Bird Photography Tutorial 3: Equipment

I am often asked what equipment is needed for bird photography. This is a difficult question to answer because it depends on so many factors:

For this tutorial, I'll start by describing the choices I made, the reasons for these and the lessons I learned, and then make some recommendations for anyone just starting out now. Since this has now become a long page, you can jump to the individual sections using the following links:

Firstly, though, I should say that although equipment is important, it's only one of many factors involved in producing good bird images, so don't get too hung up on this. (If you're anything like me, I'm sure you'll ignore this advice!)

My experience so far

Phase 1: Film photography

As part of my general interest in photography, I've had a variety of film cameras for over thirty years, from basic compacts up to SLR (Single Lens Reflex camera) outfits. Since my other main interest was in birds, I tried on numerous occasions to capture their beauty and variety on both print and slide film. I failed miserably and, due to the prohibitive cost of the film itself, plus the almost total absence of feedback (waiting a week to see the results), I just didn't make any progress on improving my abilities. Thankfully, film is now a thing of the past in bird photography.

Phase 2: Digiscoping

I finally managed to get hold of a decent compact digital camera (a Nikon Coolpix 4300) in 2003, mainly for taking family photos. I later heard about the technique of using cameras like this to take photos through spotting scopes, i.e. digiscoping, and got very excited at the opportunity to combine my interests in birds and photography once more.

I spent a few months fiddling with different settings and making minor improvements, but realized I'd need to invest quite a bit more to get any worthwhile results: better scope, better tripod and better camera (with adapter, cable release and other bits of kit).

At the same time, I was reading widely about bird photography and looking at the photos being posted to websites such as BirdGuides. This really got me hooked and I realized that I was getting more of a buzz looking at high-quality images of even common birds than distant shots of rarities. Given my limited budget, I knew I had to decide between upgrading my digiscoping kit and investing in the Digital SLR (DSLR) route.

The deciding factor for me was a day spent trying to photograph a Red-throated Diver in late 2004. On a small country park lake, this bird was surfacing anywhere from 20 to 200 feet away but, try as I might, every time I got my scope and camera set up on the bird, it submerged again. At that rate, I could have spent a week there without a single worthwhile image. I felt as though my equipment was working against me, not with me, and that taking the digiscoping route would have me battling against something that wasn't meant to be. That same evening, I ordered a DSLR with the longest lens I could afford.

Lesson: Understand the type of photos you want to take and then choose the technique accordingly. I know only one photographer who has mastered both Digiscoping and DSLR bird photography, so you should concentrate on just one of these techniques.

Phase 3: Digital SLR and cheap lens

At the time, the entry-level DSLR getting the best reviews was the Nikon D70. Having bought this (body only), my budget had virtually gone and I could only afford an £89 Nikon 70-300mm G zoom lens. It didn't matter: I was in heaven, blasting away at every bird I clapped eyes on, then transferring the images to my computer and learning how to get the most out of them with an early version of Photoshop.

Over the following few months, though, I came up against three problems. I'd expected the first two: the quality of the lens was poor and, at only 300mm, I was struggling to get big enough images of the birds, especially smaller and shyer birds. The third problem was more of a surprise: the light levels through the British winter drop so much that bird photography becomes very difficult. If you open your lens to the maximum aperture, you get the poorest quality; if you turn up your ISO sensitivity, you get too much digital noise; if you choose a longer shutter speed, you get blur due to 'camera shake' and subject movement. I felt as though I would have to hang up my camera for six months of every year.

Lesson: Getting hold of any DSLR gear will help you to find out whether bird photography pushes your buttons. If it doesn't, you can either use your DSLR for general photography or sell it without much of a loss. If it does, you will learn very rapidly what works and what doesn't, and will have a lot of fun in the process.

Phase 4: Digital SLR and mid-range lens

To overcome the three limiting factors, I'd identified a solution. If I could afford Nikon's (£1000+) 80-400mm VR lens, the Vibration Reduction technology would enable me to shoot at lower shutter speeds and the improved optical quality would let me shoot at wide aperture, so I wouldn't need to raise the ISO sensitivity. Also, the longer focal length of 400mm would increase the size of the birds in my images.

By the end of the year, I'd sold some stuff and agreed with my family that I could pool the year's Christmas, Birthday and Father's Day presents and splash out on the VR lens.

Once again, I was making progress and having fun. I finally felt as though I had some photos worth sharing. I started uploading images to BirdGuides and set up my own website. People even started buying photos from me, which came as a great surprise. At this point, I had everything I needed to build up a perfectly good collection of bird images.

Unfortunately, my obsessive nature being what it is, I started looking at what would be the ultimate gear for bird photography. I noticed that the leading photographers seemed to be using the Image Stabilized (IS) 500mm or 600mm lenses made by Canon. Not only did these have greater magnification, but their wide (f/4) apertures and superb optics meant they could use teleconverters to gain even more 'reach', whilst still making it possible to shoot hand-held.

I'd tried using a 1.4x teleconverter with my Nikon zoom lens, but the loss of image quality and autofocus speed/accuracy was just too great.

At this point, I realized that Nikon didn't have a longer lens with VR/IS technology, even though their 500mm and 600mm lenses cost more than the Canon equivalents. At the time, I couldn't afford any of these lenses anyway but, a year or so later, I had an unexpected bonus that meant I could finally order one of the ultimate bird photography lenses.

