New to wildlife photography...

[sarahbest]

Hi,

I'm very interested in wildlife, and have for some time been interested in starting wildlife photography. I have never owned a digital camera before (my current camera is a Canon Sure Shot 130 U II if anyone knows it). I am now looking at buying a digital camera, and have been considering an SLR. I have bought a couple of magazines today and am interested in the Canon 400D. I don't mind spending around £500.

I don't want to buy a normal point and shoot camera, and I'm not sure about a bridging camera. At the end of the day I do gradually want to get into wildlife photography and I'm not sure that a bridging camera would give me that capacity? Plus I can gradually build up with a SLR. Does anyone think the Canon 400D is a good idea? Or have any other suggestions? I know the lens included in the pack is an 18-55 - I'm not sure how good/bad this is? I'd like to gradually get used to the camera and maybe eventually buy a new lens when I know what the camera can do. I think I would want to use the camera for landscape, bird, mammal and cetacean photography (I know the latter is difficult - they're bad enough to spot at the best of times! ). I've read that the 400D is a good camera for people new to SLRs.

Any advice would be appreciated,

Sarah

[Ollie]

Hi Sarah

The 400D is a very decent camera, I use one all the time.

If you are sure that you want an SLR the 400D would be fine. As for the 18-55 kit lens it's ok for family portraits etc but not much use for either birds or landscape shots.

If you wish to take bird shots you are going to have to get a telephoto lens, and I would recommend no less than a 400mm lens for this, and this is where things start to get expensive. I'm not into landscape photography but I do believe a decent wide angle lens for landscapes is somewhat cheaper than a 400mm lens. The 400D is certainly capable of doing everything you mention it's just a case of putting the right lens on for any given task.

It's always a difficult decision on what to buy and it all depends how serious you are going to get with your photography. Certainly the SLR route is the way to go if you intend to stick at it, but be prepared to part with your money to get decent results. I'm not knocking the bridge cameras they have there merits as well as there downside.

I'm sure you will get further advice though but I hope this helps a little. The photos in my gallery are taken with the 400D with either a Canon 400mm lens, a Sigma 50-500mm lens or a Sigma 150mm macro lens. These should give you an idea of what the 400D is capable of at least

Roger

[deer boy]

Hi Sarah & welcome to WAB hope u have fun

I have a canon 400D & i'm very happy with it,it's my first proper camera & so i'm still getting use to it,but would highly recommend it.
As well as the lens supplied i also got a Canon 70-300mm lens but would like something bigger in the future.
I think the best advice i could give is to go into a camera shop & have a look at different camera's,see what the different lenses are like & then go home & find it cheaper on the net.
Make sure you hold the camera & see it working before buying so you can see how it feels.
Have fun looking & let us know how u get on

[ron1863]

Both Ollie and Deer Boy's advice is excellent. You can pick up a decent DSLR for a good price but as Ollie says, if you are really serious, the money goes on decent lenses. The 50-500mm Sigma (Bigma) retails new for around £730. Prime lenses can be very expensive, depending on what you want, a Canon 400mm f5.6 - £850 and a Canon 400mm f2.8 around £5000.

Ron

[shutterbox]

Great advice from the guys above,an affordable starter lens for wildlife is the Sigma 70-300mm apo dg. Being on a tight budget myself i bought one Advertised at £115 at One stop digital. It gives reasonable results(see my Gallery) and should work well with a 400D, I have the 350D. Good luck on your upgrade.____JIM

[achilles500]

Hi Sarah,

The Canon 400D is a very good camera and will serve you well. As already been stated the kit lens is a good one for landscape and portraits but not powerful enough for wildlife close-ups.

I used to own a Canon 350D and found it a very good camera. I have just upgraded to a 40D (only because there was £100 cashback on offer).

My downfall is in the glass department. My biggest lens is a 70 - 300 mm and someday I hope to buy a 100 - 400 mm lens.

