Ive decided to take the next step and invest in a quality used setup to take my birding photography to the next level. I'm still very much a beginner, but a firm believer in 'buy the best you can afford'. So in doing my best to keep within a 2K budget, I've already purchased the camera body (a 1D mark iii from ebay for $500, well worn but in good working order). I'm thinking a will match this with a used Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 prime lens, which i should be able to get for around $1000. This leaves me $500 for camera bag, tripod, memory cards etc.
Has anybody used this setup or similar before and can offer any hints/advice? Can anyone recommend a good tripod for <$200?
Thanks in advance..
Well you have started off well with a 1Diii, i have not used a 400 but i can not imagine you could go wrong with this lens.
You should get a good Manfrotto tripod for the price you have asked.
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
Great choice Snail. You have done well to get a good 1D MkIII for $500 that is a bargain. Good advice from Shorty as well the only thing I would add is to get the highest quality memory card(s) money can buy. I recently bought a 32 GB Scandisk Extreme PRO 95MB's and it's just made all my other cards feel so slow. There's nothing worse than having to wait for a card to buffer while there is action going on in front of you.
A Canon 1.4X extender would probably be handy for you and there's always plenty for sale on e-Bay although I would go for the Mark III which aren't so common. I have both the 1.4X and 2X but find I hardly ever use the 2x anymore. Good Luck and look forward to seeing some of your photographs soon!
Samford Valley Qld.
Thanks for the comments and advice. Ive been looking for a 1.4x extender on ebay, just waiting for the right one to pop up, and I will certainly look into the 95MB's memory card. My 400mm f/5.6 should arrive in the post tomorrow, can't wait to get out and start taking some photos!
LM
What part of the world do you live in Snail?
Samford Valley Qld.
I'm in Port Macquarie, NSW., you?
LM
I see now. Samford Valley QLD, haha. If youre ever down this way give me a heads up, would be more than happy to show some great birding spots.
LM