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#1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 6
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I can't decide between a super zoom or a dSLR, could go either way. I don't care about movie mode at all.
What I really want is something that can take good clear pictures of eagles in action and from a distance. I'll be posting them on the web and printing them too. But, the price should be around $1000 or so total, so I guess that means an ultra-zoom? I'm a little worried about noise problems that I've been reading about in the ultra-zooms. |
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#2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,540
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Go for a Rebel XT and buy yourself a nice 300-400mm zoom.
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#3 |
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 589
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I have seen some great arial bird shots from the Canon S2.. but the comparison between any consumer cam to a DSLR is very different.
If you have the coin.. invest in a dslr.. if you want to save some, and are ok with 'fine' shots, go for a consumer cam. |
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#4 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,529
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JJG2006 wrote:
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#5 |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 6
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By "from a distance" I mean the eagles are in the tall trees above me, maybe 50 feet,and they're across the river, about 300-400 feet.
Terry, I'm going to look at the Rebel XT, thanks for the suggestion. I have a Soligor 78-210 mm lensthat I used with mydear old Canon AE1 that I wish I could use with a new camera, don't suppose that would be possible though. JohnG, could you explain what you mean by the crop factor with the 20D...is that something that applies to just that particular camera? |
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#6 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 6
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vwmom wrote:
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#7 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
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JJG2006 wrote:
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So, in short, if you were using a 20d say, take the focal length of the lens and multiply by 1.6. So, a 100-400mm lens behaves like a 160mm-620mm lens on the 20d. Now, as to the distances - 50 up and 300-400' away across river. This is a scenario very similar to a place I spent a few weekends trying to get some Eagle shots - what a coincidence. The eagles weren't there, but their nest was. With my 20D and 100-400 (620mm equivelent) the nest was still a bit small for my tastes. I have a 1.4x teleconverter (which turns the 100-400mm lens into 896mm (400*1.4*1.6) and the nest was decent enough size to have gotten good photos had the eagles been there. There are other birders here far more experienced than I, but I'm guessing using a lens of 400mm equivelent would be a bit short for shots at that distance. I took a shot of a Blue Heron in flight which is about the same size as an eagle (6' wing span vs 7' for eagle if I recall) at about 200' awayand the 620mm equivelent lens was about right. So, bottom line - IMHO I think the superzooms are going to be a little short. Now, there are some other things to keep in mind: the cost of the lens. 3 options that come to mind are: 100-400l ($1400), 400mm 5.6 prime ($1100), Sigm 50-500 ($900) - that cost is above and beyond the camera body. |
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#8 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 6
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Thanks for the crop factor explanation, JohnG. That is very helpful.
I'm leaning toward a dSLR, but every time I decide, someone tells me something else good about the super zooms. For instance, if I got the Panasonic, I could add a teleconverter to get some extra reach. So many choices are out there, it's hard to decide! Thanks again. |
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