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Jack93

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Hi :) im new to Bird Forum, and im in the process of getting an eos 500d.

Im struggling in what lens to get, im only 17 and dont have much money to spend on say a 70-200mm f/4L for example. I would ;like something suitable for birding although it doesn't need to be bigger than 300mm (I can't afford them)
any ideas for a suitable starter lens, considering i will upgrade when I have enough money? thanks.
 
Hi and welcome.

Here you go:
http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Canon-EF-75-300MM-USM-III_27975.html

I think it's £129 and you're not going to get much cheaper than that for something going out to 300mm. This is equivalent in angular coverage to a 480mm lens on 35mm film, so it will give you a start. Shoot at a high ISO to keep camera shake under control, and download the free Noiseware if you want to reduce the noise in your images.

When you can, get an EF 300 f4L. This will allow use of an 1.4x extender, thus giving you ~420mm at f5.6 on your camera, and you'll still get the effect of your 1.6x crop.

Your most important ally will be good fieldcraft. Get to know the habits of birds, and try not to disturb them. My local LA run reserve allows school groups to visit during the week , and guess what - it's bedlam, and many of the birds fly away.
 
Thanks for that, i was looking at the 300m USM that you suggested vs the 55-250mm IS - lotts of good review for the 55-250, and thought it had an advantage of IS or is this not the case? (as the canon eos 500d has no built in IS)

Btw I say I have a low budget but I dont want a lens that is going to give noisy and terrible results.
 
Bird photography generally benefits from the best quality lens you can get - wide zoom ranges tend not to give you the best, although modern designs do seem to be getting better; and the longest focal length; and that's why I recommended the 75-300. IS can be an advantage, but most of my photography is done from a hide, with the lens firmly supported on a heavy tripod, a Benbo Mk I.

[For low noise, you really need the old EF 300 f2.8L which lives in my spare room! (But, I'm not giving it away.)]

For birds-in-flight, you're into a different area. Beginners will do well at the seaside tracking and snapping gulls which tend to follow similar paths - and you might get the impression that it's easy. Now move away to fields or woodland, and it's a different challenge altogether.

And then there's the significant matter of choosing the most appropriate metering. Manual works well if the lighting conditions are stable, but quite often they're not, and you then have to rely on AE with exposure compensation appropriate for the type of bird and range at which you're shooting. It's good fun.
 
tjsimonsen said:
Hi Jack,

Both the Canon's mentioned have IS.
This is another possibility:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sigma-135-400...es_CameraLensesFilters_JN&hash=item4cf3984177
Without the IS, but you get 400mm and for that price you can't have everything ;)
It also get's pretty good reviews for the price:
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/3...-f45-56-apo-aspherical-rf-test-report--review

Thomas
Click to expand...

I second that,its a great lens for the money.I had one on my camera for about two years.
 
I would recommend the 55-250, it has IS, very good image quality, and while it's short, you can still get some great results with it.
 
Unless you are just going to shoot from a hide from around 5 metres or less you will find for birds in the UK you will need all the focal length you can get (and you will still want more reach). For the money I would go for the Sigma 135-400.
 
A good starter lens which you could get for £200-300 is the Sigma 170-500. Plenty of examples of birds taken with this lens on my pages on this site.
When you are rich enough to move up the lens scale you will probably get back nearly as much as you pay for the Sigma.
 
Agree with Vernon about the 170-500. A few years ago a regular gallery contributor Psilo was producing great stuff with one as well
 
Jack93 said:
Thanks for that, i was looking at the 300m USM that you suggested vs the 55-250mm IS - lotts of good review for the 55-250, and thought it had an advantage of IS or is this not the case? (as the canon eos 500d has no built in IS)

Btw I say I have a low budget but I dont want a lens that is going to give noisy and terrible results.
Click to expand...

You will end up wishing for more reach very soon if you get the 55-250. In truth you will likely wish for more reach with the 170-500 as well from time to time B :) But whereas you can use a tri- or monpod (or develop good handholding technique) instead of of IS, there is no replacement for reach. Buying a 55-250 when you can get a 135-400 or 170-500 for roughly the same price seems counteractive to me. With one of these you can really cut your teeth and learn bird photography (and save for a L-grade lens if you get hooked).

Thomas
 
Thanks for the warm welcome :)
and as for the lens advice I wasn't expecting to find lenses that long for that price, I will have a look at the sigmas :D
Thanks to everybody whos commented so far, really helpful :)
 
Jack93 said:
Thanks for the warm welcome :)
and as for the lens advice I wasn't expecting to find lenses that long for that price, I will have a look at the sigmas :D
Thanks to everybody whos commented so far, really helpful :)
Click to expand...

Its an easy trap to fall into,thinking you need bucket loads of cash for Bird photography.You dont.
Best of luck with whatever you go for ;).
 
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