Which Lens for Bird Photography?
Getting Started
Nowadays there seems to be a lens for every photographic need, and with so many on the market it can be a bit of a minefield trying decide which one is right for you. So when I made a move in to wildlife photography, and more specifically bird photography, last year, I quickly realised that my EF 70-300mm lens was far from sufficient for the job. At the time I had yet to make the move from film to digital and so not only did I need a lens I needed a digital SLR too, and decided that the Canon 450D, at 12.1 megapixels, was a good choice and affordable at £500 with EF-S 18-55mm IS lens included. Then I started wading through list after list of Canon and Canon fit lenses gradually becoming more and more confused by the wide selection available and the varying prices. I knew that I wanted at least 400mm but with a limited budget this was proving more difficult than I had imagined, and finally decided that as a starting point I would purchase the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens which retails at £1299.
Initially I attracted birds in to my garden by putting feeding stations up and this has worked very well, in time the birds get more used to you moving around a bit and I can get close enough to fill he frame. Then more recently I have been out to Wetlands Centres and RSPB reserves which have highlighted the limited reach I have with the 100-400mm lens. Often the hides are set back so as not to disturb the wildlife and this means that I cannot get as close as I would like and go away with shots that are below par as the birds are too small in the shot.
Lenses for Bird Photography
There are many lenses for Canon cameras that are ideal for bird and wildlife photography, and if your budget will stretch you will find one that suits your requirements.
As mentioned previously, the Canon 100-400mm lens is a good starting point, smaller than most other telephoto lenses of this specification and high quality with image stabilisation built in. The drawbacks are that you need to get closer to your subject than you do with longer lenses and if you add an extender you lose autofocus, something that is absolutely essential in bird photography or you will miss shots regularly. Also, you tend to use this lens at 400mm almost all the time so you will be better off with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens for a slight increase in lens quality, though again you lose autofocus if used with an extender, but the price is similar.
An extender can be added to a lens to increase its master focal length, and the Canon EF 1.4x II Extender and Canon EF 2x II Extender are ideal for use with Canon’s highest quality L Series super telephoto lenses. The 1.4x will convert a 500mm lens to a 700mm one but you lose a stop in exposure and unless your lens is f/4 or higher you will be unable to use autofocus. The 2x extender needs an f/2.8 lens to retain autofocus but will convert the focal length of a 500mm lens to 1000mm with the loss of two stops in exposure.
Canons 300mm f/2.8 USM IS Lens could be one to consider at around £3700 it comes in cheaper than many other telephoto lenses and can be combined with the 1.4x extender to increase focal length to 420mm, and with the 2x extender to increase focal length to 600mm whilst retaining autofocus.
One of the lenses that has cropped up again and again as being favoured by bird and wildlife photographers is the Canon EF 500mm f/4.0L USM Lens with an image stabilizer and the ability to be converted to a 700mm with auto focus using the 1.4x extender. Retailing at £5500 it has a huge price tag but is seen by many to offer the best compromise between master focal length, weight and size compared with longer lenses. The image quality produced by this lens is superb, it boasts the fastest autofocus in the world and its minimum focusing distance is just 4.5m, which for a lens of this specification makes it superior to its rivals.
If your budget will stretch even further still you could consider the much heavier Canon EF 600mm f/4.0L USM IS Lens, with a minimum focussing distance of 5.5m and the option to be converted to an 840mm auto focus lens with the 1.4x extender. However, with a price tag of £7300 it is considerably more expensive than the 500mm.
Then there is the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L USM IS Lens, the longest available from Canon and with the biggest price tag at £9900. Surprisingly it’s actually lighter than the 600mm lens and although it’s maximum aperture is f/5.6 this lens is an exception to the rule and will retain autofocus with the 1.4x extender. This combination would result in a focal length of 1120mm, a huge reach and probably more than most situations will call for. The 800mm also boasts a minimum focussing distance is 6m and produces excellent image quality.
As with any telephoto lens it is important to remember that the size and weight will have an effect on the way in which you shoot. In bright conditions it may be possible to shoot handheld but it is essential that you keep an eye on your shutter speed, because with very large lenses you can easily get camera ‘shake’ if it is too slow. As a rule of thumb when using my 100-400mm I would always aim to have a shutter speed above 1/400 and with larger lenses I would increase this accordingly. To maximise the amount of light passing through the lens I would also recommend sticking to large apertures, if not the largest aperture, available. Not only will this reduce the risk of blurred and out of focus photographs whilst shooting handheld, it will also give a shallow depth of field so that, in bird photography, the birds’ eye can remain the focal point and anything in front or behind can fall out of focus.
© John Williams