My research suggested that a 500mm lens would be on the limit of what I could hand-hold, so my preference was to go for one of these, rather than the 600mm. Since there was no prospect of Nikon launching a VR version of their 500mm lens (I asked them), I bit the bullet and switched to Canon. In April 2006, I bought a 30D body and 500mm lens, plus 1.4x and 2x extenders, costing a total of £5500.

Lessons: If it's something you really want to do, it's surprising how you can find ways to make it happen. If you really get hooked, you could end up being prepared to spend vastly more than you planned, so don't ignore your upgrade path. Contrary to what camera magazines would have you believe, you should select your equipment based on the entire system, especially the lenses, not the camera bodies. In fact, camera bodies change every year, whereas the key lenses change only every decade or so.

Equipment I've used for bird photography: Nikon D70 with 80-400mm zoom lens (bottom), which I upgraded to the Canon 30D with 500mm f/4 IS lens with 1.4x converter (top). I've since upgraded my camera body first to a Canon 40D then to a Canon 5D Mk II.

Phase 5: Digital SLR and 'Pro' lens

Having spent such a huge amount of money on my gear, I then spent a month losing sleep wondering what I'd been thinking of. I also became aware of some of the difficulties involved in using this gear:

Gradually, though, I realized that the results I'd been getting were greatly improved and that many of the birds I was photographing would have been beyond the range of my previous gear. Importantly, I found that the extra reach meant that I could photograph birds from outside their 'circle of fear'. Previously, a typical situation would be that I'd see a bird and start moving closer to it, but not so close that it would be disturbed by my presence. In most cases, this would be too far away to get a decent-sized image of the bird. With the new gear, though, I was able to take shots of the bird happily preening, feeding and generally behaving naturally, which makes for much better photographs.

I found that I could use the 1.4x teleconverter to turn my 500mm lens into a 700mm lens, whilst retaining good image quality and autofocus/IS operation. With the 2x converter, though, I lost autofocus operation, so have never used it. [Note that, since the beginning of 2009, I have been trying not to use teleconverters at all to make sure I'm getting the best possible image quality out of my lenses.]

Incidentally, I also found I needed a backpack to carry around my gear. The only one I could find that would take my camera body plus lens and converter was the Lowepro Lens Trekker 600AW. Although I do have to remove the lens hood to fit this in, it works very well and even makes it possible for me to go out on my mountain bike with it on my back, giving me even greater mobility. The Mark II version of this backpack currently available is taller, and so can fit the lens without removing the hood.

One of the key steps forward I took at the point when I bought my Canon gear was to start shooting in RAW format and using the bundled Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software to convert images to TIFF format before final processing in Photoshop. This gives a major boost to control and flexibility during processing. I also started to use the NeatImage tool to reduce the amount of digital noise in my processed images. One of the things I didn't anticipate was the amount of time I'd spend on learning how to use image processing tools effectively.

Lessons: You don't need a pro supertelephoto lens to photograph birds but, if you can afford one, these do have major advantages that outweigh their drawbacks. You can have a lot of fun using the cheapest of DSLR gear and can take high-quality photos with mid-range gear. In the end, though, having even the best equipment will not make you a good bird photographer any more than having a good set of paintbrushes would make you a good artist!

Phase 6: Diminishing returns

In truth, I haven't felt any great need to buy more equipment since my big blowout in early 2006. I've bought several significant equipment items since then, but these were in no way essential and haven't really made much difference to my bird photography.

In February 2008, I upgraded my camera body from a Canon 30D to a 40D to get improvements in a number of areas (higher resolution sensor, better high-ISO noise performance, improved autofocus accuracy and a bigger LCD screen), even though I knew each of these would be only slight improvements. I toyed with the idea of buying a Canon 1D Mk III body, which would give even better noise and autofocus performance, plus better handling of tonal detail, but I felt it was too expensive for a 10-megapixel body, so I decided to wait a while before upgrading.

In June 2008, I bought a Canon 300mm f/4 IS lens to use alongside my 500mm, for two reasons: firstly, its greater portability would mean I could take it with me more of the time and use it more easily from hides; second, with a minimum focal distance of 1.5m, it would be better for close-up work. It could also deliver pretty good results with a 1.4x teleconverter attached. In practice, I've had very little use out of this lens. There's nothing wrong with the lens at all and, in many situations, it would deliver images that few people would know weren't taken with my 500mm lens. However, I always want to know that I'm getting the best possible results in any given situation, so tend to use the 500mm wherever possible.

In July 2009, I bought a Gitzo 3541LS Systematic Studex tripod and Wimberley Mk II gimbal head. I still prefer the mobility of purely hand-held shooting, but there are situations where it's better to have solid, maneuverable support for your gear, especially where it would be beneficial to keep your camera pointed at a bird for longer than your muscles will allow (e.g. waiting for a bird to take flight). In fact, I've barely used the tripod since I bought it, so I'm still not convinced about its value. The jury's still out on this one!

In September 2010, I upgraded my camera body from a Canon 40D to a 5D Mk II. I chose this body because my primary interest is image quality. Had I been primarily interested in reach or speed, I'd have chosen the 7D or 1D Mk IV, respectively. I've found the 5D Mk II to be very similar to the 40D, which has made the transition easy and which has re-confirmed how good the 40D was. However, my biggest issues with the 40D have all been improved upon, namely autofocus and high-ISO noise performance, plus handling of tones and colours. Also, the full-frame sensor gives benefits both when shooting in the field and when cropping on the computer. Apart from the expected shortcomings for flight shooting compared with the 7D/1D Mk IV, I've been very happy with the 5D Mk II. Once again, though, this body upgrade has confirmed to me that lens quality is more important than body quality in determining your final results.

