Quote:
Originally Posted by wrogers 
also how eefective are hides... as in what focal length do you end up using most (and what crop factor is your camera) as I am using my lounge window and my tree is 4-5M away and so my 150-500mm on my 1.6x crop camera is just about ok, but sharpness is not that great hence why I want ashorter prime (Canon 400mm F/5.6L or 300mm F/4 L IS)
thanks for the replies everyone
Will
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Hides can be extremely effective. I have one of the WWS one's and it works a treat. Expensive but by far the best of the ones I've tested. I spent several days this spring photographing a Black Grouse Lek and the birds had no idea I was there from when they arrived to when they dispersed (I even had one brush past the hide as it flew into the Lek). Some sheep that wandered by were mildly suspicious but carried on as normal. Even a Buzzard landed not 20ft away from me.
The hide is just a big rock to most animals, however, some situations may require a little time for the hide to be left out to establish familiarity, especially if there is little vegetation nearby. A 300mm lens is a great focal length for hide work. I typically use a 300mm on a 1D Mark III (1.3x crop) and add an extender when necessary.
The Ameristep hides are reasonably good value but are very tall (the one I used to have was around 7ft) and doesn't blend in as well as some hides. They are quick to put up though.