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What is a good lens for bird photography ?
I have a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Currently I have a 100mm lens I use for macro pics but what is good to use for birds ?

The 100mm macro is a great lens if you can get close enough to the bird. I took this one (Image: Summer Tanager) with the Canon 100mm macro. It was taken through a window, with the bird maybe 6 feet away.

But you need a longer lens to get closer to the bird, and they can be expensive. I shoot most of my birds with a 100-400mm zoom, but it wasn't cheap, it is heavy, and you still have to get fairly close. The really serious bird photographers use 600mm lenses which cost a mint.

Unless you want to spend much money, I'd suggest you stick with your 100mm lens and try to get closer to the birds, like putting a feeder at the window, or making a wildlife blind.

Ok. I also have a Kodak P712 with 12x zoom that doesn't take macro shots well at all but takes excellent pics otherwise. I'll try it also just because of it's zoom capabilities.

I really Like my Nikon 18-200mm (On my Nikon D70). It's really diverse. The bird shots I've added to this site so far were taken with that lens (except the pelican shot).

I think if you look on Ebay, the prices are starting to fall a bit...

greg

I took this pic

with my Kodak P712 from about 30 feet away. Not a bad pic. I do want to get a zoom lens for my Canon though, just because it's a DSLR and not a point-and-shoot like the Kodak.

I would like to get a spotting scope with a camera attachment but yes, they're expensive. I think for now I will try to work on getting a good lens, other than the 100mm macro I have, for my Digital Rebel.

What lens for bird photography? Depends on a couple things.

The main consideration is, how close will you be able to get to the bird(s)? The other day, I house sparrow was picking around on the ground by the side of the road. As I approached, he ignored me and I was able to get within about 6 ft. I had an 18-50 lens on my camera at the time, and was able to get a decent shot.

Ah, but that's the exception! Birds I really like to shoot -- eagles, egrets, herons, cranes, pelicans, owls, hawks and falcons, woodpeckers -- tend to be quite a bit further away. If I'm going out to shoot birds I take the longest lens I've got, which is a 75-300 zoom, and even then, I usually also add a 1.4x teleconverter. That gives me about 420mm, provided the light's good, and given my Pentax K10D's 1.5x crop fact, that 420mm = about 630mm on a 35mm film camera. And even that is often not nearly good enough. Look through some of the books on photographing birds and you'll see that the majority of the great shots were taken with 500mm lenses (or longer). Note that even when the subjects are fairly close -- like the birds on the feeder in my hard, which is about 25ft from where I'm sitting right now -- the 300mm lens is by no means wasted.

The problem with consumer-grade zooms like my Tamron 75-300 is that, at their longest focal length, they generally aren't very fast, that is, they don't have very wide apertures, so you have to shoot in good light. And if you're using a 1.4x teleconverter, you lose an extra stop. There are fast (f/2.8 or f/4) telephoto lenses available for many different makes of cameras, but they can be VERY expensive.

The other consideration is the bird's behavior. Little birds particularly tend to flit about. If you're shooting with a long lens, you'll lose them quickly and may have trouble finding them again. With practice, you can get better at this. But if you're shooting on a tripod, well, moving the camera around to keep a moving bird in your viewfinder can be challenging, to say the least.

Which brings me to the key point: The key elements for successful bird photography seem to be luck and patience, in that order; equipment in my view comes in third.

A fixed-lens superzoom like the Canon PowerShot S5 IS may in some cases be a better choice for bird photography than a digital SLR, at least for the hobbyist. Some of the compact superzooms have terrific lenses, powerful zooms with a lot of reach, and the Canon at least has add-ons that make the lens even more powerful. And you can buy all that stuff for about the price of a single lens for your DSLR.

A reasonably long lens is a must for bird photography or wildlife work for that matter. A 300mm lens will get you most of what you need as long as you are willing to study your subject and learn it's habits and activities.
Some birds are best shot from a blind or special spot where the bird can not see you or will not notice you due to your location. For instance in a stand of trees or bushes shooting out. Staying in the car can allow you to get much closer than on foot in certain instances as the birds will not light out due to the proximity of a vehicle but the second you get out they will be gone.I have many good shots taken from the inside of a truck or my Pathfinder.The skylight helps add light and gives another vantage point.It's always fun to find that "on the road" shot as you head to work or where ever.
KEH and many other stores offer used lenses and can be a good way to get a decent lens for less than new but still in good condition. I own a Tokina AT-X 80-400 I purchased from KEH that is a real gem and was well worth the cost.Even a fixed 400mm is a good deal including a manual focus lens(a good way to save considerable $$.I used an older Sigma 400mm that I purchased for less than 200 dollars that worked well until I got the 80-400.
Still the main thing I believe is knowing your subject.
Kenn

Just thought I'd add a bit to the topic. A rule of thumb for hand-held shooting is to have a shutter speed that relates to the lense focal length, eg. 400mm, speed 1/400, 800mm, speed 1/800, (faster if possible). As an "ancient" film user, the lowest film speed (ASA/ISO) gave the sharpest image, as you increase film ASA the film grain size would degrade the detail to unacceptable levels. Digital good news- increasing the ASA speed seems to be less detrimental to the overall image. Try raising the ASA and maybe lowering the exposure compensation to -1/3 or -2/3 to increase the shutter speed. Play with the possibilities, see what works for your equipment.