In May 2011, I bought a used Canon 300mm f/2.8 IS lens to use alongside my 500mm, especially for use during Birds in Flight (BIF) shooting. I used both lenses during my trip to the Farne Islands in Northumberland and both lenses proved their worth. I still prefer the bokeh and overall look of the images taken with the 500mm, but the reduced weight/bulk of the 300mm was appreciated for BIF work, especially from a rocking boat! In the end, although the advantages aren't as obvious as I'd hoped, some of the best flight shots of my trip were taken with the 300mm lens, so I'm looking forward to further trials.

Lesson: As with most product purchases in life, there are advantages to spending more than the minimum, but there comes a point at which further spending doesn't really gain you very much. Personally, I'm quite relieved about this!

Phase 7: The future

Having been fortunate enough to acquire such a collection of top-quality camera gear, it's been wonderful to be able to concentrate on my photography itself, rather than equipment. I've mentioned that the AF capability of my 5D Mk II body lies somewhere between my 40D and the 1D series bodies (or the 7D), so it would be tempting to try out a body with improved AF (and burst rate) at some point. I'm not in any rush though.

Lesson: No matter how much equipment you get, there will always be other goodies to tempt you so, at some point, you just need to switch your attention from your equipment to your images. Once you do so, your photography will really take off!

Recommendations for new bird photographers - November 2011

Based on my personal experience and keeping in touch with equipment reviews, my recommendations for people just starting out are as follows. I've specified the time of writing here because products - especially camera bodies - are replaced frequently, and prices change every month.

If you're interested in monthly blog-style news updates on bird photography equipment, you can jump to my Latest News section at the bottom of this page.

Ideal starter kit

Until you know that bird photography is something you'll take to, start with some reasonably priced gear that you can upgrade or sell later.

Although Nikon now has VR (Vibration Reduction) versions of its long lenses and some highly capable camera bodies, I still believe the Canon system provides the best upgrade path for bird photographers, and is the system used by the great majority of serious bird photographers.

Canon's best value entry-level DSLR at the moment is the 550D, which you can buy new for around £490 body only. If you can afford more than that, you are better putting the extra money into your lens, rather than a higher-spec body such as the 60D. Similarly, buy the camera in body-only form, rather than as a kit, so you can put the extra money into a better lens, and don't be tempted by any other gear at this stage.

If the camera body has used up most of your starter kit budget, you'll find there are a range of zoom lenses that go up to 300mm focal length from around £100. Have a look at the ones from Canon, Sigma and Tamron: they're not great lenses, but they'll give you a good taste of what's involved. Avoid anything with less than a 300mm maximum focal length.

If your budget allows, the cheapest really sharp lens is the Canon 400mm f/5.6 at around £1100. There are several zoom lenses that go up to 400mm or 500mm at just below this price point, but these would be inferior optically. If you can't resist buying one of these lenses, I would suggest you opt for the £750 Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 OS lens, mainly because I've seen a fair number of decent images taken with this lens and at least it's significantly cheaper than the Canon 400mm f/5.6. Definitely avoid the £1100 Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 lens, which costs around the same as the Canon 400mm f/5.6 and yet is heavier and bulkier, with greatly inferior optics.

Many people can't resist going for the £1200 Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS zoom, rather than the 400mm f/5.6, because of the perceived flexibility of the variable focal length and the attraction of image stabilisation. However, in practice, you'd use this lens at the 400mm setting virtually all the time and the IS facility is only a benefit in certain types of low-light shooting. The greatly superior optics and focusing speed of the 400mm f/5.6 would definitely give you a better collection of bird images in practice.

Finally, it's a similar story with the £1100 Canon 300mm f/4 IS lens. This is a fairly sharp lens which can be converted to a 420mm f/5.6 by the addition of a 1.4x converter, whilst retaining image stabilisation and autofocus functions. With the converter, however, it will not be anywhere near as sharp as the 400mm f/5.6 lens and, without it, the 300mm focal length will leave you struggling for reach on any birds you can't approach very closely.

Make no mistake, if you're spending around £1200 on a bird photography lens and you don't buy the Canon 400mm f/5.6, you will regret it!

Budget starter kit

The prices listed above are from reputable UK-based mail order companies (I mainly use Mifsuds and Warehouse Express). Prices in high-street camera shops would normally be higher, although some will do price matching.

If these prices are too high for your budget, it is possible to buy similar equipment, either new or used, at considerably lower prices, e.g. on eBay. A used DSLR plus 300mm zoom lens can be purchased for as little as £150. See below for my guide to buying used DSLRs.

Don't be swayed into thinking that a compact or 'bridge' digital camera with a high zoom ratio and megapixel count will give you comparable results to a DSLR. These cameras have tiny sensors (typically less than a tenth the size of DSLR sensors!) that generate images with high digital noise and little latitude for effective post-processing. They also have poor autofocus and handling for bird photography. I'm not convinced that even the best non-DSLR camera can compete with the cheapest used DSLR gear, so don't waste your money.

