Equipment used by Lincsbirder

I use a Canon EOS 400 D Digital SLR camera fitted with either a Sigma 50 - 500 mm 1:4-6.3 APO zoom lens, or a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM Lens. I also use a Canon 350 D Digital SLR camera fitted with a Sigma 150 mm macro lens. A Manfrotto tripod, is used as the support system for these cameras. More details and photographs can be viewed below.

Sigma 50-500mm 1:4-6.3 APO zoom lens fitted to the Canon EOS 400 D Digital SLR, lens extended.

The Sigma lens shown above is in my opinion an excellent lens for bird photography. It features an HSM motor (Hyper sonic motor) and is very fast to focus and virtually silent in operation. The disadvantage of this lens is the weight. It weighs combined with the camera body 2.5 kg. This lens can be used with a monopod, but I find my best results from it come when used with a tripod. I believe the advantages this lens provides in quality of the images, focal length and fast focussing far outweigh the weight issue.

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM Lens.

The Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens shown above. It is another excellent lens for bird photography. This lens in comparison to the Sigma 50 - 500mm is a relative lightweight. Although this lens has a slightly shorter focal length at 400mm compared to the Sigma at 500mm it is possible to hand hold this lens and still get excellent results particularly for in flight shots. It features a USM motor (Ultasonic motor) for near silent operation, and I do think this lens has the edge over the Sigma 50 - 500mm in terms of sharpness of the images, but that is what one would expect from a fixed focal length lens compared to a zoom lens.

Sigma 150 mm 1:2.8 APO macro lens fitted to the Canon EOS 350D Digital SLR

The Sigma lens shown above is a lovely piece of kit capable of excellent images. Although a dedicated macro lens it is possible to take non macro shots with it, such as largish birds in flight due to it's very fast auto focus. This lens also has the HSM motor (Hyper sonic motor) making it virtually silent in operation, essential in my opinion when taking macro shots of insects to avoid disturbance.

Kenko Pro 300 1.4 Teleconverter

Shown above is a Kenko Pro 3000 1.4 teleconverter. I purchased this to use mainly with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens for those occasional shots that are just out of reach of this lens under normal circumstances. Auto focus is possible in good light with the 1.4 converter attached as long as the pins are taped to fool the camera into auto focusing. I have also been using this converter with the Sigma 150mm macro lens with good results as long as it is a reasonably bright day to get a fast enough shutter speed. Any photographs taken with the teleconverter attached will be stated as so with the other photograph information.

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM Lens mounted on the Manfrotto 055CL Classic Tripod fitted with a Manfrotto 488RC4 ball head with a Canon 580EX 11 Speedlite flash unit mounted on a Stroboframe quick flip flash bracket with a Better Beamer Fresnel screen flash extender mounted on the canon 580EX 11 flash unit.

With the camera weighing as much as it does it is essential to have a tripod and head capable of supporting it. The Manfrotto 488RC4 ball head is more than capable of this as well as being very versatile and the camera can be used at any angle with this head. Again the disadvantage of this set up is the weight, but well worth it in my opinion for the stability given. The tripod legs can be independently set at different angles if required and the tripod can go down as low as 8 cm to the ground. The Manfrotto can also be used as a monopod when conditions are not suitable for extending all three legs.

The Canon 580EX 11 Speedlite flash unit is used in conjunction with the Better Beamer flash extender. The Better Beamer is a purpose built flash extender for telephoto lenses of 300mm and above. Basically it straps to the Speedlite flash unit and the Fresnel magnification lens extends the range of the flash by concentrating and magnifying the flash beam, (or so I'm told) The Better Beamer is very much an experimental piece of kit for me and I haven't had time to give it a proper testing as yet. Any photographs taken using the flash and Better Beamer will be stated as such. I Have now been able to test this latest piece of equipment, and I'm pleased to say it seems to work very well.

Lambency flash diffuser fitted to the Canon 580EX 11 Speedlite flash unit.

I have recently purchased a Lambency flash diffuser. This is mainly for use in my garden when I am pretty close up to the birds.

The problem with photographing birds at the feeding station in my garden is that the garden is small. This is coupled with the fact that the garden gets full sun for most of the day in winter time especially when I am most likely to be taking the photographs. Also the only positions I can photograph from for various reasons mean that I have to shoot into the sun which is far from ideal or choose cloudy days, which again isn't ideal.

The Lambency diffuser allows me to photograph on the cloudy days and helps to lift the images giving an evenly lit lighting effect very similar to natural sunlight. Any photographs taken using the diffuser will be stated as such.