Se pictures taken today on a tripod :) 

  

 

100mm

400mm

50 % crop of the last one

Goldfincher said:

Hi all

I haven't really done much (read: any) wildlife photography but, as you might have guessed, have a big interest in birds. Well I picked up my old(ish) camera from my parents house at the weekend that I haven't used in a long time and went to Thurrock Thamside Nature reserve to see what kind of birds I could see and if I could get some decent pictures. The camera I have is a Canon EOS 1200D DSLR, the lens I am using is a standard EF-S 18-55mm f/3 4-5.6 III. 

Being a relative novice when it comes to using a camera the pictures I took, whilst framed ok, offered little in terms of sharpness of the main object. I am guessing that this is because of the a. the distance I was from the subjects (mainly tits, finches) and the lack of focal length with this lens. Does that sound right? 

I would really like to learn more about the camera I have and how to get the best from it, so I will be looking to do that. But I think I will probably need a new lens to assist with the quality of my photographs. Can anyone recommend some lenses that would work with this camera. I'm probably looking at around the £300 mark, second hand. Anything cheaper, great - how would the EFS 55-250mm f/4-5.6 is STM Lens stack up at around £100 second hand?

Lorri

Lorri,

As a former Canon 1200D user, I used Canon's own 75-300 lens for some considerable time, successfully. However, it did struggle in poor light conditions where very often the subject would have a purple/blue tinge around the edge. Apart from that, I was more than satisfied with the lens, and I still use it with my 750D.

I posed a similar question around December 2017 but I was looking to go bigger, and I had quite a few recommendations for the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary lens, which I bought, new.

Yes, it was a lot more £'s than a 75-300, but I'm very impressed with the results and the addition of an optical stabiliser makes one heck of a difference, especially as I'm disabled and struggle with balance when not using a tripod.

I appreciate costs can be and are a primary factor, so I did a quick search found a few used from respectable camera shops, but with Nikon fit, for around £460.

Jim kindly sent me a lens which I picked up from the post office today. Caught this little guy in the tree in our front garden. One of dozens that lives in there by day

Thanks again Jim

Thanks Alan, worked it out

Thanks (again) Alan, I've changed the size. Looks much better

Wow, that's a very nice capture Lorri, when you do upgrade to an IS version you will find out what you have been missing but carry on with this lens and learn the ropes first, welcome to the world of Photography :)

Thanks Jim :)

Looks like you're in business - we shall expect great things now :-)

Just wanted to thank you all for your assistance

In terms of the camera I have, do you think it is worth upgrading this as well?