To have a reasonable chance for success in bird photography, you need a tele-objective. A 300 mm lens is the strict minimum. Each 50 mm section provides 1 X magnification. Therefore 300 mm will provide you a 6 X magnification. You can always begin with a 150 mm focal length lens and add a 2x extender to it, but if you seek an image with a minimum of quality, you will quickly be unhappy at the results obtained with this contraption.

The price of a 300 mm lens varies according to its quality and its luminosity. The more luminous the lens, the more you will be able to photograph under poor lighting conditions and be able to freeze the action. In addition, the higher the quality of the lens, the more the images will be sharp and without distortion on the image circumference. Obviously, lens prices vary according to these two criteria.

Currently on the market, there is very little choice for amateur bird photographers. Firstly, there are the mirror lenses. They have the disadvantage of having a fixed opening and the image quality is average. You will have to forget about the " professional look" pictures. On the other hand, they are compact and light and you will be able to get a 500 mm (10X) mirror lens for as little as $500. If you have the money to offer yourself something better, there are on the market conventional 400 mm F 5,6 lenses which are very good for bird photography. The majority of the photographs that you have seen on this web site were taken with a 400 mm F 5,6. If you buy Canon, Nikon or other big name lenses, it will cost around $ 1700. Outside the big brand names, there is the Sigma company that offers a very acceptable 400 mm, F5.6 APO for approximately $1100. In my opinion, it is one of the rare lenses still "accessible" that can produce professional quality photographs.

The Sigma 400 mm (on the left) provides acceptable sharpness and does not cause aberration on the image contour. Astonishingly, the minimum focus length of this lens is 8 feet (old model 12 feet). With a 400 mm magnification power, it gives you the equivalent of a 8X binocular. When you are near your subject, it thus offers an interesting enlargement. With its F 5.6 opening, it is certainly not as luminous as we would wish, however when the sun is shining, with 100 ASA film you can reach obturator speed as high as 1/1000 of second. Of course, the tripod is needed in any circumstance. Its use will even permit to take a photograph with an obturator speed as low as 1/30 of a second, even less. However, you cannot use a 1.4X or 2X extender because the loss of quality is too important.

Then come the professional lenses. Their price begins at around $ 10 000. Generally, bird photographers use 500 mm or 600 mm lens. They often add a 1.4 X or 2 X extender. The quality of these lenses is so high that it allows the addition of an extender without important quality loss. An alternative consists in using a 300 mm F 2,8 lens with an 2X extender. Even then, it will cost you around $ 7 000 for such equipment. Unfortunately, as you can see, these lenses are out of price for the amateur.