Newbie with Questions about Proper Equipment for Birding

[WingMan71]

Hello. Newbie here.  Just bought a Canon EOS Rebel T7 with two lenses: an EFS 18-55mm and an EF 75-300mm.  Yes, I realize that this is entry level equipment, but I had a purpose in mind that I thought it would be sufficient for.

Was hoping that the 75-300mm lens would be sufficient for getting some good close-up shots of my backyard birds, which are numerous. My bird feeders are about 20 yards from where I can stand to take the shots without spooking the birds.

Turns out the 300mm lens is just not getting me the magnification that I want.  I can get closer-up shots with the camera in my Samsung Galaxy S23.  (Yes, I realize that the cellphone camera uses digital zoom and clarity suffers, but I never plan to actually print any of these pictures.)

So, the question is: What do equipment do I need to get closer shots of birds about 20 yards away?

Before you answer, I bought this equipment used from a well-known camera shop in the area.  So, my budget is limited.  Do I look for another lens, say a used 100-400mm Canon lens from the same shop, or is that not even enough?  Do I get a used teleconverter from the same shop?  If so, which power teleconverter?

Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[March411]

Hey WingMan71, welcome to the site.

Limited budget is a pretty loose term so I will suggest the Sigma and Tamron 150-600mm which many use for wildlife with a focus on birding. Sigma you have the Contemporary and Sport and on the Tamron side most say the SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 is a slightly better lens. Either will give you great images. I shot the Sigma for a long time before going RF and once I made the move to an R body grabbed the 20-800mm and my Sigma now is pretty lonely. KEH and MPB both have some lenses in stock that you can view to see if they fit into your budget.

The link below is to a thread about the EF 100-400mm that you may find interesting.

Similar Conversation on zoom lenses 

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[jrhoffman75]

If you use Canon DPP with your images you can use the 2X zoom function when editing to see how the 150-600mm lens will do for you.

I have the 100-400mm V2 lens. I ran some informal tests comparing using the 1.4X teleconverter vs cropping the image. I didn't see a difference. The advantage of no teleconverter is faster AF and no loss of exposure.

Your success is going to be a function of distance, the size of the birds you are photographing and the size of the end result image you want.

[Tintype_18]

I have the Sigma 150-600. Good lens and takes good distance photos.