Whatbird.com

I have a Canon Powershot SX200 IS that just isn't getting the job done anymore and I want to invest real money into a nice new Canon digital SLR. Does anyone know the best one out there and which lens should I get, as well? Thanks!

Well, the best one is the EOS 1Ds Mark III, which costs about $7000 (lens not included).  I'm guessing that's not really what you're after, though

I've got a friend with a 40D, which he really likes (it's been replaced by the 50D, I think).  There's also the brand new 7D that got some great reviews recently.  Those may be out of your price range, too, though.  I'm a Nikon person, so I don't know as much about the Canons.  I'm sure others will weigh in soon, but it would be helpful if you could give us more to go on.  Specifically, how much are you willing to spend?

As far as lenses, I think the 70-300mm USM IS is probably the best price/performance Canon lens for wildlife.  To get better than that, you'd have to spend a lot more money.

I am probably willing to spend about 3,000 for a camera. I keep seeing these wonderful pictures posted on the web and I'm gradually getting more and more jealous. Granted, I know the person behind the camera can be (or is) more important than the camera itself. Anyhow, Thanks for the reply. It was thorough and I will definitely look into the ones you have mentioned.

Wow.  For $3000, I'd definitely take a serious look at that 7D.  You also might want to look at the 100-400mm lens.  There's a member that posts absolutely gorgeous photos from time to time, and he uses that lens with a 40D.  Here's his last post

Check the prices on bhphotovideo.com and/or adorama.com before you buy, too.  They usually have the best deals.

Also, you're absolutely right that it's the person behind the camera that makes the biggest difference.   Don't expect your shots to magically get better until you've put some time into learning your new camera.  It sounds like you're probably upgrading for the right reasons, though.  You've been taking pictures with a P&S for a while now, and you're beginning to feel hampered by its limitations.  Just make sure you take the time to learn the camera and all its features, so you can use it to its full potential.

Good luck, and please share some of your photos with the new camera!

Thanks for the info. Those Warbler pics you send me the link to were mindblowing! I wanna get those kinds of skills. I take pics with my camera (can't ever get very close, btw) and, for the most part, I have no idea where the bird is in the picture or I got too close and it's a messy blur. One of the reasons I want to get a really nice camera is because if I do, I know I'll put everything I have into it. People tend to slack off if they have a subpar camera. So, hopefully soon I'll have what I am looking for.

I have the 40D, and a 20D, and for most things, the bodies are interchangeable as far as quality goes. When an image is downsized to typical web sizes (2000 pix on long side) both cameras are pretty equivalent.  I recently got the Canon 300 MM L lens and really like it. I had a Canon 70-200 L and it did not have quite enough reach.

 

Like another poster said, the 100-400 is wonderful.

 My advice? buy a used 40D and buy as much L series lens as your budget allows. Spend $ on glass, not extra un-needed features.

cfl_photog:

 My advice? buy a used 40D and buy as much L series lens as your budget allows. Spend $ on glass, not extra un-needed features.

There's certainly merit to that advice, no question.  However, I'd think the new 19 point AF system and 8 fps shutter on the 7D would come in awfully handy for birding, too.  I recently upgraded from a Nikon D100 (5 AF points, 3 fps) to a D300 (51 AF points, 6 fps).  The extra speed and AF capabilities made a huge difference to me.

Still, given the choice right now, I'd probably buy the 100-400mm lens first, and then see how much I had left for the body (with $3000, you'd be able to get a 50D, but you'd need an extra $400 or so for the 7D).  You'd also want to save enough for a decent wide-angle zoom, but I wouldn't spend as much on that, since it's not your primary purpose for getting a DSLR.

A word of caution. I bought a 40 D in Hawai'i after my 20 D messaged that I had "Error 99". Never did find out just exactly that was, so as I was there to document a workshop, I gambled on the 40 D. For the next workshop in Mendocino, I had a major problem with the CF card using the 40 D. I lost something like 400 images. Sent the CF to a recover shop, which sent it to Michigan, which sent it to London, and it came back after $1,200 without any results. My guess is that the 40 D corrupted the images within the camera, before I was able to download them. I could see the tiles, but not the images themselves. Had a similar experience somewhat later, using the same 40 D.

I now have a 50 D, but am very skeptical about the CF cards. Don't trust it and store too many images on those cards. If one goes bad, you cannot access the images after it. Have plenty of CF's on hand if you're going on a trip and switch them around.

Julie

Julie,

The "error 99" message has been well documented both here in the forums and on the web, and it seemingly is an error message having to do with communications between lens and camera (i.e. using an off-brand lens or converter with the canon body). I get them occasionally, turn the camera off, and turn it back on and usually have no more problems. I have never had a CF problem at all, and it worries me to think that is an issue. Is it possible it was just one bad CF? I have probably taken at least 8000 pics on my 4gb CF (over time with downloading and deleting) and no problems.

