peterbj7 wrote in post #6340893
I photograph lots of birds with my 5D, generally using my 100-400L at its longest. I would say you need to get the lens that'll do the job, but then the IQ and low noise will help you with your cropping.
I'd try to work out what focal length you mostly use for birds with your 40D, then decide what prime focal length would do that job properly for you. Convert that number to the FF equivalent and then see whether there exists a prime lens that'll do the job. Better, cheaper and lighter than a comparable zoom covering the same range. Obviously err slightly on the side of being a bit wider.
I wouldn't get too fast a lens, as it bumps up both price and weight enormously. I don't have problems with the f5.6 my lens gives me, and so long as I've shot RAW I can compensate quite easily for quite a lot of backlight.
I turn off all AF points bar one and restrict metering to that point, so i can ensure the bird is properly exposed regardless of it's surroundings & background. Doesn't always work, of course!
Back in film days I used a reflex (mirror) lens for this sort of work, and was very pleased with the results I got from a relatively inexpensive lens (I haven't even seen my FD gear for several years and can't remember what the lens was, but I think it was a 500 f8 Sigma). But no-one seems to use reflex lenses with digital cameras so they aren't to be found anywhere - I wonder why that is?
I photograph lots of birds with my 5D, generally using my 100-400L at its longest. I would say you need to get the lens that'll do the job, but then the IQ and low noise will help you with your cropping.
I'd try to work out what focal length you mostly use for birds with your 40D, then decide what prime focal length would do that job properly for you. Convert that number to the FF equivalent and then see whether there exists a prime lens that'll do the job. Better, cheaper and lighter than a comparable zoom covering the same range. Obviously err slightly on the side of being a bit wider.
I wouldn't get too fast a lens, as it bumps up both price and weight enormously. I don't have problems with the f5.6 my lens gives me, and so long as I've shot RAW I can compensate quite easily for quite a lot of backlight.
I turn off all AF points bar one and restrict metering to that point, so i can ensure the bird is properly exposed regardless of it's surroundings & background. Doesn't always work, of course!
Back in film days I used a reflex (mirror) lens for this sort of work, and was very pleased with the results I got from a relatively inexpensive lens (I haven't even seen my FD gear for several years and can't remember what the lens was, but I think it was a 500 f8 Sigma). But no-one seems to use reflex lenses with digital cameras so they aren't to be found anywhere - I wonder why that is?
how do you restrict metering to that point?
