Looking for feedback on a couple of SLR/lens combos

^ Now you tell me! LOL...

Anyway, that's fine.. The points you make are precisely the ones that I played around with in my head before I had to to take a pick. I suspect though that either camera at this time would far exceed my skills and will stay that way for a while.

I am not a big fan of the 70-300 IS at its normal price point, but at the price you obtained it the lens is a decent value. You should be able to get more than your money back when you eventually outgrow the lens. This was my first telephoto lens quite a few years ago, and it was soft at 300mm and the auto focus performance was marginal, especially in lower light. I upgraded to the 70-200 f/4 IS soon after it hit the market, and was much happier.

For birds, you will eventually want something longer than 300mm, so start saving now.

Scott, yes, I've been reading up on the better lenses. I'll be licking my wounds here for a bit before venturing into the >$1K regime though. I used to own a Minolta Maxxum 7000 back in the late 80s, but have pretty much owned P&Ss for the last 10-15 years. The Maxxum was a top-rated camera back then, but cameras these days are so different, I suspect I'll be in basic learning mode for quite a while with my T3i.

What about :
T3i = 579 USD
17-55 = 1099 USD
Total = 1678 USD
This is a great combo if you dont mind a heavy lens and not having the longer zooms

Well, first photo off the combo - T3i with the 70-300

Great blue heron in a wetland area near my house

Aperture priority, F5.6, 1/500 sec, 300mm.

I'm still learning how to make the camera focus on what I want it to and not the background, etc. as well as the different metering schemes, so all I did here was to choose the aperture and press the button. Got a long way to go to come close to some of the stuff posted here, but I've got to start somewhere I guess.

Focus point selection is amazingly easy and fast on the T3i. Check out page 85 of the instruction manual located here:

http://www.usa.canon.c​om …i_kit#Brochures​AndManuals

From what you described I think you made the right choice. Have fun!!

just make sure you actually select your focus point, and not have it be all focus points, and you should be able to nail focus fairly easily...also i'd say open up the lens a bit...your shot was at f11 according to my exif viewers

You're right... I shot two photos, one at f5.6 and the other at f11.. this one was at f11. Thanks for the tip on focusing.. having so many buttons and controls is a bit overwhelming and it is slowly sinking in..

So how are you liking the 70-300 lens so far? That is a great Heron shot. With a couple of adjustments in DPP or Zoom Browser it could really pop. You captured the detail in the wings and the down. Which is sometimes hard to do. You just need to bring it out. Use the tone curve on the tool pallet. Very minor adjustments. Think S shape. Play with it and have some fun.

Regards
Mike

Loving it so far! Took it to the Tualatin River Wildlife Refuge yesterday and spent a couple of hours there shooting birds. The 300mm reach was not enough to produce any quality pictures, but enough to help identify them back at the visitor's center with the rangers there.

Thanks for the tips on the adjustments. That's the next thing I've got to learn to do. I'll play around.. I also have a hand-me-down copy of Elements 5.0 that I am planning to use to learn post-processing with.

Yes the reach can be a little short on occasion. However I just shot the Blue Angels air show with mine and it worked just fine. Remember with your camera it is like a full frame croped to 480mm. It can be quite difficult to hand hold longer lenses like 400mm and get a non blury image. Also for those long shots air shimmer and moisture really come into play over 300mm. So when you start doing those long shots at 400-500mm, 640-800mm equivilent, time of day and air quality really can come into play. It even comes into play at 300mm. Shoot license plates accross a large parking lot at 2pm on a hot day and you will see what I mean.

Here are two shots of a street sign exactly 3/4 mile away one at noon and one at 7pm. Sorry but I have already deleted the really bad shimmer and moisture blured shots. These will still get you the idea though. Both are with the 70-300 lens at 300mm hand held. Both shots are cropped just under 200% so they are indeed pushing the envelope but it just goes to show you what that lens is capable of. The effect air quality can have on the outcome is quite visable.

Regards
Mike

Great tips, Mike! As an amateur stargazer (Televue TV-85 apo refractor and Celestron CPC-1100 SCT), I am painfully familiar with atmospheric effects playing havoc with the image..

I also need to invest in a good light tripod that I can carry with me on the trail. They have an observing blind at the Tualatin River refuge that can be reserved... I hope to get a tripod, a few sandwiches and make it a half-day excursion with my birdwatching 7 year old son.

That sounds like a great day out. My copy of the 70-300 works better on a solid tripod with the IS turned off. You might want to check yours in advance of your outing.

Mike

I think you made the right choice. And I like my 70-300. 200 is MUCH too short for birds, etc.

ickmcdon wrote in post #14838466
I think you made the right choice. And I like my 70-300. 200 is MUCH too short for birds, etc.

Even 300 is not enough! And the 70-300 does not accommodate an extender. I see a 400 and a 1.4X extender in my future.... someday.