by Harold Kuepers

Best Bird Lens for Canon – Cheap – Get Great Bird Photos for Less

Do you know how much the best bird lens for a Canon DSLR costs? You could buy a new car… or a bird lens for your Canon.

I’ll just come right out and tell you that the very best one you can buy is the 600mm. And, yes, it costs more than ,000.

But we want something much cheaper here. In fact, dirt cheap would be nice, but that will not happen, because good lens glass just is not cheap. So forget that K beast until you win the lottery.

There are a few less expensive lenses that will do a really good job, but they also cost upwards of ,000. So… what’s a photographer on a budget supposed to do?

There are a couple of solutions to the problem that won’t cost you thousands of dollars and your first born child.

First, there are a few lenses that will do the job for much less than those listed above. Of course, if you are going to pay less, you will have to realize that the results will not match up, especially if you are going to go trekking through the wild, toting you camera and gear. (One of the suggestions is to NOT go trekking, but have the wildlife – the birds – trek to you.)

You can opt for a shorter range piece of glass. There are some great lenses in the “under 400mm category” that will give you some really good shots. Here are a few that you might consider:

Canon 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM – this one costs a little over 00. Sure, that might be more than you paid for your DSLR, but if you want results in this area, you will have to make some concessions monetarily.

Canon 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6L IS USM – another gem that runs about 00. Photographers who own this baby absolutely LOVE IT. Most would not trade it for anything.

Sigma 150-500mm f/5.6-6.3 – notice the 500mm number. That is way good. The lens has gotten some really good reviews from folks who use it. The one thing about this puppy is that you will need some pretty decent light because it does not have a very large aperture to start with. So, lots of light and a tripod will be assets when using this one. Cost is under 00 – yippee!

I save the best for last. You can take great photos with bird lenses that are not even considered by most people in this category. How? you might ask.
The secret is that you get the little feathered creatures to come to you. Set up a smorgashbord of delights for them to feast upon. And do it in a way that you can get the best images ever.

My personal setup is right outside my kitchen window. I have a deck that I attached some cut up branches to. I drilled holes into the branches to make feeding stations. Then I situated my feeders in such a way as to allow me the very best angle possible. It took a little tweeking, but the final setup works really well.

And here’s the best part. I use my Canon 70-200mm f/4.0 USM lens. This little thing only cost me about 0. I can also use my newest Sigma 18-250mm lens to take the shots when birds come too close for the other one.

A little work on your part can save you lots of cash. Plus it will keep you in the comfort of your own home where you can enjoy some great photography and a cup of coffee.
For more about these great bird lenses for Canon DSLRs, visit www.digital-photographic-resources.com.

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by CLF

Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP Digital SLR Camera Self Review

Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP Digital SLR Camera. This is my third Digital Rebel SLR and fourth Canon DSLR (the added actuality the 30D), and it does not disappoint. In fact, it is an alarming camera in aloof about all respects in its amount range. The sensor delivers accomplished after-effects (although this will depend abundantly additionally on the lens used), the aerial ISO images are stunningly acceptable for what they are, and the LCD awning is a joy to attending at. Coming from a 3″ awning with 200K pixels, it’s a contentment to attending at the aforementioned admeasurement LCD with over a actor pixels.

Of advance the big affection is the full-featured video approach on the T2i. At 1/3 of the 5D Mk.2′s price, it includes 720p approach that 5D Mk.2does not, and at 1/2 amount of the 7D , it has identical video approach PLUS the 640×480 crop video approach which the 7D does not, in aspect accouterment a zoom of about 7x deepening at any accustomed focal range. The crop video approach works like this: Rather than demography the accomplished achievement of the sensor and outputting that as either 1920×1080 (1080p) or 1280×720 (720p), it takes the complete 640×480 complete acreage at the average of the sensor and outputs that as the capture. So abundant like how the circumscribed sensor provides 1.6x deepening for the Canon DSLRs, the circumscribed video approach provides deepening for video shoots.

Canon EOS Rebel T2i SLR Digital Camera Kit with Canon 18-55mm IS Lens. By the way, I’ve been application a super-cheap eBay microphone that I originally got for Skype on my laptop, and it provides endless bigger auto than the congenital microphone. It’s got a adjustable neck, about 5″ long, and application it additionally reduces the lens zoom noise, administration noise, etc.

I was a bit afraid, afore the purchase, how the chiral absorption during video cutting would work. While there are auto-focus methods during the shooting, they are apathetic and will bandy the blow out of focus for 2-4 seconds. I’m blessed to say that for this complete video-on-DSLR novice, the T2i with the 18-55 IS kit lens angry out to be adequately accessible to use and accomplish acceptable results. The IS helps a lot to abate the changeless duke shake, unless you’ve got the camera army on a tripod.

I’ve got one ascertainment and two gripes, both appealing minor. The ascertainment is the computer assets appropriate to handle the abounding 1080p video. Anniversary minute of the 1080p and 720p video is approx. 330MB in size. 720p produces the aforementioned admeasurement because it annal at alert the framerate of the 1080p approach (60fps vs. 30fps). Viewing the built-in 1080p blow beeline from the camera will charge adequately cogent CPU power. On my Core 2 Duo laptop with 4GB of memory, it’s NOT smooth. I’d brainstorm any Core i5 or Core i7 processor would be fine. So I use a freeware alleged Handbrake to encode the video to h.264 mp4 format, which after-effects in about 1/3 of the admeasurement of the aboriginal book with around no accident in quality. This achievement plays flawlessly on my laptop.

