Lens upgrade recommendations please?

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

  • I'd normally only suggest upgrading the body once you know what it is about the old one that's limiting you. If that makes sense! Spending more on a body will give you better autofocus - but has your's been a frustration so far? It's likely you may find it a bit slow and inflexible if you end up doing a lot of in-flight action shots, but for a bird on a branch? More than adequate. A newer sensor will give you a reduction in the noise at high ISO, but if you tend to only go out when it's bright & sunny that's not a problem either. Frames per second and the buffer depth is the other thing you'd get with a more expensive body, great if you like that machine-gun rattle & very useful for those action shots once again, but only you can say whether it's important to you at the moment (and remember, more shots, likely larger files, added together probably means extra storage required for the PC).
    Finally (but maybe even more important) is the ergonomics. The larger bodies (eg 80D, 7D2) have more user controls immediately to hand (or thumb) and are generally faster to use once you get the hang of them. They're more customisable too, which can help tune the camera to your exact needs. However, you need to know and understand those needs before you can successfully start fiddling & there's a danger you can get in a muddle if you're not careful. They're also generally larger & heavier (which may or may not be an issue for you) due to their improved build quality (metal alloy frames etc under the plastic). Definitely handle them before buying to decide whether a particular body will suit you.
    Had you experience anything frustrating to date with the camera you have?

    ___

    Find me on Flickr / All about your camera - The Getting off Auto Index

  • Great advice Joe, thanks.

    Nothing major that has frustrated me. I've been getting to grips with getting off of auto and feel I have an ok grasp of it now, but obviously I will be going out and taking more pictures. I think I probably just need to use it more to find out if there is anything that frustrates me so that I know if/what I need to upgrade to
  • You have just said it Lorri, getting off of auto is the best thing and thanks to Joe, you have a thread to look at, your camera can do what all the pro's can get its getting the feel of your equipment the camera is the tool the thing that lets it down is the lens, I have a cheep lens £1.800 and want a better one £5,000 but sadly I found a hole in my pocket and all the money was lost but will save up and get one in the end :)

    Jim

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  • That's a cracking photo Goldfincher