Photographing birds

[cat001]

For a long while I've wanted to photograph birds (and other wildlife), I was thinking maybe the Sigma 500mm f4.5 but thought I'd ask for opinions first as to the quality of this lens, its suitability and so on.

 

[Martyn...]

For a long while I've wanted to photograph birds (and other wildlife), I was thinking maybe the Sigma 500mm f4.5 but thought I'd ask for opinions first as to the quality of this lens, its suitability and so on.

I had one Nikon mount, nice and light compared to the Nikon / Canon f4 500mm's, however it needed to be stopped down to f7.1 to get any reasonable sharpness out of it, which was a shame as it was a compact unit.

Images where not as crisp and punchy as with my Nikkor lenses, but at the time it was half the price of a Nikkor 500mm.

I have seen good results with them, but I was never happy with mine, something I put down to sample variation, which at the current £3500 price point is something I would not expect to encounter.

You may be better looking out for a used Canon 500 f4, or 300 f2.8 to which you could add a TC.

 

[scottthehat]

or buy a 150-500mm os or the 50-500mm os both cheaper both do well and both have os built in.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Or try the Canon 400mm f5.6

Pros
Reasonably priced, not too heavy and speedy AF along with very sharp images.

Cons
No IS, shutter speed needs to be kept up if hand holding (not an issue with birds in flight) and only manual with a T/C unless on a Series 1 body

Just got one after some research, would have liked the 500mm f4, but couldn't find an extra 4 grand down the back of the settee

Not a term I like using, but provides the best bang for the buck in my opinion

 

[postcardcv]

or buy a 150-500mm os or the 50-500mm os both cheaper both do well and both have os built in.

neither of these lenses will come close to the prime for af speed or sharpness. I used the 500 f4.5 for a few years and was well impressed with it, my one was very sharp wide open and took a 1.4x very well. You need a decent tripod and head to get the best out of it, but short of going for a 500 f4 you struggle to find a better birding lens.

I agree that the 400 f5.6 is a super lens, blisteringly sharp and very fast af. But personally I'd rather have the extra focal length, for bird photography it's rare that you have too much reach.