lens for bird photography

bledyn125

bledyn125

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bleddyn
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im after a new lens for shooting birds in my garden plus theres a few wild places i can go to aswell.i have a canon 60d and a canon 55-250mm lens thats great but i need something longer as i cant always get close enough to the birds meaning i have to crop them quite heavily witch then reduces the image quality a lot.
i have been looking at the canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM and the canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6L IS USM.

are there any other lenses that i should consider my max budget at the moment would be around £800.00 max.are there any third party lenses i could look at

thanks

bleddyn
 
Sigma 150-500 OS is a great birding lens, wwithin your budget. As a general rule the longer the better for birds.

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I've just sold my 55-300mm lens I used for birds because it falls short (distance wise).
 
I am using an old Sigma 50-500 it is covered with dust inside, but it is so sharp even wide open on 500mm
 
birds are tough suckers, so small.
I have a 70-300 on a D7000 and its the same.

I have looked at the sigmas also but so large for carrying.
 
plamen_gb said:
I am using an old Sigma 50-500 it is covered with dust inside, but it is so sharp even wide open on 500mm
Click to expand...

Just what I was going to suggest, I had a 2010 vintage version and it was fantastic for animal shots, birds, squirrels, zoos etc, shame it wasnt so good for motorsports.
 
I wouldnt even be thinking about the 70-300, I would be thinking along the lines of :

Canon 300mm F4 + 1.4 TC, this gives you a fast 300mm + a 420mm F5.6, thats without factoring in the crop factor.

Canon 100-400

Canon 400mm F5.6 prime (sharper than the 100-400

Sigma 150-500 os.. ( bit of a beast weight wise though)
 
thanks for all the replies chaps the sigma lenses sound great im definatley going to have a good read up on both the sigmas over the next few days.

are the sigma lenses mentioned any good for bird in flight images???

cheers

bleddyn
 
Not sure about birds in flight, I found the Sigma 50-500 ok in AI Servo following squirrels around as they jumped about, but it struggled with cars coming towards it at speed, on my 40D it would loose focus on around 1/4 of the shots in a burst if vehicles were coming towards me.

I've wondered how a Canon 200 f2.8L would cope with birds, motorsports etc both with and without a 2x attached.
 
That's good to know, was thinking of the 2x for the extra versatility
 
The Bigma is the classic birders lens. The forum members on Wild About Britain love it.
 
Can't speak for the sigmas but shoot quite a bit at the hawk conservancy in Andover and the 100-400 is cracking for birds in flight :)
 
Hi Bleddyn, I got a Sigma 150-500 OS last year mainly for aviation shots as that was my main interest, however since getting the lens I've opened up to bird shots quite a bit and have had some great shots from it.

These have all been taken with the Sigma and are SOOC with no PP apart from a crop.
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And one of the intended use of the lens.
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thanks again for the pics and suggestions you have given me plenty to think about thats for sure.im leaning towards the sigma 150-500 or even the 120-400 im off to cardiff to see if i can get hold of one of these big sigma lenses to see how heavy they are in my hands before i drop loads of cash on one.

if you have any pics you have taken with any of the lenses above please post them here it could help me decide what to get.

thanks again you have all been very helpfull:thumbs:


bleddyn
 
I've just purchased the 150-500 from Clifton Cameras and look forward to putting it through its paces.

Di
 
Go for the Cannon 400 mm 5.6.
It is the sharpest lens for the money, very fast autofocus, and good for bif shots.
You could try a zoom but I bet you now that most of your shots will be at the long end.
I faced the same decision as you a couple of years ago, went for the 400 having been given the same advice as I am now offering. I have since purchased a 500 mm f4 second hand, but will always keep the 400 it is so good.
Lots of people love the sigma,s they are a lower cost option, I borrowed one but it was never as sharp as the canon.

Good luck and enjoy, it gets addictive
Neil
 
Granarystudio said:
Go for the Cannon 400 mm 5.6.
It is the sharpest lens for the money, very fast autofocus, and good for bif shots.
You could try a zoom but I bet you now that most of your shots will be at the long end.
I faced the same decision as you a couple of years ago, went for the 400 having been given the same advice as I am now offering. I have since purchased a 500 mm f4 second hand, but will always keep the 400 it is so good.
Lots of people love the sigma,s they are a lower cost option, I borrowed one but it was never as sharp as the canon.

Good luck and enjoy, it gets addictive
Neil
Click to expand...

Do you find the minimum focus distance a problem at anytime?
 
i havent managed to make my mind up yet but i will be heading into cardiff monday or tuesday to have a look at the sigma 150-500 and the canon 100-400
i have a large wad of cash in my pocket that needs spending soon

cardiff camera centre have the sigma 150-500 for £699-00 with £50.00 cashback so thats not to bad plus i get a warrenty

or i can get a used canon 100-400 used for around £750 with no warrenty

either way i wish i had one of the lenses today as i seen for the first time ever a mink in the local river plus loads of nice birds dippers a heron and grey wagtails

ive never shown any intrest in wildlife or birds but since the snow started a few weeks ago ive been hooked sat by my window for hours waiting for birds to come to the feeders

so i will with a bit of luck be sporting a new lens very soon

bleddyn
 
mjb123 said:
Do you find the minimum focus distance a problem at anytime?
Click to expand...

From memory it's 3.5m, reality is you will struggle to get much closer to wild birds unless you are in a hide, so never had an issue.
The 500mm is 4.5 m min distance,

If you want to photograph ducks in the park then you will get close, so a 70-200 zoom will suffice.

Neil
 
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