 I am now assuming that once I find the elusive nutty, dark-eyed, yellow-bellied bird butt that my CF card will be corrupt....

I did try to do a hard reboot the 20D, several times, still got that message, and I need to send it to Irvine's Canon facility. I want to do that with my 40D as well, but I needed something for this big show I was hired to photograph, therefore the 50d !

As for the CF cards, they were 2 different ones, one was brand-new. At first I thought it was my airplane travel that might have affected the CF's, after all, they are only electronics. (Sophisticated, but they can still go bad.) I wrap my CF's in anti-static foil, just in case. They are light-sensitive, so I thought it might have been the airport security scanners, but the last one never went on a trip, and therefore I was afraid it ws the 40D causing the problem....

Julie

Julie H:

I did try to do a hard reboot the 20D, several times, still got that message, and I need to send it to Irvine's Canon facility. I want to do that with my 40D as well, but I needed something for this big show I was hired to photograph, therefore the 50d !

As for the CF cards, they were 2 different ones, one was brand-new. At first I thought it was my airplane travel that might have affected the CF's, after all, they are only electronics. (Sophisticated, but they can still go bad.) I wrap my CF's in anti-static foil, just in case. They are light-sensitive, so I thought it might have been the airport security scanners, but the last one never went on a trip, and therefore I was afraid it ws the 40D causing the problem....

Julie

Julie H,

Question did you try attaching another lens to the camera body that was showing the 99 error.?  question 2 did you try using a pencil eraser and rubbing over the lens contacts both on the lens and inside the body, ? that is what canon will tell you. If that does not fix the problem check the number of shutter accuations it could very well be a bad shutter and that will need to be replaced but a word of caution here make sure the cost is not going to cost you more than the body is worth.

 

Some info for everyone here if you want to check the number of shutter accuations use IExif  a program that works with IE  or you can drag and drop your image onto the shortcut and it will open with the image data if you look at approx the 5th to bottom line on the page it will say total number of shutter releases for the camera  the number displayed will be the shutter accuations. you can down load the promgram for free from here

http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/index.html

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Julie H:

As for the CF cards, they were 2 different ones, one was brand-new. At first I thought it was my airplane travel that might have affected the CF's, after all, they are only electronics. (Sophisticated, but they can still go bad.) I wrap my CF's in anti-static foil, just in case. They are light-sensitive, so I thought it might have been the airport security scanners, but the last one never went on a trip, and therefore I was afraid it ws the 40D causing the problem....

I've had DSLRs using CF cards for over 5 years now (first a D100, then a D300), and I've never had a single problem with any of the CF cards (I've had eight of them).  I travel quite a bit, too, and I've learned never to leave my camera at home, so it always comes with me.  Even though many of the "consumer" and "enthusiast" DSLRs have switched to SD or other media, the pro-level DSLRs still use CF.  If there were an inherent flaw in the CF design that made them unreliable, I'm sure the pro cameras would have switched by now.  I could see possibly blaming one corrupt card on the card itself, but when you have two corrupt cards that were both used in the same camera, I'd say you have to point to the camera as the culprit (possibly dirty or damaged contacts in the card slot).

Also, I'm curious where you heard that CF cards are light sensitive? I can assure you that this is not true (at least not with any kind of light that a human can survive, airport x-rays included).  The foil protection is also unnecessary, in my opinion, but there's certainly no harm in using it if it gives you peace of mind 

Basically, the memories in CF cards are E2PROMS. They are sensitive to radiation. So some Xray technologies used by airport securities may be affecting them. It does not hurt to shield them from radiation. I am at this very moment designing pixelarrays for 3D cameras that are very sensitive, and I suddenly realize that I know very little about this technology. But I do know that it's OK to do whatever I can do to protect my equipment from whatever is out there, be it radiation or introduction of errant light sources, whatever. Of course, firmware bugs are a whole different issue...

Julie

Julie H:

Basically, the memories in CF cards are E2PROMS. They are sensitive to radiation. So some Xray technologies used by airport securities may be affecting them.

There was a press release issued in '04 after tests were done by TSA, SanDisk, and the I3A.  It can be found here

I did find another mention of the irradiation system used by the USPS ever since the Anthrax scares several years ago.  If your CF card meets one of those, say goodbye to it, and forget about any pictures it might have been holding.  There's another press release about that here

 

Julie H:

It does not hurt to shield them from radiation. I am at this very moment designing pixelarrays for 3D cameras that are very sensitive, and I suddenly realize that I know very little about this technology. But I do know that it's OK to do whatever I can do to protect my equipment from whatever is out there, be it radiation or introduction of errant light sources, whatever.

Of course.  As I said, if it gives you peace of mind, then by all means.  I'm mainly posting the links above in case anyone else is curious.

 

Of course, firmware bugs are a whole different issue...

Indeed