The aboriginal ache is the punch mode. The two modes that I will use the most, “P” and “Movie”, are at adverse ends of the dial. It takes me two or three feel accomplishments to about-face the approach aback and forth. While it’s doable, it absolutely would accept been abundant added acceptable if the modes were afterpiece to anniversary other, or if there was a abstracted cine approach activation button on the camera (like the 7D).

The additional affair is the elastic aperture sealing the microphone/remote/AV/HDMI ports. I like to use an alien microphone for videos, so I accessible and abutting the aperture adequately frequently. The elastic articulation allotment seems rather fragile–only time will acquaint how continued it will last.

Full review at: www.cameralabs.com : A ten minute video tour comparing the three most popular upgrade options for the Canon 18-55mm DSLR kit lens, by Gordon Laing, Editor of Cameralabs.com. To find out more about these lenses and how their quality compares, see our full review by clicking the link at the start of this text.

The Canon EOS 500d; Versatile and Affordable

The Canon EOS 500d is the latest model of high resolution cameras to hit the market. There are several cool features in the 500d that make it a solid choice for the photography beginner as well as the expert. It boasts an astonishing feature set that is combined with a small price tag, making it a must buy for 2009.

The Canon EOS 500d is akin to the EOS 5d Mark II, and shares a few features like Movie Mode, Live View and Digic 4, which is a more robust processor. Like its' other Canon cousins (Rebel xs and Rebel xsi), the Canon 500d uses SDHC media storage instead of Compact Flash. Compact Flash used to be the gold standard of media storage formats for hand held electronic devices. SDHC or Secure Digital High Capacity format is rapidly taking over the hand held electronics storage market as the new standard for media storage.

The Canon EOS 500d is the latest DSLR camera to be offered by Canon. DSLR technology is preferred by professional still photographers because it provides a more accurate view of the frame just prior to exposure. DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex, which is a camera technology in which a single lens, a pentaprism and mechanical mirror systems deliver optimal picture quality. The Canon EOS 500d resembles in form the traditional 35mm camera formats that many professional still photographers started out using. That is partially the reason many professionals prefer the Canon EOS 500d over other digital cameras.

The Live View feature is also very appealing to those in the market for digital cameras. Live View allows users to view subjects on the display screen, which is a 3 inch LCD, as a viewfinder. This feature allows users a great deal of flexibility in still photography because the view of subjects on a heads-up display is easier to see than through the aperture of the camera.

In all, the Canon EOS 500d is a solid entry in the DSLR camera realm.

Full review at www.cameralabs.com . A 16 minute HD tour around the Canon EOS 7D, the company's latest semi-pro DSLR, featuring Live View, HD video and fast continuous shooting. For my full review with comparisons, sample images and video,results and current pricing, please click the link at the start of this text or visit cameralabs . com. If you have any questions regarding this review, feel free to post on the Cameralabs forum!

Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Canon Rebel XSi vs T1i – A Digital Shoot Out

Imagine taking the best picture of your life.

And, while you are imagining, imagine that your picture wins a local photo contest in your city. It is selected for entry into a nationally published photography magazine, and photographers all over are emailing you to tell you what a wonderful photo you have taken.

Meanwhile, back on earth, you realize you need that DSLR camera to take such a picture. And Canon is your final choice. (Excellent decision, by the way). Now all you need to do is decide between the TWO Rebels that are at the top of the entry level DSLR market.

First, there’s the Canon Rebel XSi (aka Rebel 450D), and then there is the Canon Rebel T1i (aka Rebel 500D). Both cameras are highly rated by people who bought them. Very few buyers have been dissatisfied with their purchase. You can find that out by going to amazon.com or B&H Photo and searching for one of the cameras. You will find that there are user reviews there, as well as testimonials from camera buyers. The reason buyers are so happy with their choice of Canon DSLRs is that these cameras are masterfully manufactured and they take amazing quality pictures. The differences between the two DSLR cameras are fairly basic and easy to understand.

The difference in megapixels is not as significant as some might imagine. When you are talking about 12.2 vs 15.1 megapixels, it is like a drop in the megapixel bucket! You can produce a huge print from either camera… larger than 9 by 13 (which is the largest image that can be printed on most home printers). By the way, the T1i has the 15.1 megapixel image sensor, and the XSi has the 12.2 megapixel sensor.

THE major difference is that the T1i can take video while the XSi does not have video capability. And the T1i does not just take video, it takes HD quality video. While it is not as good as a dedicated camcorder, the quality is very good indeed.

Another major difference is Creative Auto. This feature is available in the T1i but not the XSi. Creative Auto is similar to features on some of the better point and shoot cameras. It allows the photographer to take more creative shots using camera settings rather than relying on the individual’s own photographic knowledge. Canon’s claim is that the beginning photographer can take better shots while learning to use their DSLR. The last difference in this DSLR shoot out is price. In this category, the Rebel XSi is the clear winner, coming in at about 0 below the Rebel T1i.

The bottom line: Do you need video and creative auto? Would you like to save about 0 that you could use to get a special lens? Go to http://www.squidoo.com/canon-rebel-xsi-x1i to discover more about the Canon Rebel XSi vs. T1i debate.

YongNuo TC-C3 Precision Timer Remote Shutter Switch for CANON EOS DSLR Cameras – www.dealextreme.com
Video Rating: 0 / 5

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