Question about lenses

I would like to photograph birds in our feeders, I have tried getting close to

the feeder and they all fly away. If I stand at a distance I use a 70-300mm

lens. But it's not strong enough to capture the details of the birds. What

would be a good lens that I would not have to stand close to the feeders or any

wildlife. Thanks

Set up you camera near the feeder and install a long shutter release so that you can remain out of sight. It's done all the time. I used to have one that was air powered with a tube that was 30 feet long. It worked perfectly.

The answer depends on what kind and brand of camera you have. But generally larger lenses are very very expensive.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=4605&A=details&Q=&sku=300488&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

 

This is one of the more reasonable priced lenses for the Nikon mount.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=4605&A=details&Q=&sku=207360&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

 

Something like this might work as well.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=8456&A=details&Q=&sku=397525&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

 

If you want to do it on the really cheap.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=291393&is=USA&addedTroughType=search

 

A better and cheaper way is to somehow trigger the camera away from the birds by using some sort of remote.

<I>A better and cheaper way is to somehow trigger the camera away from the birds by using some sort of remote.</i><P>

 

I've had my best luck going this route - especially since you are using a feeder and have a pretty good idea of exactly where the critters will be and can thus pre-focus.<P>

 

It also allows you to more easily use flash on your camera because chances are good that you can set up your camera/lens/flash on a tripod that's much closer than would be possible if you were along for the ride. The birds I've shot (with my camera!), once they became used to its presence, weren't bothered by the flash at all and if you happen to have 2 flashes you can set up some pretty elaborate lighting. I would sit just inside my house, watching the feeder and when the little critter(s) showed up for a meal... Poof! Good luck!

I just saw two pictures in your portfolio of small birds on a feeder, and I don't really think that a 'stronger' lens is the answer here. The birds are so small in the picture that stepping up from 300mm to 400mm doesn't really help. You'd need well over 600mm (more like 800mm) for the vantage point you have now. Lenses like these are not cheap, and no garantuee for success either. The really cheap suggested mirror lens won't work on a D80 by the way.

 

The best way to go from here is to get closer, or rather, have the birds get closer to you. Move the feeder closer to a window from where you can shoot without the bird minding your presence. Move the feeder a couple of feet every day, not all the way at once. Make sure you use fast enough shutter speeds to freeze the bird's motion.

 

And last but not least, use the best image settings on the camera. Preferably RAW and to jpeg later. That way you can tune sharpness, contrast, etc. at your leasure and extract maximum detail.

Hello Carol,

 

I would move the bird food near to a door or window and would use that as a hide. Pull the curtains and have the lens poking through. It may take some time and quiet, but does work.

 

Pete

Thank you for all the suggestions, I guess I will be moving my feeder closer to our window. Those lenses are way too expensive.

If you happen to have autofocus Pentax film cameras (and I think with Nikon too) and a manual focus lens (something like a 100 or 200 macros are what I use) you can do something called 'snap focus' to take closeups. It works quite well.

 

1) Set the camera on autofocus

 

2) Prefocus where you expect a bird to be/land/etc with you MANUAL lens.

 

3) Using your remote release puss the button and set the lock. The shutter shouldn't go off because there isn't anything to focus in on right now.

 

4) Walk away!

 

When you get good at this you can setup flash guns to take care of both the bird and background.