I have a Nikon d5100 with a 18-55 kit lens and also i also have a Tamron 70-300 lens but yesterday i went to take a picture of a kingfisher (attached) which is out of camera just re-sized for this post and just couldn't any closer which was behind a fence without scaring it of.
i have had a quick look today for bigger lens and found a sigma 150-500 for £750 now to me that is quite expensive or is it me being tight. I was wondering if there is a cheaper way to get round it I've heard of some converters but dont know if they are any good or not or expensive they are or shall i keep the money spend it in the pub and bring my panasonic bridge with when i go out?
I get all of my stuff from eBay. I have a horse, so my pennies don't tend to stretch very far once I've paid for her each month! I make sure that I research the seller's credentials properly, and also look into what I'm buying fully using the internet (Amazon is quite useful for looking at specs, reviews, etc), before bidding. Not had any problems doing things this way so far.
Lol! Thankfully not Phil - she's a nut case so I'd have returned her as not fit for purpose !
Got her first and then got into cameras very recently. She's my big furry baby so I spoil her rotten and then I get left with eBay! I don't mind - it's worked well so far because it means I can have two hobbies instead of one! I'm greedy like that!
I bought a Sigma 150-500mm lens on the recommendation from Jared, and I got it at Wilkinsons in Warrington - for £699 new - £50 cheaper than your quote. It has a long guarantee on it. Hope this is helpful.
Cheers
Mel
"Aim for the moon - if you miss you'll land amongst the stars."
Your 300mm lens will be enough if you use good old field craft. Walk your stream and watch the kingfisher and note where it is and at what time and you will build up a picture of its habits. Find a location that will give you some cover (avoid breaking the sky line) get a comfortable spot and you will need patient's. Get dressed in camo or dress in browns and greens for concealment. Your chosen location should be low to the water and have a nice background and place at a nice distance a stick or branch that the bird will find useful. You want you branch to be the only one so it will be more likely to use it. We are going to get some cold weather soon so you can use this to your advantage as the bird will find food hard to find. Set up your site and watch how the bird reacts and tweak your set up so you can find from what direction (up or down stream) it favours and how it uses the site. When you know its habit arrive in the dark and get comfy and set the camera up (use a tripod for best results and a cable release) and pre-focused on the place it lands. Don't expect instant results as this is a wild bird. The secret is to keep still and let the bird become relaxed, as it will know you are there. If you want to shoot wildlife their are no quick fixes and requiers lots of field work, but good luck,
PS The river that runs through Pennington golf course is a good winter haunt for kingfishers,
mark dyson wrote:Walk your stream and watch the kingfisher and note where it is and at what time and you will build up a picture of its habits.
Gwen and I photographed a Kingfisher in Goa at Christmas over several days and noted that it was always at the same spot on the same branch every day about an hour before dusk, so that confirms Mark's advice. Sadly we couldn't get too near, so the photos were taken hand held on a Canon SX50 with 1200mm focal length, so although we got many shots, they are not sharp.
"Aim for the moon - if you miss you'll land amongst the stars."
