Need some camera advice on birds in flight

[dx90]

Out of these two cameras what one is the better for taken pictures of fast birds in flight and why?



I have been looking at the Canon EOS 350D but they don't say Digital Rebel XT on the camera like I've seen in some reviews so how do I know its a Rebel XT or not?

[tmoreau]

EOS 350D = Digital Rebel XT

Same camera

[dx90]

Do you know why some have Rebel XT on and others don't?

[tmoreau]

I think its for different markets, minolta did that... Maxxum 5D in USA / Dynax 5D everywhere else.

[rey]

It's all marketing. It's Rebel XT in the US, and I think 350D in most other places. In Japan it's marketed as "Kiss". It's sold as "soft as a Kiss" in Japan, while Americans want a more rugged "Rebel" name.

Kinda like Americans will not pay too much for a "Toyota", but slap a "Lexus" name to it and they're sold.

[PeterP]

Unfortunately neither, for your requirement of "fast birds in flight".
The AF system in those cameras is not up to the task of tracking fast moving small objects.

You can still get good results by doing pre-focusing and hitting the shutter button just as the target reaches your focus point.

Birds are a tough subject in general as they are mostly both small and fast. For flight shots a 300mm or 400mm lens would be the minimum entry.

Look up some of the bird specialists on this forum (Erics, DBB, NormCar) and see what they use and do to get their shots.

dx90 wrote:

Out of these two cameras what one is the better for taken pictures of fast birds in flight and why?

[bobbyz]

You need fast AF with ability to track objects and fast frame rate for flight shots. XT only gives 3fps, not sure about D50. I would suggest atleast 20D so you get 5fps. 1dMK2 is the best tool for this kind of shooting.

[RacingManiac]

you could do it with smaller lens if the oppotunity is right....this seagull is trying to fly into the wind and it was practically stalled....shot with a 135mm lens, which on my KM 5D it was about 200mm focal length after crop factor..

[Webapprentice]

Nikon D50's continous frame rate is rated at 2.5fps. I've shot a slow moving bird in flight and was able to "freeze" it, but I doubt I could do it a faster flying bird.

bobbyz wrote:

You need fast AF with ability to track objects and fast frame rate for flight shots. XT only gives 3fps, not sure about D50. I would suggest atleast 20D so you get 5fps. 1dMK2 is the best tool for this kind of shooting.

[musicarvind]

Check this picture of an eagle flying in langkawi, malaysia. taken with Nikon D70. absolutely stunning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/176661566/

credit to its owner at flickr.com.