Few birds

SDK^ · 15 Apr 2006 at 10:35

Yesterday I had some fun trying to capture birds out in the wilderness. Much to my annoyance I found that my lens just isn't capable photographing this type of wildlife.
A guy next to me had a Canon 600mm L IS with a 1.4x extender and was making me very jealous – total focal length on his 20D was 1300mm. Anyway I was stuck with what I had so tried to make the most of it. Wildlife photography in gardens is so much easier

Photos taken on a Canon 20D and a 100-400L IS @ 400mm in low light conditions

Grey Heron

King Fishers - These are cropped so the quality is poor

SDK^ · 15 Apr 2006 at 15:44

I think the hides were just too far away to get decent photos using cheap(ish) zoom lenses.
I have managed to get some good photos of birds previously using the 100-400L but looking around at other sites on the web the quality from a telephoto prime is just awesome.

Unfortunately I am some way off being able to invest £4-5k on a lens

SDK^ · 15 Apr 2006 at 16:35

Richard T said:
Love the kingfisher shots..... where did you go to get these??

Slimbridge WWT

They have the basic areas for your standard ducks and geese at the front of the park and then hides facing out towards the wetlands at the back.

Richard T said:
So when are you getting yourself a 2X extender then??

A 2x extender is going to give an aperture of F11 which is just too slow, not to mention the drop in quality

SDK^ · 17 Apr 2006 at 14:54

stuart38 said:
I always though bird watching was a real nerdy hobby, but now Im keen on photography I really appreciate both the birds and the skill of taking the pics

Yeah me to.
I'll going to be testing a Canon 1D MKII N and a Canon 500mm L IS lens at the end of May to see what they offer

SDK^ · 22 Apr 2006 at 20:19

LOL Beepcake

Over the last few days I have been hovering over the buy button on a Canon 300mm L F2.8 prime lens and some tele-extenders. In the end I decided not to buy and will wait for a more appropriate time before I get one.

SDK^ · 23 Apr 2006 at 10:46

Yeah thanks

I have your 3 300mm lens images saved on my hard drive and drool over them every day

hehe

P.S - That's a terrible photo, just look at the CA on the background tree