i am a birdie failure

[jann1033]

the little critters are too far away and to fast for me to get a clear shot of with my lousy 100-300 promaster $19.99 special( plus the snow isn't helping either)
so
short of putting sticky tape on the feeder to keep them there longer( those chickadees are fast little buggers), what tips and lens would someone recommend for decent shots...i was thinking of the 70-300 IS canon as my next lens to buy but wondered if that would be long enough. the $$ lens end of around mid 100s ie 5-600 is the top of the budget
i am moving the feeder closer to the house as soon as i get off here but the problem is it looks clear till i try to crop then it's way to fuzzy so by the time i cut out the trees etc so you can see the bird the bird is not sharp at all...i'm using a tripod even so i am guessing that is due to to short a zoom or just an all around fuzzy lens which the promaster is. my macro 100mm did a little better job but still to far to crop out the garbage can behind the feeder( note to self that area needs cleaned up really badly )
thanks and i will go to that nature site but i also wanted some other opinions

 

[Groucho]

Supposedly a flash (even from a distance) can help sharpen up a bird photo, as well as give you a nice reflection in their eye.

There are a couple hummingbird photographers on the Pentax forum over at Steve's and I recall that they had good luck supplementing the fast shutter speed with a flash.

Other than that - the fastest lens you can afford! You may be better off with a prime, in fact, if you can get one for a decent price, and know that it'll give you approx. the zoom level you require.

 

[MICKEY88]

try taking a pic of still life at the same distance, if it isn't sharp then it's your lens...that is of course if you' are using a cable release, some people have a very heavy shutter finger and that counteracts the stabilizing feature of the tripod..

also what shutter speed aperture combination are you using

 

[ndelaware]

The "Bigma" lens was quite popular with the bird and wildlife photgraphers on a budget over on dpreview.com last year.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=105&sort=7&cat=37&page=2

You won't have to move the bird feeder with that lens, LOL!

 

[jann1033]

The "Bigma" lens was quite popular with the bird and wildlife photgraphers on a budget over on dpreview.com last year.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=105&sort=7&cat=37&page=2

You won't have to move the bird feeder with that lens, LOL!

yeah just revive my husband if i spent $1000 on a lens..moving the feeder would be way easier

 

[0bli0]

i have a bigma (Sigma 50-500) and use it as one of my outdoor sport lenses. it's fast AF, but slow lightwise (f/6.3@ 500). my preferred lens is my Sigma 120-300 2.8 which i can use with teleconvertors, if needed. typically a teleconvertor won't work on a longish lens unless it's reasonably fast (2.8 or 4.0). one reason is because you lose 1 stop of light using 1.4x and 2 stops of light using 2x (and 3 stops of light if you stack them). this will require your shutter speed to drop, and increase your depth of field - both contributing to less than satisfactory bird shot. the second reason is AF generally won't work at F/8 maximum aperture (remember focus is done at maximum aperture, then stopped down).

if you're taking photos of them at a feeder, try sitting near the feeder in a position that disguises your body shape. the birds should become used to you fairly quickly. there are tons of fantastic bird shots on both pbase and flickr - you can see the lenses being used, the various apertures and speeds.

i would think at the speeds you should be taking the birds, you could easily handhold the camera.

 

[jann1033]

i have a bigma (Sigma 50-500) and use it as one of my outdoor sport lenses. it's fast AF, but slow lightwise (f/6.3@ 500). my preferred lens is my Sigma 120-300 2.8 which i can use with teleconvertors, if needed. typically a teleconvertor won't work on a longish lens unless it's reasonably fast (2.8 or 4.0). one reason is because you lose 1 stop of light using 1.4x and 2 stops of light using 2x (and 3 stops of light if you stack them). this will require your shutter speed to drop, and increase your depth of field - both contributing to less than satisfactory bird shot. the second reason is AF generally won't work at F/8 maximum aperture (remember focus is done at maximum aperture, then stopped down).

if you're taking photos of them at a feeder, try sitting near the feeder in a position that disguises your body shape. the birds should become used to you fairly quickly. there are tons of fantastic bird shots on both pbase and flickr - you can see the lenses being used, the various apertures and speeds.

i would think at the speeds you should be taking the birds, you could easily handhold the camera.

i was just wondering about a teleconverter..answered before i even asked. maybe i need something a little faster than my 28-135