. Have a poke around in the gallery to see what sort of results can be achieved, ChrisKten uses a Panasonic superzoom. There are other contenders, the new Canon SX40 for example.

Have a read of the Panasonic FZ150 thread in this sub-forum. I went for one of those and am very pleased with it. I understand that SLR's will outperform it overall, but accept that for the advantages of compactness, not having to change lenses and price.

Hope this helps
Graham
Click to expand...
 
If you are looking at significantly less than $1000, then I would encourage you to look at the Superzoom segment. They generally do well in good light, but the fall off in poor light is a lot steeper than for dSLR and other cameras with exchangable lenses.

If you want to go really lower price than the newest superzooms, then I would encourage you to look at Panasonic FZ38 (or is it FZ35 in Oz?). That camera pretty much ruled that segment for a couple of years, and should be available for less than the absolute newest models.

Niels
 
Just as a general question, would one not be well advised to start off with a superzoom to get some practical experience with long lens shooting before splashing out a big chunk of savings for a full scale SLR plus lens?
Also, is it not prudent to rent an expensive lens first to get an appreciation of its capabilities and its utility?
It just seems too easy to spend a big sum without getting what one hopes for otherwise.
 
I use a anon 550D in conjunction with Canon 18 - 135 and Tamron 70 - 300 (without image stabilisation, currently exploring a growing trend of using older lenses such as Carl Zeiss with sutiable adapter, because they can be brought for a few pounds.

One point to consider is that lenses and bodies of the various manufacturers are not interchangeable, so if, for example I decided to change to Nikon, my Canon lenses would not fit the Nikon body. There may be an adapter avaliable, but this usually means that one has to set up the shot manually
 
I've just bought a Fuji HS20 - I've been into super zooms for a long time as they are so convenient and fast to use - I walk everywhere and have to carry a scope, tripod, bins & a camera - I have a Nikon D70 plus 170 - 500mm Sigma and tried birding with it but it didn't work.
I quite appreciate folk using a DSLR for birding - I often see them pointing at Bitterns at Marazion Marsh for hours on end and the results are fantastic.

I tend to get on a Bus/Train/Feet and whizz around to see whats happening and get record shots so I carry a lightweight scope, small bins and a plastic bridge camera.

For me the clincher with superzooms is the the range - I'm not a mad birder more of a person that likes to get outdoors and birds a one of many good reasons so a camera that can do Landscape to a far off bird without changing lenses is perfect.

I used to change lenses (D70) in a carrier bag on windy days and carry a cleaning mirror kit with me.

My Nikon only ever goes out now with the 10-20mm and a Speedlight for interiors - that's something the HS20 could do but not very well.
 
thanks for all the invaluable feedback!
I apologise for not having responded sooner but I have been having trouble with my internet connection for weeks now, hopefully it's sorted out now.
I ended up buying the Panasonic someone suggested here and have been very happy so far with the results. I almost bought the Canonsx40 but read too many negative reviews so went for the cheaper Panasonic. I need to learn a lot more skills before I invest in a DSLR so this bridge camera will be handy, coupled with bird photography books I've bought and more experience in the field.
I really appreciated all the suggestions and reading about other folk's experiences with different cameras here, so thank you all so much for your help.|=)|:t:
 
I Initially bought a bridge camera years ago... A solid way to go to learn and to see how in depth money wise u would like to go. Photography is A money hole for sure !
 
Warning! This thread is more than 12 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

A
Beginner camera recommendations?
Replies
6
Views
744
Ash Anne
A
T
Upgrading cameras
Replies
4
Views
484
TareqPhoto
T
H
Need a realtively cheap bridge camera quite soon
Replies
2
Views
673
dw87
D
W
Best camera for somebody who wants a good shot of a bird but not really into photography
Replies
10
Views
2K
PaulCountyDurham
P
T
Camera choice for birding around 3000 Euros with lens?
Replies
3
Views
1K
Tsvetan
T

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top