whats your preffered birding lens?

PIX-R-IT wrote in post #14177762
I've never shot the Sigma but some folks like it. My preferred lens right now is the Canon 400 f/5.6.
Riding the bus until I Cadillac for a bigger 500/600 f/4.

I only buy new to keep the warrenty. -----I looked at the prices of those and right hand to god- the words that came out of my mouth when i seen those prices where some of the worst i have ever spoken. How they can rape you for that much money is beyond me.....
I know they are pro lenses, blah blah blah. but i wonderhow much the markup is on those lenses from the factory.

Forgottenalarm wrote in post #14179753
I only buy new to keep the warrenty. -----I looked at the prices of those and right hand to god- the words that came out of my mouth when i seen those prices where some of the worst i have ever spoken. How they can rape you for that much money is beyond me.....
I know they are pro lenses, blah blah blah. but i wonderhow much the markup is on those lenses from the factory.

The sticker shock can be tough but understanding what it takes to manufacture precision optics helps get a grasp of why the cost is high. Having photographed through a variety of telescopes(astro work), zoom and telephoto lenses I can personally appreciate the differences, some subtle and some very obvious. Color correction (reduction of chromatic aberration), image contrast and beautiful bokeh are just a few of the things that I've come to appreciate. I guess we all question the high cost of things these days but in my experience high end optics deliver what we expect and more from the investment.

This has been posted before but just in case you haven't seen it this video tour of the lens making process helps better understand the long process of building a lens. Be sure to click the red tab to continue to the next steps:
http://www.canon.com …m/tech/l_plant/​index.html

Nighthound wrote in post #14185839
This has been posted before but just in case you haven't seen it this video tour of the lens making process helps better understand the long process of building a lens. Be sure to click the red tab to continue to the next steps:
http://www.canon.com …m/tech/l_plant/​index.html

thanks, i have never seen that before... very interesting. I also appreciate lenses of this caliber and such. i have been looking threw glasses since i was 8.

Forgottenalarm wrote in post #14186782
thanks, i have never seen that before... very interesting. I also appreciate lenses of this caliber and such. i have been looking threw glasses since i was 8.

I can relate to that, I've been extra lens dependent as well since I was a first grader. The process of making multiple lenses that are ground, polished, shaped/contoured and placed in alignment to bring all colors of the spectrum together on the focal plane and correct distortion is amazing to me. I'm just grateful eyeglasses don't require that much effort.