If used DSLR gear is still above your budget (i.e. if your budget is below £150), the best thing I could recommend would be to pick up a cheap digital compact for anything from £50 upwards (£5 on eBay) and just have a go at photographing birds that you can get close to, such as wildfowl at your local lake or captive birds. As long as you accept that the results won't be great, this can still be fun and will certainly make you appreciate it if you later manage to upgrade to a DSLR outfit. If you have a spotting scope, you can, of course, use any digital compact (or even a camera phone) to have a go at digiscoping.

Upgraded kit

If you've practiced with equipment like the ideal starter kit above and are now looking for an upgrade, you'll soon realize that there is a big gulf in the available lenses of at least 400mm focal length, stretching from the £1000 level right up to £4000 or more. This gulf is incredibly frustrating for many bird photographers, who are forced to stick with their £1000 lenses until or unless they can afford to spend a huge amount of money on a Pro lens.

Worse still, Canon have recently announced new versions of their most popular bird photography lenses, but have been unable to get these into production before stocks of the outgoing versions ran out. The new versions can be pre-ordered and delivery of some models may commence imminently, but the current prices are greatly inflated. On the plus side, though, the new models incorporate a number of enhancements, including improved IS, AF and sharpness, plus reduced weight. The improvements have not yet been confirmed in practice but, on paper, the new products represent the biggest advancement in bird photography optics in over a decade.

In the past, I've always recommended the Canon 500mm f/4 as the ultimate bird photography lens, because of its combination of reach and portability. The new 600mm, though, has roughly the same weight as the old 500mm, so the choice between these two lenses will depend on the type of shooting you do and what other lenses you have. For example, if you already have a 300mm lens, the 600mm may be preferable, whereas if you already have an 800mm lens, I would go for the 500mm. Obviously, not many people will be in such an enviable position!

If you're lucky enough to be able to buy any of the Canon Pro lenses, a 1.4x extender (teleconverter) is a useful addition. The f/2.8 models can also take the 2x extender without loss of autofocus, although with significant loss of image quality. If you have a high-spec. camera body, you may be able to get autofocus with the 2x extender on f/4 lenses, although this may be limited (e.g. to the centre AF point only and with reduced focusing speed). The Series III 1.4x and 2x extenders cost around £400.

In terms of camera bodies, the £780 Canon 60D gives some advantages over the entry-level models, especially in the areas of autofocus capability and continuous shooting speed. The specification of the 60D caused widespread disappointment at launch, especially given its over-inflated launch price. However, the price of the 60D has now dropped to a level at which it could just about be considered as sensible. It's still not good value for money, though.

If you can afford it, the next model up, the £1100 Canon 7D, is significantly better than the 60D in almost all respects. If you can't afford a 7D, I would seriously consider a used 1D MkIIn, 50D or 40D rather than the 60D.

Although the 7D has good build quality, handling and shooting speed, it has been widely criticised for its high levels of digital noise, requiring the use of low ISO sensitivity settings and noise reduction software to achieve good image quality. It also requires careful setup to get good autofocus performance but, once understood and fine-tuned, is very competent in this and most other respects, making it a very good all-round camera for bird photography.

Most bird photographers ignore the bodies with full-frame sensors (currently the £1500 5D Mk II and £5500 1Ds Mk III) because they don't have the 'apparent' magnification increase resulting from bodies with smaller sensors and are also relatively expensive. These cameras tend to be aimed at landscape or studio/commercial photographers and so don't have the fast shooting speeds associated with action photography (e.g. sports or wildlife). For situations where reach and speed are less critical, full-frame DSLRs will definitely deliver higher image quality, but few bird photographers are prepared to live with these limitations. That said, those who persevere can benefit from the advantages of full-frame sensors, including easier subject acquisition, improved cropping options and, for frame-filling subjects, ultimate image quality. If you do decide to go for a full-frame body, the 5D Mk II is much better value than the outgoing 1Ds Mk III.

Just an aside on the 'apparent' magnification of crop sensors. Actually, the theoretical resolution or 'reach' of a camera fitted with a given focal length lens has nothing to do with its sensor crop factor: it is determined by the spacing of the sensor's photosites (often referred to as its 'pixel pitch'). In practice, this is normally reduced by limiting factors such as lens sharpness and digital noise.

That brings us to the '1D' series of camera bodies, which are very much aimed at action photography professionals. An earlier model from this series - the 1D Mk IIN - established itself as the ideal camera for bird photography, especially flight photography, due to its superb autofocus capability and shooting speed. An intermediate-size sensor with a 1.3x 'crop factor' provided a good compromise between effective magnification and image quality. Its replacement, the 1D Mk III, was an improvement in most respects, but was plagued by autofocus problems. Good condition used 1D Mk IIN and 1D Mk III bodies are still an excellent alternative to (similarly-priced) new 60D and 7D bodies. It's true to say that the 8-megapixel 1D MkIIn and 10-megapixel 1D MkIII lose some resolution compared to the 18-megapixel 60D and 7D, but nowhere near as much as the megapixel counts would suggest, so don't let this put you off.

The 16-megapixel Canon 1D Mk IV was launched in December 2009 with a launch price of £4500, and has now dropped to a more reasonable price of around £3500. After its predecessor's autofocus problems, the 1D Mk IV's AF system was completely redesigned. This has been generally successful but, like the 7D, a good understanding of how to set up the AF is needed and, even then, some situations will still cause unpredictable results. The main advantages of the new model are its improved resolution and high-ISO image quality (still retaining the high shooting speed of its predecessor), a combination that enables it to capture images in situations that would defeat other cameras.

