Lens for University?

[nikkilouise]

I'm going to be starting a a BA Hons in Wildlife Photography at Blackpool and the Fylde College in September.

I am looking into buying a good 500mm for the course, I own a Canon EOS 350D.
I don't mind if it is second hand, but being a student means I don't have that much money to spend on lenses and camera equipment. I do also have a part time job but it doesnt go far! =]

If anyone could suggest a lens that would be suitable that would be a great help!

Thanks
Nikki

[Blackbrook Eye]

Hi Nikki, welcome to WAB, I don't wish to sound disparaging but if you need to ask this question, are you really sure that you have signed up for the right course, wildlife photography is a very demanding subject and the selection of a lens should be a matter of basic knowledge with regard to requirement and budget and is something that should have been considdered long before even thinking of entering university. Good luck for the future anyway.

Keith

[AlanS]

Hello Nikki,

Like the previous respondant, I cannot answer this myself, not being a Canon user, though hopefully there will be other forum readers who can be more informative and more positive.

But does your advance course literature give anyone you can contact at the College? Someone there may have an answer, based on knowing exactly the type of demands in the course, though presumably the syllabus of the course is wide ranging and by no means equipment specific. Does the advance course literature give any guidance? Would it be better to wait until the course has started, so you can better judge priorites on a limited budget?

As a lecturer myself (not in photography!), I really don't mind being contacted with specific problems of this type (as long as it is by e-mail). It shows interest and initiative.

Good luck with the course.

Alan

[Chris_Johnstone]

Hey Nikki,

A great 500mm lens for a Canon camera will set you back circa £4400. That's the top end 500mm f4 lens.

Of course you can look to other brands such as Sigma who produce a lens many of the people on this forum use - the 50-500mm (£750). The advantage being you have a zoom lens that produces great images although not superior to a fixed focal length lens.

Other options include buying a shorter focal length lens and using a teleconverter. This really only works well with a fixed focal length lens and a lens with a fast aperture eg f2.8. A common setup that provides outstanding results would be the like of a Canon 300mm f2.8 lens + a 2x teleconverter. Total price of around £3500.

As you can see it's an expensive hobby/degree choice. Don't be put off by money just now though. Get a decent lens, even a 400mm and get the technique and practice right (if you are new to it). Think of macro as well. Lots of incredible pictures come from very small animals.

Chris

[BillyPilgrim]

They do degrees in wildlife photography? You spawny git

You don't mention your precise budget but I reckon you can get a decent 2nd-hand Canon 300mm f4 L IS or 400mm f5.6 L prime lens from the auction site for about £600. Both these lenses are brilliant. I've got the 300mm and used it with a 1.4x converter and on its own. Its my favourite lens despite since buying a longer, more expensive one. If you are on a budget and want an 'all rounder', Canon L lens then I'd always go for the 300mm and the 1.4x converter - Sigma or Kenko are best as the Canon one costs much more and performs no better.

The Sigma 50-500mm zoom at the same site comes in at less than £500 2nd-hand. You can get excellent results with this lens but the useable parameters are lower, ie. max aperture of f6.3. Having said that all you need is a bright day. Check glsammy's pictures on this site for proof of what it can do.

If you (or your parents) have a big wad to wave about then I'd think about the Canon 500mm. I got a brand new one for £3400 earlier this year. Its a fantastic lens but not as easy to use as the shorter focal length ones. Its also big and bulky and can not really be used as an 'all round' lens so if you bought it you'd also need at least one other.

[eeyore]

if your budget is tight the sigma 170-500 is worth a look - its not as good as its big bro (lacking the ex glass and hsm focussing) this means you get some chromatic abberation at the edges - which doesnt matter as the 350d sensor cant "see" the edge anyway and the focus is a bit slower and slightly whiny (boddie christened my lens "the coffee grinder" because of this - and this seems to have stuck and is now in common usage at least on here)

that said its a decent lens and capable of good pics - it was my first 500mm and did 3 years hard service - this lens goes for arround 400 notes new or about 250 second hand.

if you cant afford that one cheaper option is the sigma 135-400 which shares the same defects as above but is slightly shorter - this goes for about 300 new or sub 200 s/h

dont be tempted to use a slow 300mm with a 2xtc as you will lose your autofocus which is critical for action wildlife photography , or by mirror lenses which are much cheaper (e.g 500mm f8 for under 100 notes) - however these have a fixed f8 aperture and create donuts in your pics, finally i'd steer clear of the cosina/vivitar 100-400 as the build quality sucks badly and the image quality is equally bobbins - although these options are arguably better than nowt , you would be better off even with a s/h 135-400.

[Words]

As AlanS said, just email the department and get advice before you spend. I'm sure they'll be happy to advise. A 500mm prime would be fantastic, but is a heck of a lot of money. There are various 400m lenses which are good (the Canon 100-400mm zoom, or the 400mm f/5.6 prime are both around the £1k mark, or a bit under). The Sigma zooms are also good, and go to 500mm within what is going to have to be your budget for a long lens.

Don't forget wildlife is often small, so a macro lens might also be useful. Plus depending on what you are photographing a 500mm lens may be too long (animals can be big too), so a zoom offers more flexibility over the type of shot you can get which may be useful if you're on a budget. Nothing worse than being 20 feet away and not being able to fit the whole animal in the frame!

I expect you'll also be able to borrow specialist kit when you are registered, so aim to get something which provides the most shooting opportunities for you the rest of the time. But talk/e-mail them before you buy.

[Hobjob]

Lots of good advice above.

I echo the "Don't buy till you've spoken to the lecturers".

There are a lot of us who use the Canon 100-400 L series zoom. Fantastic
bit of kit, with image stabilization and the quality "L" glass.

It will take a 1.4 TC, inspite of what canon says.

But I can't believe you should be shelling out at this stage of your course.
Your priorities are highly likely to change in the first 6 months.

[nikkilouise]

thanks for all your replies =]
i'll talk to the tutor when i've settled in a bit, i might even change my mind..

and yes, i'm positive i chose the right course, ive always been interested in photography, and i've just finished a 2 year course doing an ND in Photography.
I realised that wildlife and landscape photography interests me the most so thats why I chose the course and i'm really excited about it.

I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice, which you guys did, thanks guys =]

[Blackbrook Eye]

I wish you all the luck in the world with your chosen path, It will be hard work and sometimes frustrating but in the end extremely worthwhile, in the meantime, dont put yourself into loads of debt buying lenses until you really know what you need to realise your aims, nothing is gained by rushing when you are dealing with wildlife, its been around for a long time and despite all our efforts to eradicate it, should be around for a good while to come.

Keith