Bird Photography Lens Advice (1 Viewer)

[rachk116]

Hi,

I have a Canon 500D camera and am quite keen on getting into bird/wildlife phtography. I know this can be an expensive hobby, and that I would probably need be to spending £1000s on bigger lenses to be up there with the big guns, but I am looking at spending no more than £200 on a starter lens.

I would love to be able to take some distance photos (i.e. not have to be on top of the subject). I've looked at sigma and they seem to get good reviews.

Any examples of photos with approximate distances from subject would also be gratefully recieved (if I'm not being too demanding!!) so that I can get a feel as to what the lens can do. Thank you in advance

Rach

 

[jimthomson]

I think the best you will be able to do is the Canon EF-s 55-250mm IS.
It will be hard to find a better lense in your price range. The good news is that it is a decent lens for the price and you would have to spend about twice as much to get a better lens. It's a little short for most birding but it can give quite nice results when you can get close to the bird.

http://forums.dpreview.com/galleries/9024216545/photos#page=1

This is a link to Olga's gallery in dpreview. She has been getting some amazing bird shots using the 55-250mm IS.

Check the last pictures on the page as some of the earlier ones are taken with larger lenses.

 

[rachk116]

Thanks Jim,

I may have to look at raising my budget. I knew it would probably be tricky to get what I wanted for that price but thought it was worth asking anyway. Maybe £300 to £400 is more realistic?

Thanks for the link, they are very good. Something to aspire to.

Rach

 

[Vernon Barker]

Thanks Jim,

I may have to look at raising my budget. I knew it would probably be tricky to get what I wanted for that price but thought it was worth asking anyway. Maybe £300 to £400 is more realistic?

Thanks for the link, they are very good. Something to aspire to.

Rach

Try a second hand Sigma 170-500. A lot of people on this forum started with this lens which can be bought for about £250.00. All the early pictures in my gallery were taken with this lens.

 

[micloi]

Or a 2nd hand Sigma 120-400mm OS which is a bit sharper and also, most importantly, has stabilization

 

[mike from ebbw]

Personally I would go for a used Sigma 135-400mm DG.This will give you enough reach to strat with and the image quality is good too.Found this one on Ebay within your budget.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sigma-135-400...&otn=3&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=8381382780349776544

 

[Tim Taylor]

I have a Canon 500D camera and am quite keen on getting into bird/wildlife phtography. I know this can be an expensive hobby, and that I would probably need be to spending £1000s on bigger lenses to be up there with the big guns, but I am looking at spending no more than £200 on a starter lens.

I'd say go for a lens with a minimum reach of 400mm but don't be in a hurry to get a 'big gun' coz they're huge and cumbersome and a pain in the bottom to carry around... Mike's recommendation looks good to me. :t:

 

[rachk116]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll have to have a shop around and see what looks good and what the budget allows. I really appreciate all of your help and hopefully I'll be able to get started soon.

Rach

 

[Jaff]

I'd say go for a lens with a minimum reach of 400mm but don't be in a hurry to get a 'big gun' coz they're huge and cumbersome and a pain in the bottom to carry around... Mike's recommendation looks good to me. :t:

And this is coming from the guy who has to now lug round a 600mm!

 

[Tim Taylor]

And this is coming from the guy who has to now lug round a 600mm!

That's true Adam...

The point I had meant to make and then lost when editing my reply is that, if I had started off with a 'big gun' before I had learned the photographic technique, bits of fieldcraft, photoshop etc, my interest may well have died a death. Alos, for someone who has been mainly a birder rather than a photographer in the past, travelling light and keeping mobile is less of a shock to the system than lugging 20lb+ weight of photographic kit for shorter stints and staying put for long stints looking for perhaps 1 nice shot out of 500 taken!

I'm still not sure I'm expressing myself well enough! 3

 

[Jaff]

I know what you're getting at Tim. In a perfect world it's nice to have a more portable walkabout lens in addition to your 'big gun' for the times when serious walking is involved and as most of my photography involves me walking with a dodgy leg to boot so the weight of the kit you have to carry can make you think twice about even stepping out the front door. You have to really be in perfect health and have good stamina to carry a big rig around, coupled with the extras that most togs carry if that's how you roll. I know many folk who'd like a big gun but just can't manage the weight of carrying them and of course there's those who have them but can't manage to carry them anymore like Roy.

 

[ramfan]

Best value for money HAS to be the old version (non OS) Sigma 50-500.

It is WAY over your original budget but not to far off your GBP400 mark if purchased second hand maybe from here or the Talk Photography or EOS Classifieds forums.

This lens is hellish versatile and gives decent images. It is not fast but is compact so does not feel too heavy. Overall, a LOT of glass for the cash.

Hope this helps.


Park Cameras (highly reputable) have one in for GPB 620 they may do a deal on ?