5D+500mm reflex or Bigma or Tamron for Birding

[yokechye]

MSRP: $8300.00 USD, actual price should be cheaper, but still likely will be over S$10K.

:bigeyes: how long must i earn to reach that amount :bsmilie:

 

[FZ5owner]

MSRP: $8300.00 USD, actual price should be cheaper, but still likely will be over S$10K.

go get field scope or telescope, the other thing u need is a T mount adaptor, much cheaper.
Im planning to get one to get it out.

 

[yokechye]

go get field scope or telescope, the other thing u need is a T mount adaptor, much cheaper.
Im planning to get one to get it out.

oh... the T-mount is the adapter for telescope to camera... icic

 

[FZ5owner]

oh... the T-mount is the adapter for telescope to camera... icic

ya..... the telescope cost abt 320, the t-mount abt 85, telescope range 1500mm.

 

[pai]

there's a new tamron 300 f2.8 in buy and sell going for a REALLY good price. why not grab that and pair it with a TC? i'm not a bird or sports shooter, otherwise i would have bought it already ;p

 

[yokechye]

ya..... the telescope cost abt 320, the t-mount abt 85, telescope range 1500mm.

telescope at 320? 1500mm? where u buy de?

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

telescope at 320? 1500mm? where u buy de?

he said telescope mah not lens... telescope = see stars... sometimes see birds... but dun expect can control aperture.... :bsmilie:

 

[yokechye]

he said telescope mah not lens... telescope = see stars... sometimes see birds... but dun expect can control aperture.... :bsmilie:

ya i know :bsmilie: before i jump into photography, i wanted a telescope, but nv bought :bsmilie:

 

[greenieadi]

Thanks for reply, all. Been reading all the reviews on the 3 lens and getting more confused. I like the light weight of the 500mm reflex but not the donut bokeh. My 400mm prime is 1.4kg and it's no joke carrying that bazooka around.

If either 3 lens is near as sharp as my 400mm prime will be the one. 500 - 800mm is out of the question unless I'm rich. Which I'm not.......can only dream....;p

 

[satay16]

Thanks for reply, all. Been reading all the reviews on the 3 lens and getting more confused. I like the light weight of the 500mm reflex but not the donut bokeh. My 400mm prime is 1.4kg and it's no joke carrying that bazooka around.

If either 3 lens is near as sharp as my 400mm prime will be the one. 500 - 800mm is out of the question unless I'm rich. Which I'm not.......can only dream....;p

go for the 500mm reflex. maybe you should try it out first. the donuts will only appear in some specific background. if you background is a plain blue sky, nothing will appear. anyway, the doughnuts look cute too. i am actually planning to get one too, but have to seek my parents for the money burning permit.:embrass:

hmm..........otherwise, the bigma also not bad. relatively cheap and more flexible, small aperture should be justified by its price.

 

[TME]

small aperture should be justified by its price.

Small f/stop u mean?

 

[Drudkh]

Haven't tried my reflex on birding yet but should be okay. Images tend to be soft with the mirror than a normal lens glass.

 

[AncientMariner]

Thanks for reply, all. Been reading all the reviews on the 3 lens and getting more confused. I like the light weight of the 500mm reflex but not the donut bokeh. My 400mm prime is 1.4kg and it's no joke carrying that bazooka around.

If either 3 lens is near as sharp as my 400mm prime will be the one. 500 - 800mm is out of the question unless I'm rich. Which I'm not.......can only dream....;p

I do not know if the Tamron 200-500 will be as sharp as your 400mm prime but I have no hesitation recommending it as a birding lens. I got mine last year just before the F1UIM and managed to get some keeper shots with it e.g.

Rest of the race's pics, taken from the far end of Marina Bay near the Sail, are here:
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/JkChan/F1 UIM Singapore 2005/?

It's light enough to go shooting handheld whole day. Here's a pic of a tern taken handheld from a rocking boat:

With a max aperture of f6.3 at 500mm, it has a slight advantage over the 500mm reflex's f8. Also it has only a 1/4 turn from 8ft (min focusing distance) to infinity and focus quickly in good light. A whimbrel in flight shot:

Here's a static bird shot:

A few more bird shots:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/JkChan/Nature/PICT0006.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/JkChan/Nature/PICT0082a.jpg

 

[pai]

nice bird shots :thumbsup:

 

[AncientMariner]

nice bird shots :thumbsup:

Tks. Should have gone ahead last Sunday. Didn't know the haze would almost clear overnight. Hope you enjoyed yourself shooting macro.

 

[zcf]

Tks. Should have gone ahead last Sunday. Didn't know the haze would almost clear overnight. Hope you enjoyed yourself shooting macro.

Yup, it was quite a nice day for birding

 

[AncientMariner]

Yup, it was quite a nice day for birding

Nice shots esp #2. Are they taken with the Minolta 400 f4.5?
About #1, I have never been able to get up that close to a water-hen. Were you really that close or cropped pic?

 

[zcf]

Nice shots esp #2. Are they taken with the Minolta 400 f4.5?
About #1, I have never been able to get up that close to a water-hen. Were you really that close or cropped pic?

Yup, it's that lens. #1 is a full photo, never cropped. Probably got lucky.
More shots here
http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?p=2525418#post2525418

 

[jbma]

Forget about mirror lens if you want to shoot birds and get sharp results. you will need a prime lens to achieve that. I am deaming that one day I will own a 500mm prime.drool.

 

[jbma]

ya..... the telescope cost abt 320, the t-mount abt 85, telescope range 1500mm.

I know of one birder who is using this kind of setup. Pretty good results I must say.