The Importance Of A Decent Kit: Lens & Camera

^{Note: This tip comes from page 4 of Tobie Schalkwyk’s free eBook Bird Photography: Staying Sharp and Focused}

It’s a fact act of life: you may be able to take decent shots of a caged bird with your mobile phone, but if you want to snap a bird in flight, you’ll need a DSLR or mirrorless camera and a decent lens.

Yes, most of us middle-class mortals can only dream of owning an f/2.8 prime lens with a focal length of 300mm or more; if you can afford one, fantastic!

Also, drop a few dollars to get a 1.4 teleconverter (focal length extender) to enhance the reach of your lens, no matter which one you are using. But keep in mind that you lose at least one f-stop of light when using a teleconverter (in simple terms, that means your f/2.8 lens turns into an f/4 or even slower when using a longer 1.7x or 2x teleconverter).

Some teleconverters are known to reduce sharpness. So do your research and buy a good one! You’ll be glad that you did.

Fortunately, manufacturers are producing very decent long zoom lenses in the 100-400mm and 200-500mm ranges. Tamron and Sigma have taken giant steps with their recent releases of the Tamron 150-600 G2 and Sigma 150-600 Sports lenses. These outstanding lenses have reduced the cost of getting into serious bird photography.

The Sigma 150- 600 Contemporary lens is nothing to scoff at, but I’d add the extra few bucks and buy the Sports version.

Invest in one of the lenses mentioned above (or something similar) if you are after sharp, in-focus images. It’s worth every penny! You might get away now and again with a kit lens like the outdated Tamron 70-300mm, but you’ll only be able to opt for ‘easy’ shots (for example, static birds in good lighting conditions).

There will be many times, however, when you kick yourself for not investing in something more decent. It’s only a matter of time before you will want to upgrade. You might as well get it right the first time.

Bird photography requires more than ‘average’ capabilities from your kit, especially your lens. It has to cater to small subjects far away, sometimes moving erratically and/or fast. It, therefore, makes sense to invest in at least one quality lens – zoom or prime.

Zoom lenses are more flexible in bringing your subject closer and are cheaper than ‘pro’ (f/2.8) prime lenses.

The latest generation of zoom lenses offer fantastic features and image quality, so if you cannot afford the ‘pro’ prime lenses, they are a good alternative.

Want more? If you want to learn more about bird photography, and capture beautiful shots of your own, we recommend downloading and printing out Photzy’s 10 Bird Photography Cheat Sheets (Special bonus available now!)