Canon 350d
 

I am looking to buy a zoom lens for this camera that will enable me to photograph birds up to 20mts away and robin sized, the canon lenses will be too pricey.

Any suggestions would be nice guys and your opinions will be appreciated.


Brian

Robin sized at 20m? zoom lens? Sigma 300-800mm sounds about the only thing suitable, unless you are happy with some serious cropping and the image is basically for web use
cheers,
Andy

Brian

Just to give you some idea on a Canon 20D which is the same image resolution as the 350D. Here I have used a 300mm L f4 with a 1.4TC that gives you 420mm. At 800mm double these image sizes.

The first 2 were taken at approx 30 feet

1) full frame
2) a 500 x 500 crop from full frame


The last 2 were taken at approx 60 feet

3) full frame
4) a 500 x 500 crop from full frame

I am just waiting for the day when the kingfisher comes out of hiding and is less than 20 feet away :)
This hedge is inward facing to a lake so unless I can walk on water there are not many vantage points to get a clear shot.


If you are serious about bird photography price is should be the last of your considerations.
The lens Andy has quoted is over £4K

Choosing a lens is not a simple matter and cutting corners on cost can be a false economy in the end.

Factors to consider.

Image quaility. ( cheap lens tend to colour fringe more than expensive lens. Expensive lens tend to be sharper. These factors are required if your going to crop small sections from the frame or enlarge to A3)

Weight. ( 500 - 600mm f4 lens are not your walk about and snap lens - after a while I've got used to carrying around 2-3 Kilo of camera with a 20D 300mm F4 and the 1.4 TC then another 3 Kilo for the tripod)

Zoom or Prime. ( Prime lens on the whole are sharper than zoom lens and better suited to be used with a TC - Zoom give you more flexiblity but if your cropping in photo editing software the loss of zoom is not a big deal)

Min f stop - compatability with TC ( you may have a requirement for low light photography - You may lose Auto focus when you add a TC )

Auto focus speed ( required to quickly focus on and track the subject)

Build Quality ( more important for the heavier lens - you don't want it falling apart under it's own weight or if you give it a slight knock)

Rob

Thank you both for replying.

The figure of 20 Mt's i have used is usually a safe approach distance without too much disturbance too a bird, as long as good field-craft is applied, i expect to at least be able to half that distance for smaller birds such as a robin.

Andy in a perfect world that would be the lens for me,as i would like to ditch my scope but unless i win the lottery I'm going to have to settle for less :)

Rob great information and your pictures give a very good idea of what can be done, very helpful.

It seems a converter is worth investing in and something in the 300-500mm should be what i am aiming for.

All your points are well taken Rob, i will stick to digiscoping for long range birds, and hope by improving my photography skills using my Canon some of it will filter down to my birding side.

brian.

Unfortunately price has to be a factor for most of us. I'd suggest something fairly light and easy to handhold - like the Sigma APO 70-300 or the rather heavier but easy to hold 135-400 - bought second hand. That way you get the practice - hopefully get some good shots - and if and when you're ready to invest in top end lenses you can re-sell without much of a loss.

After chatting to a birding mate of mine who went from 35mm SLR to DSLR,and reading magazines, looking at members photos, and reading many posts i have ordered a Sigma 170-500 lens price did matter but i think this will give me a decent chance of realising my dreams thanks for everyone's input.

brian.

At the risk of making you sick - if your not yet commited cancel it - over on BF, Salty is selling his Sigma 170-500 Canon fit for £350. He can't have had it more than 6 weeks and as has he hasn't posted any pics it must be as new. He's pleading poverty as reason for sale!

The sensor size on the 20D is ~1" Wide , a Robin is around 4" long so to get a frame filing shot you would need to be working at a reproduction ratio of 0.25 If we leave a bit of space around the bird we need a reproduction ratio of 0.2. This means that with a 300mm lens you would need to work at a distance of 1.8m (300mm x (1 +1/m). The same maths can be applied to any bird. Having said that, it is very easy to get this close by simply covering yourself in a standard army issue camo net (2m square) which can be bought for around £10 from an army surplus shop. After a few minutes the birds return and are completely oblivious to you, you can even move closer, they just think its a tree blowing in the wind. I've found no trouble in getting full frame shots of Wrens and Goldcrests using this technique. At this distance a wide range of reasonably priced lenses will give excellent results. I have a Sigma 28-300mm lens which I use when travelling light and it will clearly resolve the barbs and barbelles on a birds wing at around 5 feet distance.

Thanks Nigel, did hear about this but too late, I'm committed (or should be).

Thanks Windy, I'm fairly good in my fieldcraft, and have learned how to get close to wildlife and hope in the coming year to be able to get photos as good as sights i have had with the naked eye.

At least i will when this awful weather lets up.

brian