Sub $1000 Birding Body.

I'm looking to eventually upgrade my 1D3 body. I was thinking about going the Bridge route, but the Sigma 150-600mm C seems like an affordable route back into DSLR Birding after selling my 300 2.8.

First, Thanks for all the input everyone In my Bridge camera thread. It seems like the technology has come a long way in the 5 years I've been gone. I'm really excited to see the sigma 150-600mm. It won't be the 300 2.8 I had, but will definitely be close enough for a fraction of the cost.

Glass > Body has always been my philosophy. But once I get the 150-600mm C, I will be looking to upgrade my body. Looks like there are more options now then just simply going to the next affordable 1D.

The 1D4, was my obvious choice in upgrade, but now I'm seeing the 7D2 might be as good / better in some ways. I'm also looking at the 90D as I dont want to rule something our just because I made the leap to the 1D world and dont want to step back to prosumer products.

Here are my current thoughts on each body.

1d4 - Was always my go to next Body. Would be a step up from 1d3 in all regards.

7d2 - Seems to be more of a different level from the Original 7d than just a simple upgrade. My only concern is AF tracking accuracy, especially in servo mode for BIF. But from what I've read it should do an as good if not better job than 1d4. Only real drawback is the smaller sensor.

90d - huge bump in MP allowing for more cropping on those small backyard birds. No weather sealing (not sure I need it, I mostly only shoot on nice sunny days or from my porch, but the security of weather sealing and magnesium body would be missed. My big question is how does the AF compare in this to my current 1d3?


Thanks everyone for your thoughts and help. I've loved everything I've learned over the years from this community and am happy to be able to find the time in life to get back involved.

I shoot my 7D2 far more often than I shoot my old 1D4.
For under $1K on canon glass, I'd say it's the way to go.

I've not shot the 90D personally, but I have been following the 90D thread closely. It seems that 1D and 7D2 shooters do not think the 90D af is up to par. Since you have stressed AF tracking, I'd put it behind the 7D2 for sure.

7D2 if you want to "get it all" in smaller package.

Keep in mind the 150-600's will not AF as fast as the 300L will, at closer distances, regardless of the body.

But a 7D2 + 150-600 is a really great overall bird/wildlife combo for its cost.

Very best,

Yeah, I know the 150-600 won't be the the 300L. But my guess is it will be close to what I had. I had the old non-IS version.

I'm happy to hear that canon has been including higher end sensors in non 1D cameras. It does make fore more consideration in upgrading, rather than just automatically choosing the next 1d, but good to see the alternate options.

I'm thinking I'll end up with the 150-600 C on the 7D2. But I'm definitely taking my time deciding. There are way more affordable options than 6 years ago.

120-300, sigma 300 2.8, 150-600 C???
1d4, 7d2, 90d... hell even the d500 looks tempting.

More importantly it's what type of birding you're wanting to do.

Birds in Flight can be a lot of things. BIF on big Eagles or other Raptors isn't as demanding at a long distance or at a place where they're commonly going back and forth. BIF on close range Tern or Sparrows is another matter.

Song birds in a backyard doesn't require much more than reach. AF is way less critical on a perched bird than good glass and lots of pixels on the subject.

Very best,

7DII will be nice; it's a *totally* different beast than its predecessor, IMO. Paired w/ the Sigma, you should have a great bird/wildlife combo to get rolling with. Just be sure to check out all of the AF Cases if you're working with moving subjects at all; different shooters get better results with different Cases.

mjHession wrote in post #18945476
Yeah, I know the 150-600 won't be the the 300L. But my guess is it will be close to what I had. I had the old non-IS version.

I'm happy to hear that canon has been including higher end sensors in non 1D cameras. It does make fore more consideration in upgrading, rather than just automatically choosing the next 1d, but good to see the alternate options.

I'm thinking I'll end up with the 150-600 C on the 7D2. But I'm definitely taking my time deciding. There are way more affordable options than 6 years ago.

120-300, sigma 300 2.8, 150-600 C???
1d4, 7d2, 90d... hell even the d500 looks tempting.

D500 is a spectacular option. Nikons own 200-500mm would be the obvious choice for a zoom, and the 500mm PF would be the lens to move up to if funds allowed.

I own a 7D MarkII and a Sigma 150-600 C lens, it is pretty good combination but if I were starting from scratch it would be the Nikon D500 all the way.

Besides the native Nikon 200-500 f5.6 lens you also can get what is supposed to be a fantastic Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E for half the cost of a Canon 70-300 L. The 300 and 500 PF lenses Nikon sells are just more icing on the cake, there are no equivalents in the Canon lens line up.

So I've pulled the trigger on the 150-600. The D500 looks really tempting, but im not in a position to currently revamp my setup and replace body and lenses. It is definitely on my radar and something to think about for down the road.

However, this comment got me thinking...

MalVeauX wrote in post #18945482
More importantly it's what type of birding you're wanting to do.

Birds in Flight can be a lot of things. BIF on big Eagles or other Raptors isn't as demanding at a long distance or at a place where they're commonly going back and forth. BIF on close range Tern or Sparrows is another matter.

Song birds in a backyard doesn't require much more than reach. AF is way less critical on a perched bird than good glass and lots of pixels on the subject.

Very best,

I think I tend to often think about what I want to photograph, instead of what I actually photograph. I don't often find myself in a place for great BIF photography. The majority of my Bird photos are perched. The added MP might serve me well. Not sure if it is worth the added cost over the 7d2 but I also do a lot of video now for my homeschooling group. I currently use my note9 for video, the 90d paired with the 35 A might be a fun alternative.

Anyway, thanks for everyone's thoughts. I still have some time for this upgrade. Gonna be a bit before I can convince the wife for this one after just grabbing the 150-600.

The best non-1D AF systems right now are the 7D2 and 5D4, sitting right there very closely to the 1D4 in that regard, and better in other regards like very low light AF acquisition over the less adequate 1D4 low light servo AF.

The 80D, 90D, 5D3, 6D2 and most likely the EOS R are next in line.