65 replies to this topic

[Pino Palladino]

What camera or lens do you use?

[mistermooster]

Canon 40D. Canon 70-200 f/4L, or a 100 f/2.8L if I'm up close (mainly hummers).  Serious birders probably use at least a 300mm, or more likely 400mm lens.  But they don't stop there.

[jetmedix]

Canon S5 IS point and shoot with 1.7x teleconverter. But ready to upgrade to SRL when the budget allows.

[lyceel]

Nikon D300.  Tokina 400mm f/5.6 lens on the good light days.  70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR on the not-so good ones.

[thekiwi]

either my Nikon D80 or my Nikon D60 I use my quantaray 135 - 400mm lens mostly also use my Nikon 55 - 200 mmVR DX lens

[Harpo57]

Canon PowerShot SX20 si. 

[maxrazor]

Nikon D90 and a 70-300 4.5-5.6 G lens

[Pino Palladino]

Thank you for answering it's really cool to see that you guys have the same hobbies as me. By the way I use Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D with a Canon EF 18-55mm IS.

[Liam]

1. Canon PowerShot SX110 IS

 2. Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

3. Nikon D70

http://www.panoramio.com/user/2756867

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40283563@N04/

[jetmedix]

Liam, how do you like the SX20?

[Liam]

jetmedix:

Liam, how do you like the SX20?

It's the best camera I have! Of course, if I bought a 300mm lens for the Nikon D70 (it only has a 35-70mm lens currently), then that would be my best, but right now, the best camera for birding that I own is the SX20 IS

[JI Bird Guy]

I've got a Canon PowerShot SX120 IS. Hope to get some mid-range gear someday.

[Dord]

Canon 40D with 100-400mm

[rdatkins]

Canon 40D, 70-300 IS, 28-135 IS, Sigma 24-70-2.8, Sigma, 12-24,  

[JAC6]

Canon Rebel XSi with 100-400L IS

Canon PowerShot SX10IS

[Bird Brain]

SONY DSC-H7, point and shoot. Takes some pretty good........well,..... uh.....OK,maybe.....shots but very limited for this hobby. I hope to upgrade sometime this year.

[noahcomet]

Wow, it seems like the 40Ders are on the rise!  Another for their gang:

 

Canon 40D (to which I recently upgraded from the Rebel XS in order to gain more accurate focusing and more ISO options; a lateral move for megapixels)

Canon 400 f/5.6L (about 90% of the time when I'm birding)

Tamron 18-270 VC (the other 10% and my walkaround lens---astounding vibration control, IMO blows Canon IS out of the water; IQ isn't breathtaking but more than adequate)

 

Some day soon, if the gods smile, I'll be adding 17-40L to my kit, at which point I'm thinking I'll be done with gear-purchasing for a long time.  Or, um, divorced.

Also in the kit, a super-duper cheap but excellent (wired) remote trigger (ask me where I bought it if you're interested---in the $4 range new, as I recall), and a Best Buy monopod---I'm still learning how best to get great pics from my setup, but with the 400, the monopod and the trigger, my keepers-rate is high.  Here's one (cropped and dowsncaled) using that very rig.

Attached Files

•  GreatBlueHeronCrop.JPG   386.18K   1 downloads

[fishman]

Canon XTI with a Canon 100-400 IS and a Tamron 18-270 VC. (And I agree with the comments above made by Noahcomet) Both work great depending on the circumstances. I usually bring both in the field, especially if I think I might get some good landscape shots as well. Even with the IS a tripod is still a huge plus for the bigger birds that will sit for a while. The little guys are so so quick!!!

Good to see what people are using, glad you asked the question...

[Kestrel1973]

Right now, I set up a wireless pinhole color camera looking down into a Mocking Bird nest.  I set it up for my grand daughter. We have seen the eggs apear, one chick hatch and another the next day.  One egg was nor fertile.

they are all mouth right now. 

I have it hooked up to my 48" TV.  great view.  Even my wife gets mezmorized watching mom come and go.

I back it up with a few shots on my Canon D5II with a 1.4 30--70mm lens.  Mom Mocking Bird has nailed me several times. My  grand daughter thinks the the best part.

[Renodesertfox]

Just joined today so I might as well jump on this wagon and get busy. I use a bunch of different gear. I own Cannon, Nikon(way too expensive),

Cannon: 5D; Rebel XTi 400d; AF100-400mm 4.5 L IS; AF100mm Macro 2.8; AF50-250mm L IS; AF17-35mm Sigma G IS; Cannon 18-55mm 3.5. Cannon AF600mm L IS 2.8 Extension tubes 12mm 25mm; 1.5 teleconverter.2 ea 550 EX Strobes

Nikon: D80: Nikkor AF 18-55mm 3.5; AF 55-200mm G 3.5; AF 200-400mm G 4.5; AF105mm Micro;   Extension tubes 12mm, 25mm. 2x tele-converter. 1-600sb speedlight; 1-800 sb Speedlight

I began with Nikon but way too expensive fast so I switched to Cannon but kept the Nikon as back-up. Film cameras 2 ea Nikon F2AS; Nikkormats, Cannon F5. Nikkormat FTN(works great)! Cannon EOS1. Larger format as well: 4x5 Crown Graflex; Calument 4x5 monorail view; Wista 4x5 field view. Way too much glass. I could add more but now it's boring! Doing b/w I process my own film then scan. Sorry to be a bore!