[amitoj]

Originally Posted by given2fly

Hey Amit,

I have seen these ads in photography mags and also BPC forum, but not sure how much exactly do you learn there? Is it really the pro who tell you all from basics to angles to accessories to post-processing. Do they really go in-depth or is it just a beginners like course?

Given, the course i attended was conducted by Sudhir Shivaram himself. He is a well known wildlife photographer. The course had a structure but it was not bound by it. We took various detours during the course. Sudhir also used his field experiences to explain certain points. Check out his website
Home

Although he did not go really in depth during the course, he was always ready to field whatever questions people threw at him.

There is another person. Vinay Verma i think, who conducts such weekend courses too.

The portrait workshop on BPC i believe is being done for the second time, because of the tremendous feedback it got the first time around. This workshop, they are planning to divide into batches as per proficiency/experience in photography.

[reignofchaos]

Need some help from gurus. I need a sharp prime for portraits on a 1.6X crop body. The options are 85 1.8, 100 2.0 and 100 2.8 macro. All three are highly rated and the macro seems to be a bit pricier than the others but most versatile.

To be honest, I'd do very little macro photography if i get the macro. So I'm leaning towards the 85 1.8. I'm curious to how the 100 2.0 compares to it.

[DerAlte]

NIKON D60 official list price (2 years warranty, 18-55 VR lens) is INR 36995 in India. Street prices are even lesser.

[meghan]

Hi

I have an year old Canon EOS 400D with the kit lens. I want to buy a good telephoto lens for wildlife photography. Most people have suggested the Canon 100-400 IS L lens and I too have seen amazing pics from that lens.

However I am on a budget and don't want to spend so much before some practice. Which lenses would you suggest to start off with on a budget?

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by meghan

Hi

I have an year old Canon EOS 400D with the kit lens. I want to buy a good telephoto lens for wildlife photography. Most people have suggested the Canon 100-400 IS L lens and I too have seen amazing pics from that lens.

However I am on a budget and don't want to spend so much before some practice. Which lenses would you suggest to start off with on a budget?

I've heard that the 70-300 lens from Sigma as well as Tamron is quite good. They cost somewhere between 7 to 8K. But they dont have an equivalent of Image Stabilisation, not that i have heard any Tamron/Sigma users complain about the lack of it.

Otherwise the Canon EFS 55-250 IS is a pretty decent lens too, at approx 13K.

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by luky_13

I recently bought a Nikon D90 18-105 VR KIT (with warranty/bill) for around 60K. Along with bought a Manfrotto 190X Pro Tripod. Must say the D90 has lived up to my expectation and is a all round star. More after my outdoor photography adventure this weekend.

Congrats luky,
Where did you buy this from? 60K seems to be good price.
D90 is superb and sophisticated one. D80 or 90 is in my radar too.
Upload some sample pics here

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

NIKON D60 official list price (2 years warranty, 18-55 VR lens) is INR 36995 in India. Street prices are even lesser.

at 25k you get it with 28-135 VR or so. Grey.

[reignofchaos]

If you intend to do birding, you need something which is very sharp at the long end. For other mammals and reptiles, it'll do good. Having used the 100-400 for a while I can say that though it has beautiful color and amazing contrast, its not the sharpest lens out there at its long end. A 300 f/4 with a 1.4x teleconverter is sharper than the 100-400 at 400mm and at 300, its basically a no contest.

[Nutty Nair]

Originally Posted by jkdas

at 25k you get it with 28-135 VR or so. Grey.

jk, any idea where I can get a D60 in Trivandrum? My friend is vacationing in Trivandrum now. He can bring the camera to me.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

NIKON D60 official list price (2 years warranty, 18-55 VR lens) is INR 36995 in India. Street prices are even lesser.

Thank you, Der Alte. So actually Nikon prices are less in India than in Kuwait. That must be a first!

Guys, is D60 the better camera of the lot? Any idea about the price of EOS1000D? Also any other camera I should take a look at my budget? Help me

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by Nutty Nair

Which camera do I go for? My budget is around 250 KD (43000 INR). And also can anyone provide the current prices of the above models in India? Also any other cameras I should take a look in this price range?

I would suggest - Nikon D80.
With VR kit lens it should cost you around 40K INR.

[kvish]

Originally Posted by meghan

Hi

I have an year old Canon EOS 400D with the kit lens. I want to buy a good telephoto lens for wildlife photography. Most people have suggested the Canon 100-400 IS L lens and I too have seen amazing pics from that lens.

However I am on a budget and don't want to spend so much before some practice. Which lenses would you suggest to start off with on a budget?

I have been sailing on the same boat for quite some time and as others said, 300mm is just not enough for wildlife photography. Having been to 3-4 safari trips with a 70-300, I'd say dont even look at anything less than 300mm. The sigma and tamron lenses are super value for money for around 5K if you manage to get it from US. I suggest you buy one of them first and then look for an expensive alternative later based on your preferences.

I have the tamron lens and given below are few pics from it.



Check the below pic. Its at 300mm. with crop factor of 1.5 its close to 450mm. Still nowhere close.



After cropping too, it doesnt really help. Even if I manage a sharp image which isnt the case in this one, the out of focus areas are not very pleasing.



I am happy with my tamron for the occasional trips and the occasional lucky bird shots. And if I knew how to photograph better I'd get much better results from my lens. I'm still learning.

Enjoy!

[meghan]

@Kvish and Amitoj - Thanks for your replies
My main interest being birding, guess I'll have to wait and get the 100-400 itself and be satisfied with my prosumer for now

Also does anyone know how does say 400mm translate to x amount of magnification? Like the S5 IS for example has maximum 12x magnification

[redrage]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

its not the sharpest lens out there at its long end.

It depends on the copy, there are numerous users who have very sharp copies of the 100-400 which are on par with 400 f5.6.

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

A 300 f/4 with a 1.4x teleconverter is sharper than the 100-400 at 400mm and at 300, its basically a no contest.

Again the copy comes into picture, unclucky if you run into a lemon but otherwise 300f4 +1.4 tc and 100-400 have similar results at wide open.

Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6L IS USM Full Review

Surprisingly the Canon 100-400 with a 1.4 TC at 560mm is better than an 300 mm f4 with 2x tc at 600mm! as per BOB, dont know what other reviews have got to say.

Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6L IS USM Full Review

[quickdraw]

Nice to see so many camera crazy people out here.

Heres my kit.

Canon 40D
50mm f1.8
28-135 Asp DG Macro f4-5.6
70-200 F4L (upgrading to 2.8 IS L w00t)
Lowepro Bag and loads of lil tid bits
75-300 Voyeur (sold)

[reignofchaos]

Well heard from someone that 2008 copies of the 100-400 are distinctly sharper than old copies. My experience was with a 3 year old copy. Quite possible that canon silently updated the design.