So, the best all-round camera body for bird photography at present is the Canon 1D Mk IV, although the difference between this and the 5D Mk II or 7D may not justify paying two or three times the price.

Use of flash

Another question I'm sometimes asked is whether flash can be used to overcome the problems of low light in bird photography. In general, I believe the answer to this is 'no'. Flash units, especially with a beam focuser, can be used to provide a 'lift' to poorly lit shots, but only at a lower intensity than the ambient light, otherwise the images have an ugly, unnatural look. It is possible, under controlled conditions, to simulate daylight through complex, multi-flash setups, but this is not something to tackle until you are able to take good photos under natural lighting conditions.

Equipment for image processing

You don't need special computer equipment to process bird images. I've only just replaced my six-year-old PC and even older 19" CRT monitor, which were used to process almost all of my published images. Current budget desktop packages, which you can buy for around £300, are perfectly adequate for the job, as are any current models from the Apple Mac range.

I strongly recommend that you get a broadband Internet connection so that you can make the most of the Internet as a learning resource and publishing mechanism.

I also recommend that you take regular backups of your work, for which I use a combination of DVDs and Seagate external hard drives (I've now moved away from Western Digital drives due to reliability and support problems). For under £100, you can now buy a 1-Terabyte hard drive that just plugs into your PC's USB socket. This would probably hold all your images for the foreseeable future. I back up my images to at least two external hard drives in case one fails.

I've found the most valuable PC component is a decent monitor with a good range of adjustments. To get accurate colours, I use a £140 Monaco monitor calibrator, but this does need you to be able to change the monitor's colour and other settings. I now use a LaCie 324 monitor, which I rate very highly.

For image editing, I use a graphics tablet. This is not essential but, if you're doing a lot of selective editing in Photoshop, the £290 Wacom Intuos4 A5 tablet is excellent.

Software

Eventually, you'll want to use the latest version of Adobe Photoshop for image editing. This costs a few hundred pounds but, fortunately, a cut-down version - Photoshop Elements - is available for £60 or less to get you started. Importantly, this works the same way as the full version, so upgrading is a relatively easy process.

To start with, I recommend you use as few software tools as possible. Each one of these takes a lot of time to learn, so you need to keep things as simple as possible.

I strongly recommend that you shoot in RAW format, in which case you will need to convert your images to TIFF or JPEG format before processing them in Photoshop. For this conversion, I use the Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software that comes free with Canon DSLRs, but you can alternatively do this in Photoshop itself, or in other independent RAW conversion tools.

For noise reduction, I use the NeatImage Pro+ tool (which integrates with Photoshop and costs around £50) but, again, you can alternatively do this in Photoshop itself. Once you've familiarized yourself with your image-editing software, you'll develop a 'workflow' for processing your images: cropping, resizing, adjusting brightness, sharpening, etc. This can be very basic to start with, but can be optimised later to give better results and faster operation.

I recommend getting as much help as you can to learn about image processing. I learnt this the hard way, but could have saved a huge amount of time by getting someone to teach me. Contact me if you're interested in getting some help with image processing.

Printing

If you want to print your images, you can get fantastic results from some of the current A4 or A3 inkjet printers from the likes of Canon and Epson (I now use a Canon printer because I've had print head clogging problems with Epson models). Avoid the cheapest printer models, because these are false economy in the long run: go for a photo-optimised printer with at least eight inks for best results.

Make sure you use the manufacturers' own inks and the best possible photo paper and, after a bit of experimentation, you will be getting great prints that will last for decades.

Buying used DSLR cameras - October 2011

I don't currently plan to update this information every month but, on an occasional basis, I'll review the latest prices of used DSLRs and offer recommendations based on these.

DSLRs have now been around for so long that it's possible to pick up early models for very little money, e.g. on eBay. Although this may sound risky, it now seems to be accepted practice that, if you buy something on eBay that isn't what you want, you can just sell it on without losing money. In most cases, though, if you use the various eBay facilities (e.g. feedback ratings) to check out the seller and the items for sale, you shouldn't have problems.

So, what I've done is to look at eBay's UK listings of the various Canon DSLR bodies to assess their 'going rate'. I've looked at recent completed listings to see what items actually sold for, not what people are asking for or current bid prices. I've ignored cameras with lenses and other accessories, so that I can assess body-only prices. I've also ignored new and refurbished items and overseas sellers, so I can assess typical prices for used equipment.

	Camera Body	eBay Used Price

	Canon 300D	£80
	Canon 350D	£90
	Canon 20D	£130
	Canon 400D	£160
	Canon 30D	£200
	Canon 450D	£210
	Canon 500D	£290
	Canon 40D	£300
	Canon 550D	£390
	Canon 600D	£420
	Canon 50D	£440
	Canon 5D	£500
	Canon 1D MkIIN	£550
	Canon 60D	£560
	Canon 7D	£800
	Canon 5D MkII	£1100
	Canon 1D MkIII	£1200
	Canon 1D MkIV	£2600

As you can see, I've listed the various camera bodies in order of increasing price, and have highlighted some of them in yellow. These are my recommendations at the various price points.

