Thin budget recommendations!

I've been a compact digital user for 4 years now. Spent plenty of cash on computer equipment for my video and photo needs. My old 35 EOS film is, well you know where it is!

My boy and I have been into bird watching as of late, and he said it would be cool to take some pictures of the birds. SO, here I am looking for direction! I see that the Nikon D50 gets some good reviews FOR the money. So, unless I read about a Canon that is better AND cheaper, then that might be my camera.

My biggest need is not knowing what lences to get. How much zoom AND how cheap of a lens can I get away with. I'm retired, so the budget is thin, sadly.

400mm lenses for the birds OK?
And if I could also have 1 lens for sports, what would it be?

I'm used to less than perfect compact digital photos, so I'm sure the move to a Digital SLR will be a big improvement.


Thanks all for you help.

Kevin

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Originally Posted by Kevin2

I've been a compact digital user for 4 years now. Spent plenty of cash on computer equipment for my video and photo needs. My old 35 EOS film is, well you know where it is!

My boy and I have been into bird watching as of late, and he said it would be cool to take some pictures of the birds. SO, here I am looking for direction! I see that the Nikon D50 gets some good reviews FOR the money. So, unless I read about a Canon that is better AND cheaper, then that might be my camera.

My biggest need is not knowing what lences to get. How much zoom AND how cheap of a lens can I get away with. I'm retired, so the budget is thin, sadly.

400mm lenses for the birds OK?
And if I could also have 1 lens for sports, what would it be?

I'm used to less than perfect compact digital photos, so I'm sure the move to a Digital SLR will be a big improvement.

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A 400mm lens will be fine for birds. I don't know if Nikon offers VR in this type of lens but image stabilization is a great thing for birds. Using a tripod gets really old eally ast for birds. There are a couple people here who shoot lots of birds and would be able to give you specifics.

Not sure what VR is, but I found this lens for the Canon http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1127507945894 It has the stability feature for a bunch of cash!
And, while looking at the Nikon D50 vs the Canon EOS today, I was very surprised at the size difference between the 2.

This is the other lens for the Canon http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1051806943002

Kevin

well, I'm dyed-in-the-wool Cannon-till-death, so I'm a bit biased; however you mentioned you have an EOS film camera already- I assume you have a lens or two for it as well.

You may be well advised to go for a used EOS digital body, for a couple reasons. First, if you add the replacement cost of the EOS lenses you have to a 400mm lens AND a new camera body, it gets a bit high. Second, you now have to 're-learn' a different manufacturer's functions and layout on the totally new to you equipment.

I suggest a less expensive 300mm lens and a 1.4X or 2X tele-converter. You loose one or two stops respectively; however these three items give you versatility of 300mm, 420mm and 600mm in a compact, (relatively) light package. Now, you also have use of the other EOS lenses to cover the closer stuff. (but the tele-converters do not work with the shorter lenses slower than f2.8)

Finally, I'd like to suggest you look at http://www.bhphotovideo.com for the best prices. I have shopped around quite a bit over the last 20 or so years, and B&H is VERY tough to beat on new Canon equipment. For the used stuff- the obvious choice: eBay. Just watch several items you are interested in for a while before you buy so you don't over-pay...

This seems to make the most sense to me...

B&H is a great place, and most important - a reputable place. I'm not a birding expert, but with a 400mm lens and some patience and practice, you should get some good shots. Nikon has an 80-400 VR lens (vibration reduction, similar to Canon's IS) but it's a fairly expensive lens.

Tokina used to make a 400mm f5.6 lens (not a zoom) that's a really good lens and usually sells for (used, of course) in the $250 range. A friend had one and I should have bought it before it went off to ebay. I have heard that this lens doesn't always work with Nikon's AF cameras so if you go the D50 route you might want to try this lens out before you buy it.

The UP? Lots of great things to shoot up there! Let us know how it goes.

If you are on a thin budget, then look at third party lenses. Sigma is a very good brand as is Tokina. Tamron is up there too. The deal with a lot of different brand lenses these days is the glass is made mostly at the same factory in Japan or so I'm lead to believe from reading Pop Photo online.

I have the Tamron 75-300 LD for my Pentax, but they make it for Canon and Nikon mounts too. It's a very good lens for $130. It's not great, but very good and very usable. I'm not sure that lens would be much good with a tele-converter tho but I do plan on buying one since I own the lens anyway.

If you want a very good 3rd party lens try the Sigma 50-500. It's a lot more than the Tamron 75-300 but is a very good lens.

Take a look at my gallery for the Tamron 75-300 and also wposloski for the Sigma 50-500.

Tim

FOund these auctions on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

The ebayer sells this kit regular. Looks good for the cash, no?

Kevin

Cameta is a good place to deal with, but not all of the sellers on ebay are exactly reputable. Looks like a very good deal at least at the price it's at right now - it's a USA version demo and they sell a lot of stuff like this. I wouldn't worry about it being a demo, and they will take care of a problem if there is one (past experience).

Well, I made my purchase!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

I'll report in when I'm up and running!

Thanks, Kevin