Good luck in your purchase as it will serve you well.

Steve

[jimmer]

Hello Sarah get the 400d as soon as you can you will love it don't mess about with a prosumer (as they call it) if you are a bit serious. Like the other lads said the lens will be a bit of money but get to know the camera first good luck regards Jimmer

[Rich_]

I have the canon 400D too and am pleased with it & the 90-300 lens I have for it too.

I was told that the 400D has about 1.6x magnification built into it due to a croping effect, which theroretically increases the magnification of your zoom lens by that amount. Perhaps someone more clued up could confirm this or explain it better?

[Susie]

Hello Sarah,

I would echo those above and say that the 400D is a very good first DSLR. I bought one a few months ago and am very happy with it (although I still have a huge amount to learn!).


You don't say what it is in particular that you want to photograph but if you are interested in bugs and flowers, as I am, you will want to get a decent macro lense.

Good luck and best wishes.

[wildlifesnapper]

Hi

for a few more pounds you can get the 450D with 12 megapixels , live view and sensor cleaning to name just a few extras over the 400d.
I have a 40D which has the sensor cleaning and I must say it does a very good job - I was suprised worth the extra £50 or so between the 450d and 400d I would say.

neil

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by wildlifesnapper

Hi

for a few more pounds you can get the 450D with 12 megapixels , live view and sensor cleaning to name just a few extras over the 400d.
I have a 40D which has the sensor cleaning and I must say it does a very good job - I was suprised worth the extra £50 or so between the 450d and 400d I would say.

neil

Not picking Neil but the 400D has the sensor cleaning as well and as you say it does a very decent job of it. No doubt the live view is a handy thing, not sure about needing the extra megapixels of the 450D, probably handy if you are printing very large photos.
Roger

[wildlifesnapper]

Didn't know that ollie, I've never had the 350/400/450 series (too small) I thought they brought it in with the 450/40.
Never mind live & learn.

Not THAT much between the two then!

I'll get my coat and go home now

neil

[zan]

Hiya,

I think you've got good advice in this thread. The 400D is an excellent camera and will do you well for wildlife. The one thing I would say though, is if you're really only interested in shooting wildlife, why not get a 400d body-only package, and add a 70-300mm lens (e.g. the Sigma APO one is very good for the money). The kit lens is ok, but not great, and if you decide you want a lens in this range later you can always buy a good one when you know what you want.

I wouldn't recommend jumping in and buying an expensive prime lens until you know this is a hobby you really want to invest in, and something like the lens above will be great for starting. There's plenty of wildlife out there (especially at sea) that you can shoot perfectly well with a 300mm.

Zan

[mh68]

Unless the macro facility of the Sigma 70-300 is going to prove useful, i`d recommend the Canon 90-300 EF over the Sigma if your going for this size zoom. I`ve used both (sold the Sigma, still got the Canon) and the Canon is faster focussing,much quieter and sharper.Having to get close to subjects with the Sigma lens to get frame filling shots, was defeated somewhat by the noisy focussing - it spooked a lot of subjects. No such problems with the Canon, its very quiet for a non-usm lens.

Mark H

[Nick T]

I can't speak for the 400d myself but I've got a 350d and a 30d and the 350 is still a good camera so the 400d should be.

I've also got a fuji s9600 which is a prosumer/bridge camera and I can tell you now, even though it is a 28-300 zoom it isn't up to the mark most of the time.

As to lenses - this is where you can't really skimp.

I've got the Canon EF100-400IS but it's around £900 at the moment. I also have a Tamron 200-500 which is a good lens and is cheaper but isn't as fast at focussing as the canon. Another good lens is the Sigma 80-400 OS which is Sigma's version of the Canon. I know some one with one of these & a 400d and he's really chuffed with it.

It's always worth looking for 2nd hand lenses as you can save your self a good chunk of money (there may be some 400d bodies around as people upgrade to either the 450d or the 40d.

Hope that helps.