help with lens

[lanie1]

hello everyone not been on for a while,i have just been bought a canon 350 but need a lens for wild birds,can anyone help.it came with the efs 18-55mm,which lens would suit please i love the camera just got to get used to the settings and which to choose.

[nightshade]

This is all dependent on money. I settled for a Sigma 70-300 APO DG there are better but in one lense is a macro setting and a pretty versatile zoom range. £150-£180 shop around (the APO bit means better glass)

[Chukie]

I use a canon 55-250is with my 400D and for the money there is nothing better the two others that I go out with there 100-400L lenses say that they are getting no better results than me the art of good wildlife photography is field craft and learn your subject first take a look at my Flickr account 99.9% of my bird photo's are taken with a Canon 400D and the Canon 55-250is
Flickr: Chukie2008's Photostream

[nightshade]

Very good! definitely a very good lense well hefted

[Geoff F]

Another chance to spend someone else's money - Yippeee!

My first longish zoom was the Canon 70-300 IS which is slightly longer and a stronger construction than the 55-250 but is a bit more expensive.

However, it gets little use nowadays. Eventually I have managed some better, and considerably more expensive L series lenses plus the Sigma 150-500. But I didn't purchase them all at once - it took several years.

My main thought here, is would 300 mm be sufficient if you want to photograph small birds? If you can get close enough, this is a useful general zoom range. And going larger considerably increases the cost.

You may find this review site useful http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/overview

[lanie1]

thanks for all the ideas,i did take my camera out for the first time yesterday but just to get used to it really it feels realy heavy compared to my little nikon coolpix but i still love it.i did ask in a shop about there lenses they had for sale the lads said it would be better for now anyway to buy an m42,and try some cheaper of the lenses they had in the shop it was a cash converter,i looked at a sigma they had in but after nearly buying it the lad that seemed to know a bit about the lens said it had some sort of ring missing from the inside so it was broken anyway is it worth a try with this m42 and if it is which one as there seems to be a difference,sorry novice

[nightshade]

If I understand correctly they were trying to sell you M42 lenses these are old non-digital they will not fit/work with your camera you need modern lenses with the same Canon bayonet fitting as your 18-55.
Good lenses (Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III Lens ) are very expensive but Sigma, Tamron and Tokina produce very good lenses to fit your camera with the correct fit

[Geoff F]

Originally Posted by lanie1

thanks for all the ideas,i did take my camera out for the first time yesterday but just to get used to it really it feels realy heavy compared to my little nikon coolpix but i still love it.i did ask in a shop about there lenses they had for sale the lads said it would be better for now anyway to buy an m42,and try some cheaper of the lenses they had in the shop it was a cash converter,i looked at a sigma they had in but after nearly buying it the lad that seemed to know a bit about the lens said it had some sort of ring missing from the inside so it was broken anyway is it worth a try with this m42 and if it is which one as there seems to be a difference,sorry novice

Your camera will get excessively heavy when you eventually move up to one of those large bird lenses!

But for now, beware anything which sounds cheap. I'm afraid that once you join 'the big boy's league' it will get expensive.

For now, the best option for a cheap lens is probably the Canon 55-250 but remember that it is a plastic built lens which has been designed to sell for a low price so although the overall photo quality is quite good it may need replacing after a few years.

The Canon 70-300 IS (not the 75-300) is a much stronger build, but at an increased cost.