green as green can be help please

[shakingbongo]

Hi all
could any one help my set up having only bought my first camera with changable lenses end of janaury 08 and green as hell to the technical jargon but am trying to learn fast my camera is the 400d i have the standard 18 to 55mm lense and the 75x300 usm lense but on trying to get reasonable results of wildlife i am finding that the picture as not enougth subject so i guess i need a bigger zoom. i would like to shoot birds,insects and anything that takes my fancy so will i need a good macro lense and a zoom could anyone be good enougth to reccomend which lenses i should aim for to build up a good kit that will move up with me when i am good enougth to buy another body as i beleave the 400d will be a good learning base.

[Geoff F]

You already have a reasonable set up there, but for birds you will ideally need something at least 400mm. There appear to be several of us here who are facing the same dilemma as you and wondering if Canon will shortly produce an improved lens in this range, or do we go for what is currently available. Rather than repeat all the discussions I would suggest that you read some of the previous questions about 400mm or bigger lenses, Canon or Sigma.

You may find that something like the Canon 100-400mm zoom will also suit you as a close up lens, an extension tube will get you even closer. It does have Image Stabilisation which makes a considerable difference if you are handholding. There are Sigma alternatives. Whatever you finally choose you will be looking close to £1000 for a suitable lens, but you probably won't need any other lenses for a long time.

One other thing to remember is that you can get 'closer' to the subject by cropping and resizing the image, which is what I do with my 70-300 lens.

[shakingbongo]

Hi thanks for the reply but when cropping dont you loose alot of detail when you have to crop alot and would their be any benefit in putting an extender on my 75 x 300mm lense

[BillyPilgrim]

Originally Posted by shakingbongo

Hi thanks for the reply but when cropping dont you loose alot of detail when you have to crop alot and would their be any benefit in putting an extender on my 75 x 300mm lense

Not sure if you mean tele-converter or extension tube? The benefit of the extension tube would be for close-ups. It would reduce the minimum focus distance of your lens, enabling you to get closer to the subject which in turn will fill more of the frame.


When cropping you shouldn't lose too much detail with a camera that has 10m pixels to play with. The important thing is to be near enough to get the detail in the first place. The 2nd Robin is a crop of the 1st photo but doesn't look to suffer too much. I took the this with a 300mm + 1.4x (equivalent of a 420mm lens) converter from about 15 feet away.

[willing to learn]

I am in a similar boat to you, I chose a 400D and picked up a 100-300mm usm lens a little while latter. I found it hard to walk round and get a small bird that filled the frame. So what I did is stand still (make like a tree) in the wood and or use food to draw them closer. I now have a 100-400mm IS USM lens, Which still I find wanting more for small birds if I am on walk about. As I have said before I thought I was buying the hubble But I do like this lens very much, with good field craft you can get more than close enough.It also seems to perform better in lower light than the 100-300mm. But i will still use the 100-300 in the right conditions as its more than capable of getting decent shots. Heres one of my early attempts with the 100-300mm as with most of the shots I took with it the conditions where dull. Uncropped

[John D]

Please note that not all lenses work with 'teleconverters'. You would be better to check if your lens is suitable before buying a tc.
The lens I use, a Sigma 100-300mm f4 with a 1.4tc works quite well and I get very acceptable results.
However no matter what lens or combination one ends up with, there is always the desire to have a bigger lens. Real satisfaction doesn't come easy in photography!
If it does it comes with practice,patience and dedication and at a financial cost if 'large lens' are brought into the equation.
It is also very important to master the various software (eg Photo Shop, Paint Shop or some of the free downloadable) which is available for 'digital editing' in order to maximise the benefits of having good equipment.
John D

[Geoff F]

As far as I am aware the Canon teleconverters (1.4x & 2x) will not work on a 75-300 lens because they have protruding glass which will not fit into some lenses (like my 70-300). Some other converters, like the Kenko, may work, but have other problems. Check first, as already advised.

Extension tubes (which are really just lens spacers) should work OK and enable you to get a little bit closer to your subject. The Canon Extension Tubes (12 & 25mm) are suitable for the Canon 75-300 lens but you may find that autofocus is a problem; manual focus will be fine.

[shakingbongo]

Thanks everyone for your replys patience is something i need. so i have just listed in an evening course at the local college in plymouth lucky me got the last place and start 18/02/08. i hope to learn the basics quicker this way and will not make any more lense purchases untill i have a better understanding of my equipment and my abillitys. the course covers camera settings and photo editing so i will post some pictures at a latter date hopefully i should have some keepers by the end of the course.