 Amanda Buzon |
lenses I love to take pictures of birds. I have Canon Rebel EOS and mostly use EF 75-300 1/4- 5.6 IS for this purpose. Can I do any better? I takes so many shots to get a good one and sometimes I'm not fast enough. Also: lenses EFS 18-55mm which came with this camera sometimes do not give me what I want. Can I do any better? Have a gallery here in Better Photo. Thanks for any suggestions. Bonnie T. Dawson
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Michael H. Cothran |
Yes you can do better, but for a hefty price. Your 75-300 is a cheaply made 'consumer' lens, rather than a 'pro' lens, which in Canon would be identified by the 'L' series. 300mm is pretty good for much bird shooting, but yours is way too slow @ f5.6, and the quality at 300mm can be somewhat lacking. Birds have a distinct 'safety' zone, which requires the photographer to be quite some distance away when shooting (unless you have a blind set up). It also doesn't help that birds are generally quite small, and often take up very little space in your image even when you are close. Thus, you usually will need longer lenses. Most serious bird photographers will use lenses in the 200-600mm range. The other problem you have to solve is lighting. You will often be shooting in less than desirable lighting, and sometimes in deep shade. So in addition to a long focal length lens, you will also need a FAST lens. This equates to the premium f2.8 lenses. You could consider an f4 lens also, but no slower. There are some good Canon zoom lenses and fixed focal length lenses in their 'L' series that will cover both these requirements, and give you maximum quality. The downside is they are very expensive and heavy, and require shooting from a tripod always. At 300mm, one should ALWAYS be shooting from a tripod anyway. If you want to cut some quality corners, Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina all make similar f2.8 lenses for the Canon at markedly reduced prices, and they're still quite good, although they may not be built as well, or perform quite as well as the more costly Canon 'L' lenses. In summary, bird photography usually requires both long and fast lenses to achieve the best in image quality, which leave many photographers in the dust due to the expense. Your lens, as is many of the Nikon lenses also that I own, is part of a consumer grade product that is now made in some third world country with cheap plastic parts, so that it will compete on the open market. It serves a purpose, but quality images isn't one of them. If you want to take bird photography seriously, look into the 'L' series lenses. Good luck Michael H. Cothran
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Amanda Buzon |
Dear Mike, Thank you very much for your imput in my decision making. Today I had in my hand 70-200 F2.8 IS USM (plus extender1.4?) 300F4 L IS and 100-400 F4.5-5.6 L IS USM Still not sure which one, can't buy all. Thanks again, the choice more narrow now, Bonnie
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Michael H. Cothran |
They're all great lenses. The 100-400 would be superb, but I think it's too slow for many bird shooting occasions. The 300 is also great, but you really need something in addition, since the 300mm may not always be what you want or need. The 70-200 has the speed and the quality, but not quite the reach you'll often want, but the 1.4 extender will give you about a 300/f4 on the long end, which may be just fine. Of the three you mentioned, the 70-200/2.8 with the matched 1.4 extender would be my pick. And if you ever bought a Canon digital SLR camera with a lens factor of about 1.5, your 70-200 would end up being the equivalent of a 105-300/2.8. Then add the 1.4, and you'll have almost a 450mm lens on the long side!! One other word of advice here for you - Having great lenses like these won't mean a thing if you don't practice good shooting techniques. And, the most important (in my opinion) is a GOOD tripod with a GOOD ball head.
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Amanda Buzon |
Thanks a lot, Mike! I have Canon digital Rebel and a good tripod. Camera is with me most of the time and I'm going for 70-200/2.8 . Once again,thanks and all the best; Bonnie
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Jake Trexel |
I am having the same trouble, except in a different way. I am disabled and cannot move around very much. I would like to take pictures of flowers and birds and so on. What do you think of this lens and then add a 2x unto it ? thanks jake Tamron Zoom Telephoto SP AF 200-500mm f/5-6.3 Di LD IF Autofocus Lens for Nikon AF Mfr# AF08N700 • B&H# TA20050056N
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Craig m. Zacarelli |
i know there are allot of guys on the canon eos site I belong to who cant afford the "L" series so they are using the sigma "Bigma" 400 or 500MM lenses with awesome results. check into third party unless your like me and really need the IS in your lenses... happy shooting! Craig-
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- Bob Cournoyer Contact Bob Cournoyer Bob Cournoyer's Gallery  |
Remember that the 1.4 or 2x extenders made by Canon only work for certain of their lenses. And they also negate the auto focus. I have the Canon 100-400L and bought the 2x extender without paying much attention to the specs...luckily the lens/extender were compatible...but I have to use manual focus with the combination. I don't manual focus well... Bob
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Justin G. |
And with the 200-500 f/5-6.3 w/ a 2x, that's a 2 stop light loss, making the 200-500 f/5 a 400-1000 f/11, which at a focal length like that you'd need some crazy bright light in order to get the speeds you'd need for sharpness. a 500mm should do the trick, and get ya in nice and tight.
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