In general, the quality of cameras will be determined by the model ranges, i.e. 1D > xD > xxD > xxxD > xxxxD. For example, 1D MkIV would be better than a 7D, which would be better than a 50D, which would be better than a 550D. However, since these product ranges are continually improving, the picture becomes more complicated. The cameras I've recommended, though, are all good value for money.

News Updates

February 2012 News

Further reductions on Sigma zoom lenses (8% off the 50-500mm and 3% off the 150-500mm) take the prices of these lenses back to where they were a year ago. Sigma's price hike last May obviously didn't wash with the market.

Some Canon items have seen unwelcome 3%-5% rises, namely the 550D, 60D and 5D MkII bodies, the 300mm f/4 and 100-400mm lenses and the 1.4x and 2x extenders.

This is the 12th of my monthly Equipment News updates, so I thought it would be good to look at what's happened over the last year. In that time, small amounts of stocks of the Series II 300mm and 400mm f/2.8 lenses have trickled into the UK and the prices of these lenses have dropped by 20% and 10%, respectively. The accompanying Series III extenders have dropped by 17%. The two new budget DSLRs, the 1100D and 600D have become available and their inflated launch prices have dropped by 26% and 21%, whilst the older 550D has dropped by 7%. At the top end, the outgoing 1Ds Mk III has gone up 8%. On the lens front, there are still no delivery dates for the Series II 500mm and 600mm superteles, despite stocks of the Series I models being long gone. The Sigma 500mm and 800mm lenses rose in price by 11%, perhaps capitalising on Canon's lack of ability to stock competing products. On the horizon, we have a new pro body to look forward to - the 1D X - but this doesn't seem to offer much more bang for its many more bucks, and we still haven't seen much more of the Canon 200-400mm with built-in extender. All other equipment prices are the same to within 5%.

Perhaps the most striking thing, then, is that very little has changed in 12 months! In some ways this is disappointing, but in other ways reassuring. Despite a lot of marketing and rumour-mill noise, new products come along only rarely and, when they do, the improvements are only marginal. This suits the market leaders, especially since people will pay inflated pre-order and post-launch prices for all new products, so it will never change. The encouraging thing is that any investment in equipment, especially in lenses, will give lasting value and won't suddenly be invalidated by an unexpected new product. It also means that bird photographers can gradually build up to high-quality gear, getting decent resale prices for their existing equipment and, most importantly, concentrate on bird photography itself after each upgrade. Obsession with equipment is probably the biggest factor that holds back the quality of photographers' results. Give a pro a Canon 400mm f/5.6 and a cheap used camera body and they'll show you results that are 90% the same as the most expensive gear in the world. It's all about the image!!!

January 2012 News

Following last month's price reductions on Canon equipment, there have been further 4% reductions on the 7D and 5D Mk II bodies and the 300mm f/4 lens (although the 100-400mm zoom has gone up 9% after last month's 11% drop).

Also, for the first time in many months, there have been a couple of reductions in Sigma lens prices, with the 50-500mm and 150-500mm zooms dropping by 6% and 9%, respectively. I still wouldn't touch the first of these, but the second is now an even better stepping stone on the way to a sharp prime lens such as the £1100 Canon 400mm f/5.6.

There are rumours of new image-stabilised versions of Sigma's 300mm and 500mm lenses in 2012, as well as the much anticipated 7D Mk II and 5D Mk III. If you're interested in following rumours such as these, the best source is CanonRumors.com, which provides daily updates on all upcoming gear relevant to Canon shooters. The main thing to be aware of if you use this site is that all rumours are given a credibility rating from CR0 (pure speculation) to CR3 (fact). All articles rated lower than CR2 can be safely ignored.

December 2011 News

Canon equipment costing up to around £1200 has seen some welcome pre-Christmas reductions, including 3% off the 600D, 60D and 7D, 4% off the 550D and 6% off the 1100D. As well as these reductions on camera bodies, there has been an 11% reduction in the price of the 100-400mm zoom lens (not that I'd recommend that lens though) and a 3% drop in the price of the Series III 1.4x and 2x extenders. On top of all this, Canon is offering a limited time cashback refund of £40 on the 550D and £50 on the 600D. Unfortunately, there are no reductions on more expensive gear, but all reductions are good for consumers.

Equipment availability is almost exactly the same as last month, with a trickle of stock on the new Series II 300mm and 400mm f/2.8 lenses and no sign of the new Series II 500mm and 600mm f/4 lenses. In fact, the original target shipping dates for these last two lenses were for this month, but Canon have now said this will not happen until well into 2012, and have refused to give alternative dates. This is not a good time for people looking to upgrade to supertelephoto lenses!

November 2011 News

The big news is Canon's announcement of the long-rumoured replacement for the existing 1D Mk IV and 1Ds Mk III camera bodies (see full details here). The new Canon 1D X professional body (pre-order price £5300) is due to be available from next March (think May or June for the first UK stocks). The 1D X is a full-frame camera, and apparently marks the end of the 1.3x crop factor APS-H sensor format. It has major enhancements to its AF system (though still unproven) and Canon's fastest-ever shooting rate (12fps), BUT it produces only 18-megapixel images! Although this will keep high-ISO noise very low and allow for improved dynamic range (both very important), it simply will not have the resolution/reach desired by most bird photographers.

