How long a telephoto lens does the average photographer need? In order to answer this kind of question, one obviously needs to know what an average photographer is. I suggest that there are no average photographers. There are a multitude of different kinds of photographers to include you and me. Each one of us is different and each one of us have different equipment needs. My own are simple, if expensive. I have used Canon still cameras for decades and see no reason to change. I am currently using the 5D, Mark IV. The lens that I currently use the most is a Sigma 24 - 70 mm, but I also own several other lenses to include a Canon 400 mm. For my purposes, the 400 mm is as long as I need, and I need it only for animal and bird photography. Given the high ISO that is currently available, I can hand hold the 400 mm in good daylight. Anything longer than 400 mm, I have to use a tripod and I find that to be a serious limitation because I do not do a lot of shooting from a fixed position and I enjoy capturing my subjects in motion.
My advice to anyone wanting to break into bird photography is to at least start out with the 400 mm and mount it on a decent camera body that gives you a strong image file to work with in Lightroom. Then learn how to best approach your subject. Stealth. Negative eye contact. Angle of approach. Speed of approach. Silence. Smoothness of movement. Knowledge of specie habits. Knowledge of terrain. Apparel. Etc, etc, etc… All worth as much or more than additional millimeters in your lens. If the birds that you are hunting live near you and you can visit them often you have the opportunity to learn their individual habits. That should eventually put you exactly where you need to be to get the picture that you seek. I have, for instance, the standard osprey carrying fish picture. I had watched that pair of birds for several weeks and knew exactly where their fishing grounds were and where their nest was. I knew that they were feeding young. So, each morning I went to the beach (Walk On) and waited for them to appear. Once I saw where they were fishing I moved to a point on high ground between them and their nest. They were excellent fishermen. I only had to wait a half hour or so before one of them was flying not very high over my head carrying a fish. I have the same picture done exactly the same way at the Mouth of the Rogue River in Oregon. My point being that knowledge of your subject is as important as hardware, if not more important.
Where you hunt birds is also important. Needless to say, you should be an expert on every single kind of bird in the immediate vicinity of your home, but the more birds there are the better your chances of a decent image for obvious reasons. We are fortunate here in California because there are a number of very important bird refuges located up and down the state and they are protected by some very knowledgeable people. Take a couple of days off. Drive to one of them and set up housekeeping in an inexpensive motel. Eat hamburgers. Meet the people that run the refuge. Pick their brains. Most of them enjoy telling you what they know and they know a lot. Spend your entire time - sunrise to sunset - driving endlessly around the refuge photographing what you see. Do not get out of the car. Birds are used to the car and fearful of the person separate from the vehicle. (The same is true in the game parks in Africa when you decide to go hunting lions and giraffes.) Learn how to shoot out of the open window on the passenger’s side as well as the driver’s side. Before you go home, figure out when the migrations effect the various refuges so that you can better plan your next visit. Here again, the people at the refuge can be extremely valuable.
One last suggestion. Join the local Christmas bird count (which frequently does not happen on Christmas). Get to know the birders in your community. They may be more interested in the birds for reasons other than photography, but they have the knowledge that you need about the species in your neighborhood and they are willing to share that knowledge with others that are interested in birds. If you are very lucky, the bird count, might actually provide a couple of very nice images. Certainly it will introduce you to some very interesting people.
P.S: The local count here is 1/12/19 Count day: Saturday January 12, 2018
(Note: SEVERE weather would move the count to Sunday, January 13) They are looking for volunteers to join in. Contact is Diane Hichwa. Email is dhichwa@earthlink.net.
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