Camera/Lens advice

[Bfc]

I’m a keen birder, who likes to take photos of what I see. Presently my camera is Canon 7D, with a Canon 400mm lens.
My knowledge of having the right camera settings is nil. I’m just not interested in the terminology. All I want is to do is press the shutter, when I’ve a bird in the viewfinder.
Last week I decided to buy a Sigma Sport 600 lens and the last 3 days have for me been stressful. I found out the lens doesn’t fit my camera, it needs a Nikon adapter. So after spending hours reading reviews and watching videos trying to find the right adapter I need, I’ve given up. There’s hundreds of different models.
Now I’m considering buying a 2nd hand Nikon D500 camera, which will connect up with lens, in the hope, that will give me the solution.
Is there anyone out there who can give me some advice.

[Vegas Claret]

hopefully ALP (Andy Pritchard) will see this and give you the answers, check out his photos in things like the 'summer photos' thread - different league

here is his Flickr - he's your man for advice
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andypritchard/

[JohnMac]

Third Party lenses are manufactured for specific makes, Canon, Nikon, Sony etc. It's to do with the actual fit and the pins that transmit informtion from lens to camera.

It sounds like you would probably benefit from a Bridge Camera, an all in one with a lens as part of the camera but can zoom in and out. Most are very effective and have a range far in excess of the traditional big heavy lenses. A really good one brand new will probably cost less than a second hand Nikon D500.

Should you decide to go with the Nikon D500, it is an excellent Camera and I suggest you watch YouTube tutorials to get you up and running.

Good Luck!

[JohnMac]

p.s.
Try joining a local camera club. I am with Padiham PS who meet at Ighten Leigh and have picked up loads of information, tips and advice from others.

[Guppyspotter]

You will need a Nikon body to use with the lens. D500 is an excellent choice. You might also consider a Nikon D850 (better choice) given the relatively small difference in price used.

ALPS is a fantastic photographer but I'm the one who deals in cameras, he just uses them brilliantly!

The alternative is to sell the lens you bought and buy the Canon mount version (they are made in mounts for multiple manufacturers). That said the D500 wipes the Canon 7D off the earth and also the Canon 7D mkII so you would have a much better camera and lens.

[ALP]

Thanks guys, happy to help if I can, but the D500 or D850 are both superb.

I'm Nikon through and through and also have now gone mirrorless, which I do like a lot. I'm also very sure that Guppyspotter will sort you out with the right gear, unless you fancy going very high end and buying a Nikon D5 from me

[SouthLondonexile]

p.s.
Try joining a local camera club. I am with Padiham PS who meet at Ighten Leigh and have picked up loads of information, tips and advice from others.

I think this is a really good idea.
Don’t forget too that you can take some wonderful pictures with most mobile phones.

[Vegas Claret]

I think this is a really good idea.
Don’t forget too that you can take some wonderful pictures with most mobile phones.

two massively different things

[Leon_C]

It's been a few years since I was absorbed in the world of SLRs, so I hope my advice is still current.
I have a Canon 6D full frame body.
My longest lens is a 70-200 f2.8L.

So you have a 400mm lens, on an APS-C body. (the 7D isn't full frame - so the actual equivalent of a 640mm lens on a full frame body.)
I assume you want to get REALLY tight on your subject, a small thing, a long way away. For telephoto birding, APS-C is an advantage. (Whereas, for wide angle landscape shots, it would be a slight disadvantage.)

One way you could squeeze more out of your 400mm lens is by using an extender. These are 1.4x and 2.0x.
So - you could turn your 400mm lens into an 800mm equivalent, which - factoring in your APS-C sensor, becomes more like 1280mm.
You can get them used for £250-300 it seems.
However - they reduce the aperture by 2 stops, I gather. (Note I don't own one.)
Assuming the lens is already f5.6 - this means you're shooting at f11. And you're probably going to be cranking up your ISO high at this point.

Conclusion: look into the extender - if you buy used, and it doesn't work - you can always resell it. But it would avoid you having to shift over to new kit from top to bottom.

[Leon_C]

two massively different things

Indeed. Whilst it's true that you can take some decent photos with modern mobile phones, they're still not entirely suitable for specialist applications such as birdwatching. Stability, focus, ISO, shutter speed control.

