What EF-series Telephoto Lens Should I Buy for Wildlife and Bird Photography?

[CurtL]

I bought my wife a Cannon Rebel EOS T7 for Christmas last year. She has hinted that she wants a better telephoto lens for wild life/ bird pictures. I did a little reading and I think she needs either a 600 or 800 mm lense. Can I get a suggestion of what lens she needs and what lens I should buy? Thanking you in advance- Christmas is coming!

[zakslm]

CurtL,

I will leave a lens recommendation to others with more experience and insight. 

I would like to mention that the T7 is a crop sensor camera and the effective 35mm focal length equivalent of any lens is 1.6X times the focal length of the lens.  That makes a 600mm or 800mm lens equivalent to 960mm and 1280mm lens.  Those focal length equivalents may very challenging to use on the T7.  In addition to magnifying the subject, a longer focal length also magnifies things like camera shake, etc. and even with image stabilization, may result in less than desirable results.

So, subject to the advice of others, you may want to include 300mm and 400mm lenses (or zooms with a long end of 300-400mm’s) in the lenses you may consider.  The equivalent focal length for a 300mm or 400mm lens on the T7 would be 480mm or 640mm and that may work nicely for wildlife/bird photography.

Good luck!

LZ

[CurtL]

LZ

Thank you for your post. I appreciate your information. I think to spend about 1000 or so. Any suggestion are very welcome. Happy Thanksgiving!

Curt

[FloridaDrafter]

Since you don't mention a budget, I'll throw these out there and let you decide.

Either of the Sigma or Tamron 150-600mm, which come in a couple of configurations at different price points. Another popular lens is the Sigma 60-600mm which is a bit more expensive than the others I mentioned, but a bit more versatile.

[EDIT] Just be sure you get the versions made for the Canon EF mount. They come in various camera mounts.

Newton

[CurtL]

Newton

Thank you for your post. I am hoping to spend about 1000 or so. Is Amazon the best place to purchase? 
Thanks

Curt

[FloridaDrafter]

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@CurtL wrote:

Newton

Thank you for your post. I am hoping to spend about 1000 or so. Is Amazon the best place to purchase? 
Thanks

Curt

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Hello, Curt!

I have had a great experience with Amazon over the years and I've bought a lot of Canon gear from them. You just have to make sure that it is "Sold and Shipped" by Amazon! I can't stress that enough... Avoid the "Marketplace" like the plague. I've also had a great experience with B&H, but prefer Amazons return policy and have never had issues with delivery.

Newton

[Waddizzle]

Welcome to the Canon Community.  Do you have a price range or budget?

I think you may get suggestions for a 150-600mm lens by either Sigma or Tamron.   I would downsize that recommendation to one of the 200-400mm lenses by the same companies.  

Why?  Because the lenses are beasts and are quite heavy.  I would expect most women would need some sort of support like a monopod.  Also, because of its weight the lens would be a significant drain on the battery.  Canon DSLRs tend to reduce maximum frame rates once available battery power drops below 50%.    

Does she have any specific lenses in mind?

[CurtL]

Thank you for your post. I appreciate your comments. I am hoping to spend no more than 1000. My problem is I know very little about cameras. I understand that a 400 mm may work fine for my wife's needs. What lens would you recommend?

Thanks

[Waddizzle]

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@CurtL wrote:

Thank you for your post. I appreciate your comments. I am hoping to spend no more than 1000. My problem is I know very little about cameras. I understand that a 400 mm may work fine for my wife's needs. What lens would you recommend?

Thanks

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I just noticed a typo in my response.  Both Tamron and Sigma offer 100-400mm lenses.  These are fairly lightweight and would make a good pairing with the T7.  

I would recommend the following camera settings.  You have two choices, single point or all points.  Enable all points.  Select the AF Servo focus mode for action photography.

These settings take advantage of the camera;s instinctive behavior to focus on the closest object to the camera within the AF zone.

[FloridaDrafter]

I'm inclined to agree with Waddizzle. The "wife" element went right over my head, and it's not that all women couldn't deal with the big heavy lenses, I just know that my wife wouldn't want to. She chose the R6 and mark II with the Canon RF 100-400 for that very reason. She also used the T7i with the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM II before moving to the R6 series because it was so light.

I consider 400mm to be about the minimum for birding for most folks, although I was quite successful using a 70-300 L on my croppers for years, but I am a stalker and quite good at it. I eventually bought the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM II and used that on my 7D II and 5D IV. What a nice lens that is and if it's within your budget, I would prefer that over a non Canon lens in the same focal range, but I am a bit of a Canon L snob. I also like the versatility of the EF 100-400L II because when I'm out birding, I can shoot flowers and insects up close without a lens change.

Newton