Just when we thought high pixel densities might allow us to carry 300mm lenses instead of the 'big guns', this represents a backward step. In a further cruel twist, even if you're looking to regain reach by attaching the new Series III extenders to a Series II supertele lens, Canon has disabled AF function below F/5.6! One of the big advantages of the 1D series professional cameras over the 'prosumer' models was always the ability to AF at f/8, enabling a 2x extender to be fitted to the 500mm or 600mm f/4 lenses (and a 1.4x extender to be fitted to the 800mm f/5.6). This move takes away that advantage at a stroke.

Whilst the 1D X will be the perfect body for some photographers (e.g. sports shooters), it still represents a frustrating departure for bird photographers. It's like building a supercar and then fitting a 1-litre engine to make sure it never misbehaves.

October 2011 News

There have been further significant reductions in Canon camera body prices this month, with the 1100D down 8%, 550D down 6%, 600D down 8%, 60D down 3%, 5D MkII down 9% and 1D MkIV down 5%. Lens prices have been static apart from the pre-order price of the new 500mm f/4, which has dropped by 5%. The new series III 1.4x and 2x teleconverters have also dropped by 7%.

Overall, a very welcome set of reductions making this a good time for a camera upgrade.

The other big news is that, a full year after they were announced, the new Series II Canon 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/2.8 lenses are now shipping! Only a few more months to wait for the even more interesting 500mm and 600mm models...

September 2011 News

The last month has seen no new relevant equipment announcements and no change to the availability of the new Canon supertelephoto lenses. After last month's price increases by Canon and Sigma, some of the items affected have had their prices reduced again, namely the Canon 1100D, 5D MkII and 7D bodies (down 5%, 3% and 4%, respectively) and the Canon 100-400mm zoom (down 3%). The large price rises by Sigma are still in place.

August 2011 News

The last month has seen no new relevant equipment announcements and no change to the availability of the new Canon supertelephoto lenses. Also, there have been price increases of 2%-5% on all Canon camera bodies, plus the 100-400mm and 400mm f/4 lenses. Worse still, the prices of the Sigma 500mm f/4.5 and 800mm f/5.6 lenses have gone up by 7% and 11% respectively, taking them even further into the 'poor value for money' category.

July 2011 News

The last month has been very quiet, with no new relevant equipment announcements and static prices on most camera bodies and lenses.

The retailers I use for benchmarking - Warehouse Express and Mifsuds - have the same prices as last month to within 1%, except for the following: 1100D and 600D bodies down 2% and 4% respectively; 1D Mk IV body up 3%; 300mm f/4 lens up 2% and the Series III 1.4x and 2x teleconverters down 2%. Significantly, these retailers are no longer listing the Series I 300mm f/2.8 or 500mm f/4 lenses, or the Series II 2x teleconverter, confirming that stocks of the superseded models are just about gone, even though their replacements may not be available for several months.

Incidentally, if you want to take a broader view of prices and availability, you may be interested in the Camera Price Buster website, which does an excellent job of aggregating information from major retailers. Of particular interest are the price history graphs, which can give you a good indication of when product prices have stabilised after their inflated launch prices. Looking at the history for the 7D, for example, shows that waiting only two months after launch would have saved you £500, whereas the benefits of waiting longer than two months would have been minimal, and prices are now actually climbing.

June 2011 News

Canon announced that, following production delays due to the Japanese earthquake, the new 300mm f/2.8 and 400mm f/2.8 lenses should start to become available from the end of August, with the new 500mm and 600mm available by the end of December. Obviously, a lot of these lenses will have been pre-ordered, so you'd be lucky to get hold of any of these lenses for some time after those dates. Anyone who is kicking themselves for not having pre-ordered can take consolation from the fact that, after a further 9% reduction this month, the pre-order price of the 400mm f/2.8 II has now fallen by £2500! I would expect it to fall by the same amount again over the coming months, so there's a heavy price to pay for getting in early.

As advised over the recent months, there's also a heavy price to pay for the as-yet-unproven improvements in the Series II superteles. Time is running out to pick up a bargain Series I lens before they've all been snapped up. I've now taken my own advice on this and picked up a used 300mm f/2.8 for only half the price of the new version.

Also on the supertele front, the price of the Sigma 500mm f/4.5 has dropped by 7% after last month's 12% rise, whilst the Sigma 800mm f/5.6 and Canon 800mm f/5.6 lenses have both gone up by 2%.

Unusually, prices on all other lenses and camera bodies were completely static (all within 1% of last month's prices).

May 2011 News

Stock levels and prices are the same as reported in April, with the following exceptions. As predicted last month, stocks of the outgoing Canon supertelephotos are dwindling and prices rising (the 300mm f/2.8 rose by a further 5% this month). The new 1100D and 600D bodies have fallen in price by 15% and 5% respectively this month, whilst the 60D has remained unchanged. This has slightly spread out the prices of the low-end models to something a little more sensible, especially since the older 1000D and 500D models are now disappearing. Prices of the high-end models - the 7D, 5D MkII and 1D MkIV - have all increased by 3% this month, presumably due to the increase in VAT rate.

On the lens front, there have been some significant price hikes in the Sigma lenses, with the 500mm, 50-500mm, and 150-500mm lenses going up by 12%, 10% and 6%, respectively. This makes Sigma lenses less competitive in comparison with Canon lenses, which have mostly held their prices this month.

The only other significant change this month is an 18% reduction in the pre-order price of the new 300mm f/2.8 Series II lens, which offers some hope that the prices of the new lenses will eventually drop to something less astronomical.

