Best Equipment

[James Armes]

I have been into bird photography for over a year now using an Olypmus 600 with a 50mm - 200mm lense. I chose this set up due to the 4/3rds system so that I could achieve an effective reach of 400mm. However, the reach is still not enough and the cropped images always seem a bit soft.

I am thinking of trading it all in and going to nikon. Does anyone have any advice about what camera and telephoto lense to get for around £2,000 (I don't mind second hand).

[roseway]

The current Nikon camera of choice is the D7000, which is about £800 for the body only and about £1000 with the 18-105mm kit lens. That leaves you £1000 for a telephoto, and if you can tolerate the weight the Sigma 150-500mm OS is a pretty good beast which is well within the budget. Or you might prefer to get a much lighter 300mm lens with a 2x adaptor.

[redstart1]

Iwas the same as you james, i was using a olympus 500e with a 300mm lens, the picture quality just wasnt there, so changed to canon and as roseway says if you can live with the weight of the sigme150-500 your shots will improve, not that im a pro or that

[pressld2]

Roseways suggestion is a good one. And the D7000 still gives you a 1.5x crop factor for an effective reach of 750mm. Go for it and don't forget to let us see the results!

Dave P.

[James Armes]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Do you all use this sigma lense and have Redstart 1 seen improved sharpness over the Olympus 300mm lense?

[pressld2]

Personally I use a Nikon 80-400mm lens. It's lovely and sharp but not the fastest focussing lens as it doesn't have it's own AF motor. Lots of other people, on WAB and elsewhere, use either the Sigma 150-500 or the Sigma 50-500 and get great results.

Dave P.

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by James Armes

I have been into bird photography for over a year now using an Olypmus 600 with a 50mm - 200mm lense. I chose this set up due to the 4/3rds system so that I could achieve an effective reach of 400mm. However, the reach is still not enough and the cropped images always seem a bit soft.

The camera system is irrelevant to your problem - the problem is the lens quality (I suspect it can't be the 50-200mm Zuiko, which is very good). If you use the same lens on another make camera (assuming it will physically fit), you'll still get soft images.

Try the 70-300mm Zuiko - it's cheap (though slowish) and gives remarkable results for the price. You can also use a 4/3rds fit Sigma 50-500mm, which users here get good results from.

Many people buy a camera and stick any-old lens they can get hold of on it, without considering the quality. The lens is responsible for over 90% of image quality and the body is just an accessory to hang the lens on!

You won't get better quality lenses than the Olympus Zuikos, the 'pro' and 'top-pro' ranges in particular. The quality of the Olympus 4/3rds lenses are acknowledged as the systems' strength. If you can afford it, get the Zuiko 300mm f2.8 - a quid short of £8000 from Amazon!

Jim

[Ukwildlifeo]

The D7000 is a nice choice. Its got the same Sony sensor as my Pentax K-5 which is pretty impressive with noise, especially at ISO 800 to 1600. It was a very noticable leap from my K20d, so will probably be an even bigger leap from a 4/3rds sensor.

I use a 150-500mm on my K-5 which gives pretty good results, but I tend to shoot with an F number of at least f8 and avoid going above a focal length of 420mm. i do shoot at 500mm but sometimes it gives less sharp images, but sometimes I can't notice it. Th limitation of shooting f8.0 are lessened by the good noise at high ISO performance of the sensor, I usually shoot at ISO400 and I took this at ISO 1600 on a cloudy day! I had to apply some noise reduction but the detail has been retained.

If you look around this forum and the net there is plenty on the 150-500mm. NicolaB uses a D300 and 150-500mm and was featured in the BWPA last year.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Doh! I forgot to add the photo and my time to edit ran out!

here it is

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

The D7000 is a nice choice. Its got the same Sony sensor as my Pentax K-5 which is pretty impressive with noise, especially at ISO 800 to 1600. It was a very noticable leap from my K20d, so will probably be an even bigger leap from a 4/3rds sensor.

There's not a lot wrong with the 4/3rds sensor. I've read reports of print shops assuming an image was from a FF sensor camera, rather than from an E5. The ability to resolve detail has been compared to a D3, (though I find this hard to believe).

Jim