Birding On a tight budget - should I buy less now or wait to buy right?

[kneale]

Hi all. I love nature and am tired of using only my iphone. I've had cameras in the past but it has been years. So long in fact, when I tried to hook my old Pentax DSLR up to my Macbook, it was incompatible, so no way to download my photos. So, now I am looking at Canon Rebels including the SL2, T7i and also the D77.

My goal, other than being able to take photos of my kids, is to shoot nature. I love to garden and we have many birds, bees and butterflies that come into the garden on a regular basis. I also have lots of flowers and want to capture them as well. My husband would like to use the camera for video capture of his Tankganyikan Cichlids (fish). 

My dilemma is I've watched so many Youtube videos and it seems I "need" at least the Canon T7i or D77 to be able to even get a mediocre shot (according to all of the "experts"), and I honestly can't afford the price point of either of these with all the lenses. I can afford the D77 body only, which obviously does me no good. The T7i is slightly better but only with the 18-55 lens. I can just afford the SL2 with the kit 18-55 and the 55-250. 

I'm at a loss. To hear most of the Youtubers anything less than at least one of these is a waste of money. No camera means no pictures but I am wondering if I should just hold off and save up for the better camera, the D77 or maybe even the D80. What are your thoughts and experiences?

Thank you!

[kneale]

Thank you Ebiggs1! I will put that 150-600 super zoom on my list of must haves and get it next after the intial purchase of my camera. Looks like I need to have a garage sale so I can buy one sooner than later! 😄

[kneale]

Ebiggs1,

Do you have a suggestion for the post editor? I came across Lightroom....

[ebiggs1]

Lightroom is one of the best.  Only Photoshop is better.  But, Karen, if you do buy a new T7i you will get Canon's own DPP4 for free. Great place to start.  Not LR but still, again, a very capable editor.  When you get into this you are going to want to shoot Raw format.  Raw requires a conversion in order to actually see the photo.  DPP4 and LR do a fantastic job of this virtually seamless on your part.

[ebiggs1]

Keep in mind, kido, you are going to want to go from this to that.  

It is just the way it is! 

[kneale]

Love the pics!! I hope to be able to take great bird (and other wildlife) pictures one day. Thank you so much for all the advice. 

Karen

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Lightroom is one of the best.  Only Photoshop is better.  But, Karen, if you do buy a new T7i you will get Canon's own DPP4 for free. Great place to start.  Not LR but still, again, a very capable editor.  When you get into this you are going to want to shoot Raw format.  Raw requires a conversion in order to actually see the photo.  DPP4 and LR do a fantastic job of this virtually seamless on your part.

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I think Ernie's advice (to try DPP 4 first) is sound. DPP has evolved a lot over the years and is now a very capable, though not blindingly fast, editor. And it's free with Canon equipment. Lightroom, which isn't free (indeed, you can't even buy it anymore: you have to rent it) is also a fine editor. But the main feature that sets it apart is its sophisticated cataloguing system; and unless you're a pro, you're unlikely to take enough pictures for that to be worth the price.

Photoshop is in a different class. There are things you can do in Photoshop that few, if any, other editors can do. But unless you're a high-end graphics designer (or possibly a forger), you may not ever use those capabilities. My feeling about Photoshop is that when you need it, you'll know.

[Waddizzle]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@shadowsports wrote: 

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Buying Canon refurbs is a good idea; buying on credit isn't, unless you're a professional. Buy what you can afford. Photography can be a deep money sink, and it's easy to get in over your head.

A lot of what you hear about birding is based on the presumption that you're in the wild looking for birds that are trying to stay out of your way. That doesn't necessarily apply to the birds that hang out in your garden, which means that you can probably get by with lesser equipment (particularly shorter lenses), at least for now.

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I agree, with Bob.  You can get by with a lesser lens.  In fact, a lesser lens will probably do you some good.  Using a super telephoto lens is a lot like looking at the world through a straw.  The longer the focal length, the narrower your angle of view.  

Telephoto lenses fall in the 100mm to 300mm range.  Super telephoto lenses are 400mm, and up.  Using a medium telephoto zoom lens, like the Canon EF-S 55-250mm STM lens will help you get your “sea legs” before using a big super telephoto lens.  

Most people need a monopod, or tripod, to use a super telephoto lens effectively because they tend to be big and heavy.  Using a telephoto lens without added support is fairly easy for most people.

As far as what lens to buy, of course, the best advice is to “buy it once, buy it right.”  But, sometimes the big step up can do more harm than good.  I suggest going with a telephoto lens with a maximum focal length of 300mm.  Most birders in the woods like to use 400-600mm lenses.  A 300mm lens is more than adequate for the backyard bird feeder.

Sigma and Tamron, which both make 150-600mm super telephoto lenses, have both recently released 100-400mm lenses, which have super telephoto focal lengths, but in a medium telephoto size package.  I think these are great lenses for someone needing to learn how to use a super telephoto lens.

If you want to jump into the deep end, and go for a big 150-600 super telephoto lens, be prepared to spend a bit more on a decent monopod and tilt head.  I use a Benro monopod with a Kirk monopod tilt head.  I love the Kirk head, because it is very strong, and easily supports the weight of a five pound lens, and a three pound camera body, without flopping about.  A ball head simply does not work as well for action photography as a tilt head, or a pan and tilt head.

[Waddizzle]

Lightroom is one of the best.  Only Photoshop is better.  But, Karen, if you do buy a new T7i you will get Canon's own DPP4 for free. Great place to start.  Not LR but still, again, a very capable editor.  When you get into this you are going to want to shoot Raw format.  Raw requires a conversion in order to actually see the photo.  DPP4 and LR do a fantastic job of this virtually seamless on your part.

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Lightroom is a great application.  It is a digital darkroom, comparable Canon’s free DPP software.  It is used to process RAW photos into JPEGs, similar to processing a film negative into a printed photo.  You can make various adjustments to contrast, brightness, white balance, noise reduction, lens correction, and more.

Photoshop is a bit more complex, and bests suited to the more artistically inclined.  Unlike Lightroom, you can edit the content of images.  I use it primarily for image stacking of macro photos, and the occasional imagery sleight of hand.

Be aware that lens correction is one of the best reasons to use post editors.  The Canon DPP application only corrects for Canon lenses.  So, if you buy a third party lens, then you will not be able to apply lens correction with DPP, and most every super telephoto lens needs lens correction applied to their images. 

[ebiggs1]

"My feeling about Photoshop is that when you need it, you'll know."

My feeling is people need Photoshop and 'don't' know it.  It is laughable to think every time you use PS you need every percent of its power.  It is a, the best, post editor that has the power.  Not the best post editor that makes you use all its power all the time.

[ebiggs1]

"I hope to be able to take great bird (and other wildlife) pictures one day."

You will.  Try to keep clear of the ole inner web hype.  Do common sense things, meaning think before you buy.  But most of all learn.  Shoot a lot and keep track of what works and what doesn't.  Nobody starts at the top.  And guess what, if you don't become the world's greatest photographer, the Sun will still rise in the East every morning.  But you will have one of the most rewarding hobbies there is.  There are worse things you could have taken up.  It could have been golf !