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> I blame this app for making me buy a birding lens for my camera Haha, same thing, girlfriend installed Merlin on her phone, our walks turned into birdwatchin

> I blame this app for making me buy a birding lens for my camera Haha, same thing, girlfriend installed Merlin on her phone, our walks turned into birdwatching hunts and now I’m eyeing the nice and affordable RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM to make things more interesting. I’m hoping it stops at that, birding lenses are expensive.

mongol 3y ago
I made a choice to make birdwatching an interest I immerse myself with while there. Basically meaning, I prefer to watch birds through binocculars, in the moment, and keep them in memory, more than capturing the moment for later. I am not against the idea of photographing birds as such, I just realized that in most cases, they will remain small even with very expensive lenses, and the effort to capture really great birding images is going to be significant.
- haswell 3y ago
  Part of the reason I started photography is because I have Aphantasia, and when I learned that other people had visual memories, it cemented photography as an important hobby for me. Without the photos, I only take home a sense of knowing what I saw. Nothing visual. I don’t think I would have invested in a birding lens if I wasn’t already deep into photography, but it’s possible to get a reasonable starter kit for $2K or less if the goal isn’t to make 30” prints. It’s still nothing to sneeze at, but those $10K lenses aren’t necessary to get some really great results for hobby purposes. The challenge of getting the shots is part of what makes the process enjoyable and the resulting photos extremely rewarding. It also lets me explore in far more detail once I get home. I brought home a 40MP photo of a cardinal fully filling the frame today, and it’s pretty incredible zooming up on the plumage, seeing the intricacies of their talons, etc. With that said, I completely respect the non-photography approach and do think that the gear gets distracting at times.
- ecolonsmak 3y ago
  Are there not binoculars available that will take pictures?
  - ianburrell 3y ago
    There are binoculars with cameras but they aren't good cameras cause small sensor and not good binoculars cause cheap.
haswell 3y ago
I should warn you now. That lens will definitely get you started and you’ll get some great shots. It’ll also make you want something even longer if you’re anything like me. Still seems like a good place to start because it’ll make you extremely aware of everything you want the next bigger lens to do ;)
- twoWhlsGud 3y ago
  One of the underappreciated health benefits of birding is the increase in upper body strength you get from lifting all that heavy glass you end up purchasing ... ; ) And, yes, Merlin has been transformative for me, too.
ISL 3y ago
Find a nice used EF 400 f/5.6L. It's hard to know what to write about it, except to say that it's great and has been a reliable companion for years.
rabbits_2002 3y ago
for birds I would recommend something 600mm or more. Smaller birds are hard to photograph with anything under. Sigma makes cheap ones.

mongol 3y ago

I made a choice to make birdwatching an interest I immerse myself with while there. Basically meaning, I prefer to watch birds through binocculars, in the moment, and keep them in memory, more than capturing the moment for later. I am not against the idea of photographing birds as such, I just realized that in most cases, they will remain small even with very expensive lenses, and the effort to capture really great birding images is going to be significant.

haswell 3y ago
Part of the reason I started photography is because I have Aphantasia, and when I learned that other people had visual memories, it cemented photography as an important hobby for me. Without the photos, I only take home a sense of knowing what I saw. Nothing visual. I don’t think I would have invested in a birding lens if I wasn’t already deep into photography, but it’s possible to get a reasonable starter kit for $2K or less if the goal isn’t to make 30” prints. It’s still nothing to sneeze at, but those $10K lenses aren’t necessary to get some really great results for hobby purposes. The challenge of getting the shots is part of what makes the process enjoyable and the resulting photos extremely rewarding. It also lets me explore in far more detail once I get home. I brought home a 40MP photo of a cardinal fully filling the frame today, and it’s pretty incredible zooming up on the plumage, seeing the intricacies of their talons, etc. With that said, I completely respect the non-photography approach and do think that the gear gets distracting at times.
ecolonsmak 3y ago
Are there not binoculars available that will take pictures?
- ianburrell 3y ago
  There are binoculars with cameras but they aren't good cameras cause small sensor and not good binoculars cause cheap.

haswell 3y ago

I should warn you now. That lens will definitely get you started and you’ll get some great shots. It’ll also make you want something even longer if you’re anything like me. Still seems like a good place to start because it’ll make you extremely aware of everything you want the next bigger lens to do ;)

twoWhlsGud 3y ago
One of the underappreciated health benefits of birding is the increase in upper body strength you get from lifting all that heavy glass you end up purchasing ... ; ) And, yes, Merlin has been transformative for me, too.

ISL 3y ago

Find a nice used EF 400 f/5.6L. It's hard to know what to write about it, except to say that it's great and has been a reliable companion for years.

rabbits_2002 3y ago

for birds I would recommend something 600mm or more. Smaller birds are hard to photograph with anything under. Sigma makes cheap ones.