Lenses for wildlife (birds mainly)

BoothBees

BoothBees

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Hello

I've been looking at lenses which I may buy when my budget permits, and specifically want to use them for wildlife photography. I've really enjoyed bird photography, but some of these little buggers are so skitty that I don't feel I can get close enough to them using my 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens (especially if they are water birds and "far out"). The lenses I'm looking at are:

120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM

150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM

-- Edit: budget between £800-£900

Has anybody used these lenses and can recommend them, and are they going to be suitable for photographing birds? Are there any alternatives? Should I bother at all or just stick with my 100-300mm lens? I've asked a good friend for his opinion, but it can't be bad to get a second, third, or even fourth opinion can it? :)

I'm not likely to buy both of these due to budget, so it's one or the other (and I gotta save for whatever I end up buying, so just setting goals right now!).

Cheers in advance

Craig
 
Apparently the Sigma 100-300 f4 is better than the 120-400 in terms if Image Quality plus you can add a 1.4xTC to give you 420mm f5.6 as well
 
ppp said:
Apparently the Sigma 100-300 f4 is better than the 120-400 in terms if Image Quality plus you can add a 1.4xTC to give you 420mm f5.6 as well
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This is what my buddy uses and I had thought about it, but the lens alone is over my budget, let alone the 1.4xTC. I should have specified a budget in the original post, so I'll go and edit that in, I'm looking to spend no more than £800-£900 initially.

Cheers
 
Cheers guys, very useful link, I'll add that to the fav's.

Maybe I'll go for that then, I'd been basing my pricing on the Sigma website.
 
At least that way you get good glass and start at the same max length you have now so nothing is lost plus you can add to the length later with the TC
 
swag72 said:
How about a 100-400L? There's been a couple on here for sale recently.
Click to expand...

Would that be this one? I must admit, I hadn't considered 2nd hand but maybe I should?
 
mav said:
also consider the canon 400l 5.6 poss second hand
Click to expand...

Not that i have this lens, but i agree, i would have thought this would be the lens to go for (2nd hand) the image quality would be much greater than the zoom (i assume anyway) and if it is just for birding you dont really need to flexibilty of the zoom!
 
I wouldn't bother around here....all the birds in Blackpool are pretty rough and not at all worth photographing!
 
Sigma 300mm f2.8 + 1.4X converter. It's the combo I use. :) It's a very flexible setup, but ultimately gives you a 420mm f4 for wildlife. You'll have to look hard to get one for the right price second hand. I got mine for about £900 in total. :)
 
I bought the 100mm-400mm L on this site last month and i havent been dissapointed, great for birds plus general wildlife:)
 
Cheers for the responses, I have some thinking to do now. :)
 
I've just purchased the sigma 150-500 for myself and I think its an absolute belter well worth the money. I got mine from cameraworld for £747.98 inc posting. There service was spot on as well I recieved an email everyday keeping me updated and everything.
 
FWIW, I too have been thinking about an upgrade from my Nikkor 70-300mm ED VR, but not so much because of the reach - it's more about the available apertures!

As you said in the OP, birds tend to be "skitty" and I'm finding that even with the largest aperture (f/6.3 at 300mm), I often can't get a quick enough shutter speed (in the dim light of the forest) to capture blur-free pics :(. On top of that, the IQ is not so good on this lens when it's wide open.

Adding TC's is obviously going to handicap your max aperture (and therefore your max shutter speed), so you really shouldn't think about adding them to a 'slow' lens (like the two in your OP), unless you plan to do your bird photography through a taxidermist's shop window :D!?

Personally, I like Messiah Khan's suggestion :). A fast, fixed focal-length lens with a small TC on, is going to get you far more sharp shots than any f5.6 zoom, IMO.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
Birds are difficult! You need a huge lens, high shutter speeds, high ISO and quick AF. Everything is against you, and you need to get really close!

All I would say is that if you are not getting anything at 300mm, then 400mm won't transform your pictures. Better yes, but not dramatically so.

I have a 100-400mm L, which is a really good lens, but not long enough and it won't AF on my 40D with an Extender. I try to get as close as possible, focus very carefully, then hope I can crop in a bit in PP. Even then, I have to accept that there are a lot of potential pics I'm never going to get.

Throwing money at it is no guarantee either - I find something like a 600mm f/4 extremely hard to use, even with a superb camera like a 1D3 on the end. You've got to hand it to the guys who shoot great birding pics time after time. It takes a heck of a lot more than expensive kit.

I often think I'd be better off with a hide, a large flask of tea, and a Porta-Loo.
 
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