April 2011 News

Stock levels and prices are the same as reported in March, with the following exceptions. As predicted last month, stocks of the outgoing Canon 500mm f/4 are dwindling and prices rising (by 6% this month). The same trend has continued for the 300mm f/2.8, which has gone up another 3% this month. The new 1100D and 600D bodies are now in stock, with prices around the same as the pre-order prices. The 600D has actually dropped by 4% and the 60D has increased by 4% this month but, even so, there's only just over £100 price difference between these current models. Canon are crowding the market with new consumer DSLRs that add little to their predecessors, making used 'quality' DSLRs such as the 40D, 50D or 1D Mk IIN more and more attractive. Partly to blame is the current obsession with DSLR video features, which are used to justify price hikes without giving any benefit whatsoever to stills photographers.

Although not yet proven in the field, I still think the raft of next-generation Canon supertelephotos due out over the coming months, together with the Series III extenders, are going to be real game-changers (for those who can afford them). To me, the most exciting options are the new 300mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 which - with and without their matched extenders - will provide an unprecedented set of shooting capabilities.

On the flip side, many people are getting excited about another new Canon lens that I didn't even bother to mention last month, the Canon 200-400mm f4 zoom with built-in 1.4x extender. Ignoring the 'built-in extender' gimmick, this is just a copy of the equivalent Nikon lens that's been around for nearly a decade. The latter is good for 'big stuff' such as mammals/people, but has never been able to compete with the similarly-priced prime superteles as a bird photography lens. Why have a 560mm f/5.6 lens that suffers the twin image quality degradation of zoom design and extender use when you can have a perfectly optimised 500mm f/4?

The only other significant price change this month has been a increase in the cost of the Sigma 150-500mm lens to £800. Although only a 4% rise, this takes the price of this 'so-so' lens even closer to that of the ultra-sharp Canon 400mm f/5.6. I know which I'd go for, and I've noticed a lot of people are finally noticing this overlooked Canon lens.

March 2011 News

Still no stocks of the new Canon 300mm or 400mm f/2.8 Series II lenses, and the high pre-order prices have remained static this month.

The Series III Canon 1.4x and 2x extenders have finally become available to buy, although stocks are limited. The price of these extenders has dropped a further 4% to £480, but they are still 80% more expensive than the Series II models, so I would expect further price reductions once stocks become widely available. Early testing of these extenders suggests that, on existing Canon lenses, they give very little improvement in image quality or AF performance, especially on the 1.4x extender. Most of the benefits of the Series III extenders are expected to come from their use with the new Series II telephotos, so we'll have to wait for the verdict on those.

The big news this month has been the announcement of specifications for the new Series II Canon 500mm and 600mm f/4 lenses, plus the first pre-order prices. Taking the 500mm lens first, this is the same size as the existing lens, but with an 18% reduction in weight. In practice, this will make very little difference, especially since the 18% saving becomes only a 13% saving by the time you've attached a 1D Mk IV body. It remains to be seen whether there are any worthwhile improvements in image quality or AF performance. Pre-order price is £9000, which is 70% more than the existing model.

The 600mm is also the same size as the existing lens, but with a 27% weight reduction, taking it down to the same weight as the existing 500mm lens. This is very significant, because the majority of serious bird photographers regard the current 500mm and 600mm lenses as being either side of the weight limit for sustained hand-held shooting. This weight reduction therefore makes the new 600mm hand-holdable for the first time. It is also 13% lighter than the Canon 800mm f5.6 and, with a 1.4x extender, you get an 840mm f/5.6 lens that's still lighter than the 800mm f/5.6. The downside is the enormous pre-order price of £11,300!

Both the 500mm and 600mm lenses gain a new 4-stop image stabilisation system and get an 18% reduction in minimum focus distance. They will certainly be superb bird photography lenses, but they won't be available until summer and their prices are likely to remain inflated for at least a year after that. With diminishing stocks of the outgoing Series I lenses, I would currently recommend you grab an existing 500mm f/4 while you can, then trade up in a couple of years' time if you think you'll benefit from the improvements. Unless, of course, money's no object, in which case get your deposit down on a Series II 600mm to get one of the first off the production line in the summer.

Incidentally, following last month's 5% rise in the price of the Canon 300mm f/2.8, this month has seen the same rise in the price of the 400mm f/2.8. These lenses are both being replaced by Series II lenses imminently, each costing £3000 more than the outgoing model, so the price increases on the old versions reflect diminishing stocks. Again, grab an existing 300mm f/2.8 if you want a lens of this type without having to pay the earth.

On the camera body front, there have been no major changes this month. Pre-order prices of the newly-announced 1100D and 600D bodies have remained static at £420 and £680, respectively. Even with the post-launch drop of £100 expected in the first month or two, these represent poor value for money and an outgoing or used body is likely to be better value (see below for my new section on buying used DSLRs). Similarly, reductions of around 5% on the 550D and 60D bodies still don't make these good value for money.

Conclusions

You've probably realised by now that bird photography can be an expensive activity.

Whatever camera gear you can get your hands on, give it a go! You'll never know how much fun it can be until you try it.

If you're interested in getting some assistance with your bird photography, contact me. I'd be happy to give advice or to sign you up for one of my Bird Photography Workshops.

Mike Atkinson Bird Photography