[Bfc]

Thanks everyone for the very useful advice. After reading the comments on the Nikon cameras, I looked at the camera models used ones prices, which for the D850 are around £1700 and £1,000 for the D500. I've no idea what Alp would want for the D5, but would hazard a guess it will be a lot more than the above prices.
I'd a look at a lot of your excellent photos Alp and seeing the various Owl species, I was very impressed. Have you taken some of those over the Kebs or Hurstwood.
I did go to the Burnley camera club for a few weeks, for some advice, before I went to Cape Town, for a holiday, which involved quite a bit of bird watching. My aim has always been to have a photo of the birds I see, whether I'm in this Country or abroad, for my own memories. Cameras and computers do not interest me 1 bit, but are needed to record what I see.
I'm not selling/swapping the lens I only bought 3 days ago.
Guppystopper I'd like to discuss buying a Nikon D500 camera with you. Do you have a business address, or Tel No, or e mail address I can contact you on.

[Guppyspotter]

Hi Bfc, I'm contactable at guppyspotter@gmail.com I don't have anything to sell to you so you are safe to talk to me on that email or I'm on 07532379160 I can give you indicators of market prices and a D850 used is certainly less than the price you mention, you can have a new one for less than that!

[ALP]

I won't give locations but will give advice for free or lessons for a fee (it is my job now).

D5 = £2k no offers and it only has approximately 55k shutter clicks and is in excellent condition (DUAL XQD).

I'm on 07516 637027 and will highly recommend Guppyspotter as we are good old friends (albeit we've never actually met)!!

[CJW]

Stop fannying about and get an R7 with adaptor for your 400mm

[CJW]

Rufous Hummingbird taken with an R7 and 500mm F4 with R-series adaptor.
Very few cameras capable of getting that shot.

52980935841_54ab1daff1_k.jpg (357.75 KiB) Viewed 1411 times

[Ziggy Stardust]

I have a D3S available if you want something cheap and fun.

[Bfc]

Thanks for the offer Ziggy and Alp but they're not the right 1 for me. Buying a car has been a lot easier than buying a camera.

I'd a good chat with Guppyspotter this morning and he gave me some very helpful advice. The Nikon D500 camera is the one I want/need. It's a very popular camera with bird watchers. Unfortunately they're no longer being made and not in stock with major suppliers. The 2nd hand ones which are available, have had a lot of use. Possibly someone on here has, or knows of 1 for sale .

[Hipper]

Thanks for the offer Ziggy and Alp but they're not the right 1 for me. Buying a car has been a lot easier than buying a camera.

I'd a good chat with Guppyspotter this morning and he gave me some very helpful advice. The Nikon D500 camera is the one I want/need. It's a very popular camera with bird watchers. Unfortunately they're no longer being made and not in stock with major suppliers. The 2nd hand ones which are available, have had a lot of use. Possibly someone on here has, or knows of 1 for sale .

There are a couple of D500 Bodies on Amazon but I wouldn't know if they are trustworthy sources.

I bought a new D7500 direct from Nikon to replace my damaged D/70 of twenty years. It had two or three failed pixels. I had sent the D/70 back to Nikon at their expense as they said it may be possible to repair it. Then they told me it wasn't repairable because of its age, which of course they knew before I sent it! I chose the D7500 because they suggested it and it would couple with my existing lens. It's broadly similar to the D/70 in operation but it has some extra facilities. Nikon gave me a discount as I allowed them to 'recycle' my D/70.

I too do not like to faff about with all the options. I'm sure they are necessary for some but many of them just seem a relic of film days. I find if I mess up slightly then I can use photo software to correct things. But then I just take photos for fun and not that often so if this camera lasts me twenty years I'll be happy (if I last as long as that I'll be happier still!!).

[Spijed]

Both Canon and Nikon are pushing mirrorless cameras and lenses.

[ChrisG]

Might be being a bit naïve here, but why would you go to the effort of buying a DSLR if you're not interested in being able to control the camera yourself?

I like to be able to adjust the aperture and shutter speed depending on what I'm shooting, as you'll want a different focal length on a portrait than a landscape scene.

Would a bridge option or even a decent Olympus Pen or maybe a Leica not be a better bet, certainly for general photography? Appreciate that this is not really an option for birding like.

[ALP]

Thanks for the offer Ziggy and Alp but they're not the right 1 for me. Buying a car has been a lot easier than buying a camera.

I'd a good chat with Guppyspotter this morning and he gave me some very helpful advice. The Nikon D500 camera is the one I want/need. It's a very popular camera with bird watchers. Unfortunately they're no longer being made and not in stock with major suppliers. The 2nd hand ones which are available, have had a lot of use. Possibly someone on here has, or knows of 1 for sale .

No worries, I used the D5 for birds, focus is sublime. The D500 is a superb beast but now mirrorless is here they have been shelved.

My non favourite used supplier has them on the shelf second hand and they give 6 months warranty.

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/nikon-d500

Again, happy to help if needed.

[IanMcL]

I always found my Brownie 127 very handy.

Somewhere I have a picture if the top of the Eiffel Tower, taken out of a car window , as we went round the roundabout.

Ought to be able to handle a bird!

