Help me out.......Which lens would you recommend???

I want to start shooting some more nature stuff, mainly deer and a nesting pair of bald eagles I have around here. Which lens would you recommend? Shots would be anywhere from about 75yds to maybe 150yds, possibly more.

Shooting a Rebel XT

Thanks in advance

Budget? and welcome!

100-400L depends on budget though.

I don't really have a price # set yet, but I'm not trying to break the bank.

Another vote for the 100-400. What lenses do you already have?

fordbjr wrote in post #6327521
I don't really have a price # set yet, but I'm not trying to break the bank.

well breaking the bank is quite relative... so could you give us a range? (remember to under estimate because people on this forum are evil and will make you spend over :P

Sigma 150-500 OS.

I can highly recommend the 100-400 if you can afford it, but don't bother with a tele-extender. You'll lose a lot of sharpness, even with the 1.4. Just compose your best shot, and concentrate on focusing on the eyes. You can always zoom and crop in PP.

Thanks for the replies.

What would the suggest after the 100-400L? I think that one is out of my league as far as $ goes.

Even at 400mm, your horizontal field of view at 450 feet (150 yards) will be about 25 feet - probably not the nice tight shots of a bald eagle you are looking for. I would recommend scouting out a better vantage point first.

I don't think the 100-400 is that awful with a 1.4X teleconverter. Here is a shot wide open at 400mm with a Kenko 1.4X teleconverter. EXIF will say f/8 and 560mm, due to the teleconverter....

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who scalped that bird...

how far out of your league is the 100-400?

give an actual number budget wise what you want to spend...it'll help assist you

fordbjr wrote in post #6327961
Thanks for the replies.

What would the suggest after the 100-400L? I think that one is out of my league as far as $ goes.

Well you have been asked several times what your budget is...

Now you understand why.

You were also asked what lenses you currently have. Help us to help you by giving more information.

Lowball suggestion...

Try to find a 400mm f/5.6 Tokina ATX (make sure it is an ATX model). Close to the IQ of the Canon 400mm f/5.6L but, the autofocus isn't quite as fast. However. this lens can be found on the used market for a very low price. I paid $125 including shipping for mine and used it for a couple of years until I purchased the 400mm f/5.6L.

http://www.pbase.com/c​ameras/tokina/atx_400_​56

We're all looking for a black cat in a coal shed until we get a price nailed down, but you sound like an ideal candidate for one of those long Sigma zooms, one of which was mentioned by gasrocks earlier. They are probably not going to focus quite as quickly as the Canon ring USMs (though some of them now have Sigma's equivalent, called HSM) but there are more of them than you can shake a stick at and most of them are pretty cheap. 170-500, 150-500, 120-400, 80-400..... All of those are in the £500-£800 bracket, so they're a lot cheaper than Canon's excellent 100-400.