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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Bird photography (1 Viewer)

Dean Shaw

Ystwyth Birder
Just wondered if anybody can tell me if digiscoping is generally favoured in the birding community, or whether it's unreliable? Or please recommend the best lens for my 55oD so I can stand back and take shots without spooking my subject?
 
Hi Dean,

Welcome to Bird Forum :t:

Digiscoping is still very popular for taking photos of birds. We have a dedicated digiscoping forum for any queries you may have.

As regards lenses it may depend on how deep your pockets are. Generally prime (telephoto) lenses are better than zooms and the longer the better. Having said that if you want versatility for other uses than just birds then zooms can have advantages over primes.

A widely popular lens for bird photography is the Canon 400mm f5,6 - it's very sharp wide open, fairly narrow and light enough to carry around hand hold comfortably. It's main drawback for me is there's no image stabiliser which many other lenses have nowadays. The Canon 500mm is even better but also good deal more expensive.

Check the forums page and you'll see dedicated forums for cameras and lenses. The Canon forum has quite a few threads on various lenses that birders use.
 
I wouldn't have a clue when it comes to lenses so instead I'll simply say greetings and a warm welcome to Birdforum.:t:
 
Thanks for the advice, I am hiring the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM for my Shetland trip in June, it is costing me £88.00 for 10 days (not bad at all). I am going to have to get some good prime lenses when I have enough. Thanks again.
 
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