salty said:
right then.......
after my succesfull (although a right pain at times) scope dilemma thread, i now want a decent DSLR, and you lot can help me out again.
A few things that I don't think have been mentioned, and possibly worth considering.
1. Have a look beyond your immediate needs. It may be totally irrelevant now, but once someone has gone with Canon or Nikon and spent lots money on either system, most cannot then afford to make a switch.
I think that the Nikon D2x looks like an ideal bird camera because of the dual sensor size. This instantly extends the reach of what ever lens you happen to have on the camera at the time. This speeds things up and potentially avoids changing lenses - a major isssue with digital cameras because it allows dust onto the sensor and something best avoided. And indeed a argument for the Sigma 50 -500, which should minimise lens changes.
If you have an interest in landscape and close ups as well as birds then the larger sensor option available in the Canon series of cameras may be worth thinking about in the long term. At the moment the larger sensor Canons seem to give no obvious quality advantage over the smaller sensored Nikon D2x. But as each maker leap frogs each other in technology, the larger sensor will always have the potential for giving higher quality.
2. Nikon have had a bad time keeping pace with technology and have introduced many "interim" lenses just so they can fill a perceived gap in the market. This makes buying second hand Nikon lenses a bit of a mine field, because unless you have an expert knowledge of the nuances of each model you could end up with something that isn't just what you wanted.
Canon lenses on the other hand have been much more stable in features and compatibility for a longer period. So there is a much better choice of second hand lenses around that are identical to their modern counterparts. For example, all the Canon long lenses have had Image Stabilisation for many years, where this has only become available in Nikon lenses more recently.
Possibly as a consequence of Nikons rush into getting some lenses out the door, there also seem to be some iffy Nikon lenses out there. Mind you I think the same applies for some Canon lenses.
3. The only way to know what lens suits you, is to have an extended period of using it for real. So again, although it may seem to be looking too far ahead, I would think about how any lens you buy now will fit into any future purchases. And you won't know what that is until you get out there. So as a starting point, it probably doesn't matter what lens you get.
However, as a one lens outfit, I would certainly start with a Zoom and I would probably go with a Sigma. If you are mainly interested in garden birds, set up shots maybe from a hide or other vantage point, flying birds and mammals, then the Sigma 80-400 with stabilisation seems a good choice, you can always put a teleconvertor on it to extend the reach. Or buy a Nikon D2x , if you have a spare £3000 lying around
If you are mainly interested in more ad hoc photographs, estuary birds, flocks of distant geese etc then the 50-500 sigma would seem a great all round lens that will allow to general shots as well as tighter shots of individual birds or groups of birds. But without the built in stabilisation. And it is holding the lens steady, and getting it focussed properly will be the biggest issue in terms of quality, rather than it being a Nikon or Canon. Using a 500mm lens and getting high quality results is difficult.
It is a hard decision and after looking at the long term potential of buying into the Nikon or Canon systems, there is no substitute for going into a camera shop and having a play with the cameras you are considering buying.
Also have a read of the reviews at
http://www.dcresource.com/ http://www.steves-digicams.com/ http://www.imaging-resource.com/ and
http://www.dpreview.com/
The other place well worth having a look at is
http://www.fredmiranda.com/ . useful to search the forums and there is a users review section.
I hope that at least "some" of this is useful
Graham
