What would you buy if you had USD 10,000 to blow? (1 Viewer)

Robert, I do actually have one of the bins you mentioned

And land is not an option Bob, 10 grand here in Can Tho will buy me about 20 square meters :C

I have pretty much made up my mind (500 f4 IS lens on a Mk III) but I have certainly received a lot of good information here and would like to thank all of you for that. I just hope the Mk III will have shipped by the time i make it to Hong Kong beginning of April, otherwise i will have to wait until later in the year (Vietnam is not a good place to buy cameras).

Hanno

Hanno said:

Robert, I do actually have one of the bins you mentioned

And land is not an option Bob, 10 grand here in Can Tho will buy me about 20 square meters :C

I have pretty much made up my mind (500 f4 IS lens on a Mk III) but I have certainly received a lot of good information here and would like to thank all of you for that. I just hope the Mk III will have shipped by the time i make it to Hong Kong beginning of April, otherwise i will have to wait until later in the year (Vietnam is not a good place to buy cameras).

Hanno

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Nice going, Hanno. And good luck to you.

Interesting question! USD $10,000 is a LOT of money. It depends really where you live and whether you travel lots.

For me I would prolly blow it on a Canon EF 600mm f4 IS USM lens, 1.4x and 2x II teleconverters, and the upcoming 1D MkIII DSLR body. Any spare cash would prolly be thrown into a good solid Gitzo CF tripod, Wimberley II head and CF cards, bags and the like.

Explaining my choices:-

Canon EF 600mm f4 IS USM - Lets face it, when you are shooting wild birds you need all the reach you can get, I find myself cropping my pics about 80% of the time. The Canon 600mm is a hefty piece of kit but it gives you the reach and the image quality in spades. Coupled with the 1.4x TC the lens becomes an 840mm f5.6 still with excellent image quality - IMO the perfect focal length for shy birds or small songbirds. The IQ is undisputed, there is something magical about big lenses like the 600mm that can 'pull' the subject in and smoothen the background to make the subject 'pop'. Really a magical lens. If you feel the weight and size is too much for you, or if you travel frequently, the Canon 500mm f4 IS gives the same performance at a slightly lower cost and in a much more manageable package (i.e. smaller and lighter)

Canon EOS 1D MkIII - This is prolly many a bird photographer's dream camera...10 megapixels coupled with an awesome fast AF tracking system, 10 frames per second, low noise at high ISO, in addition to all the bells and whistles. The only downside is perhaps the size/weight of the camera and the 1.3x crop factor (my personal preference is for a 1.6x crop body with the features of the 1 series). But still this camera is awesome for what it can do, especially for action and flight shots.


Canon 1.4x / 2x Mk II teleconverters - These teleconverters (especially the 1.4x) are essential pieces of kit for any bird photographer because they extend the length of your lenses by a factor of 1.4 times or 2 times. Very handy when you need the additional reach. With the 1.4x you only lose one stop of light while maintaining practically almost the same image quality as with the bare lens used by itself.


Gitzo CF tripod & Wimberley Head II - This will prolly take up the remainder of the funds (assuming there is still any left over) - never underestimate the importance of a solid support - especially with a long lens like the 600. The full wimberley head is incredible in that it makes such a big lens almost weightless and perfectly balanced on the tripod...and the ease of operating means it can also be used to track fast action and follow birds in flight.

Now I only wish I had that kind of money to blow!

Hi Garion,

Thank you for your input. The only problem I would have with the 600mm is the size and weight. mind you, I could probably skip the gym with that one. And don't you think that one would be kind of limited with only that lens? It rarely happens here in Vietnam, but what do you do if a bird is fairly approachable?

What if one has the money but no birds? (Like me..)
Go on a travel and absorb every single priceless feather one sees?

Capitalisms own bankruptcy is in sight :gn:

An upgrade on my 20D+ canon 400 2.8 ,or sigma 300-800

Hanno said:

Assuming I had just come into some money, what would you suggest I buy?

I seriously like the Canon EOS 1D III, which would set me back about 4 grand. Throw in a flash for 500, then what lens(es) should I go for?

Cheers,

Hanno

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Unless you're a pro, I'd pass on the 1d III and get a 5D. Plenty of pros use those too. Then I'd opt for a 600mm lens if the camera is strictly for birding, plus a 1.4x teleconverter. There, I've spent it all. You simply cannot get enough "reach" and even 600mm would be marginal in a lot of situations. Spend the rest of your money, if there is any left, on a very solid tripod.

3fps and full frame?

Not really my idea of a birding camera, even with the great IQ...

As I have the camera and lenses I want, I would go for a Hasselblad, not sure how much I would get of it for $10,000, but it would be a nice to own.

I would throw in a F5.6 to practise with as the 500 is very heavy if you are not used to handholding camera gear. The 500 is definitely not the choice for someone who is primarely a birder for starters. Can you see yourself conking that thing up and down the trails of South-east Asian interiour forests? Better get to the gym for starters.

The 400 is only a little over a 1000US and you won't regret it...

I used to own the old 5x4" plate camera, which I did take outside on the Gitzo studio ally tripod. I was daft to get rid of it. That was the heaviest bit of kit I used to trundle around with. I would probably do the same with the Hasselblad, taking landscapes and nature patterns on good clear days only. Ideally though I would do studio shots, which interested me. Unfortunately, I need to win $10,000 first.

pe'rigin said:

I used to own the old 5x4" plate camera, which I did take outside on the Gitzo studio ally tripod. I was daft to get rid of it. That was the heaviest bit of kit I used to trundle around with. I would probably do the same with the Hasselblad, taking landscapes and nature patterns on good clear days only. Ideally though I would do studio shots, which interested me. Unfortunately, I need to win $10,000 first.

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Ah, yes. REAL Cameras!

Hanno said:

Hi Garion,

Thank you for your input. The only problem I would have with the 600mm is the size and weight. mind you, I could probably skip the gym with that one. And don't you think that one would be kind of limited with only that lens? It rarely happens here in Vietnam, but what do you do if a bird is fairly approachable?

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That is why my ideal lens line up would be first the Canon 500 f4 and then a Canon 300 f4. With a 1.4X TC the 300 gives you 420mm so you have things pretty much covered. You could do that for US $10,000 and have money to spare of you purchased them in the US.

Oh, by the way I would not use the Canon 2x on the 500 f4. I would rather use a Canon 1.4x stacked with a Kenko 1.4x (you can not stack Canon 1.4x TCs because of Canon's protruding lens). Much more vesitile and quicker to make a change than swithing between a 1.4x and a 2x.