Howdy all,

While equipment certainly helps, I have to say, at the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, that the eye and technique of the photographer is still the most important element in getting good photographs. A good photographer with cheap equipment is almost always going to get better results than a less-skilled photographer with top of the line equipment. You certainly don't need the best and latest equipment to get great photos. I know a part-time pro photographer that uses a Canon 40D and the 100-400mm Canon lens.

No offense intended to anyone, but it seems to me there's been too much emphasis on equipment over the past few years. I'm still surprised by the number of photographers that I see in the field with the latest pro equipment. There's nothing wrong with using a Canon Rebel (a few people on the interwebs claim that some of the Rebels have image quality as good as the 7D, though they're saying this as a knock against the 7D) and something smaller than a 500mm f/4 lens. As others have said, you have to determine what you want to do with the camera. If you just want to confirm identifications or take pictures for your own personal enjoyment and you aren't too picky, a point-and-shoot, either by itself or used for digiscoping, is probably the way to go. Keep in mind that it's difficult to bird while carrying around a huge lens on a tripod. One reason I use a 400mm f/5.6 is that I can hand-hold it and leave it hanging from my shoulder when not in use. That frees up my hands to quickly lift my binoculars when needed.

I'd only recommend getting the really expensive stuff if you find yourself limited by what you already have. If you're convinced you want to get into the "art" aspects of bird photography but aren't already invested in a SLR system, get a decent lens and one of the cheaper DSLR bodies and see how you like it. Nikon may be beating Canon in image quality at the prosumer price point, but for the budget-conscious, I'd still recommend Canon. I believe they have a better selection of affordable (relatively speaking) lenses.

One more thing: if you're sharing your photos with others, editing is crucial. I often say the only difference between a good and bad photographer is that the good one knows what pictures to get rid of. No one wants to see 10 pictures of the same bird, with the only difference being that its head is tilted slightly differently in each one. Pick just one or two of your best.

If you're still reading this, you may want to check out my blog. I had been using a 30D but recently got a 7D, and I've started reviewing it. Go to http://zbirdtours.com/blog and click on "Canon 7D" on the right side to see the entries. I've been slacking off on writing more entries, but I'll be doing some
more soon. I promise.

John Puschock
Wedgwood, Seattle
g_g_allin at hotmail.com
http://www.zbirdtours.com & http://www.birdtreks.com

_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection.
http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/210850553/direct/01/