[deanothedino]

You will need a Nikon body to use with the lens. D500 is an excellent choice. You might also consider a Nikon D850 (better choice) given the relatively small difference in price used.

ALPS is a fantastic photographer but I'm the one who deals in cameras, he just uses them brilliantly!

The alternative is to sell the lens you bought and buy the Canon mount version (they are made in mounts for multiple manufacturers). That said the D500 wipes the Canon 7D off the earth and also the Canon 7D mkII so you would have a much better camera and lens.

I’ll disagree with the D850 being the better choice here. For this use case the D500 is faster and subjects are more likely to fill the viewfinder. Birding is one of the areas where I think Nikon’s crop bodies can still have an advantage unless you’re talking Z8/Z9

[deanothedino]

Thanks for the offer Ziggy and Alp but they're not the right 1 for me. Buying a car has been a lot easier than buying a camera.

I'd a good chat with Guppyspotter this morning and he gave me some very helpful advice. The Nikon D500 camera is the one I want/need. It's a very popular camera with bird watchers. Unfortunately they're no longer being made and not in stock with major suppliers. The 2nd hand ones which are available, have had a lot of use. Possibly someone on here has, or knows of 1 for sale .

There’s one with just over 10k clicks on the link ALP posted. And several under 50,000 a D500 should comfortable last 200,000 so plenty of life in them yet.

[Lowbankclaret]

I am in several birder sights on Facebook, we have a Nikon camera body with sigma 500 lens. It’s very heavy and walking with gets tiresome. When I asked on one site on one birders thread. Several have moved over to cameras like the Nikon P1000. Hugh digital zoom and takes great pictures at very long distances.
It has an equivalent focal length of 6000mm .
Lighter weight and less than the price of a good lens.

[deanothedino]

I am in several birder sights on Facebook, we have a Nikon camera body with sigma 500 lens. It’s very heavy and walking with gets tiresome. When I asked on one site on one birders thread. Several have moved over to cameras like the Nikon P1000. Hugh digital zoom and takes great pictures at very long distances.
It has an equivalent focal length of 6000mm .
Lighter weight and less than the price of a good lens.

Depends what quality of image you’re after. Don’t really compare to interchangeable lens cameras.

If weight is an issue then mirrorless with a superzooms is the answer.

[Leon_C]

Depends what quality of image you’re after. Don’t really compare to interchangeable lens cameras.

If weight is an issue then mirrorless with a superzooms is the answer.

This. Bridge cameras with superwide/supertele lenses are incredibly convenient - but, with zero doubt, sacrifice image quality for that all-in-one convenience.

If you want the crispest sharpest images, you need dedicated glass. Ideally prime lenses (as in the original 400mm in the OP). Or the more functional zooms with narrower ranges, but higher quality glass.

[Lowbankclaret]

Depends what quality of image you’re after. Don’t really compare to interchangeable lens cameras.

If weight is an issue then mirrorless with a superzooms is the answer.

There have been a lot of great pictures taken that identified a bird and were very crisp at distances a normal camera with a 500mm lens would have been a dot on the picture.
An example was last year there were Avocets on Foulridge, with my camera it was a dot in the distance but someone with a P1000 got a great shot which you could clearly see it was an Avocet.

[CombatClaret]

Is there no way you can return the Sigma for a Canon mount?

I ran the 150-600 contemporary for a while on a 7d MkII. Just about able to handhold it but great reach.
I picked up a 5D mkIV and the Canon 100-400mkii and found I was getting sharper photos from the lens and the extra resolution let me crop in post.

I've now on the R5 which is a beast but I've yet to do any wildlife with it. The eye focusing shooting people a doddle.

[CJW]

I've now on the R5 which is a beast but I've yet to do any wildlife with it. The eye focusing shooting people a doddle.

R7 is better for wildlife with the 1.6 crop

[deanothedino]

There have been a lot of great pictures taken that identified a bird and were very crisp at distances a normal camera with a 500mm lens would have been a dot on the picture.
An example was last year there were Avocets on Foulridge, with my camera it was a dot in the distance but someone with a P1000 got a great shot which you could clearly see it was an Avocet.

If you just want to be able to see it was an avocet from a distance maybe, if you want crisp images of an Osprey fishing - good luck. They have their place but if you’re serious you should be using an interchangeable lens system for me.

[ALP]

The below is shot on a Nikon Z9 400mm f2.8 with a 1.4x convertor giving 560mm and with that convertor it drops to f4- weighs in at about 13lbs.

Shot at 6400 iso in very little light at 1/500th which allows that bit of movement in the wing.

Buy the best you can afford if you want the quality.

Shorty (juvenile) a real treat by Andy Pritchard, on Flickr