Gateway Glass: Bird photography is now affordable
I had wanted to get into bird photography for a long time. But the cost of good gear, especially the lenses, was prohibitive, really prohibitive! If you’ve ever wandered into an online bird photography forum, you might have encountered threads that start like this:
“Should I buy the Canon 600 mm f4 ii or the 500 mm f4 ii for my trip to the Galapagos islands next month?”
“I’m looking at upgrading from my 300 f4 to the 600 f4. I’d love hear your opinions.”
For the uninitiated, the latest incarnation of the Nikkor (Nikon’s brand for lenses) 600 f4 retails for more than to USD 12000. Yes, there are 5 digits before the decimal point!
The desire to photograph birds hit me really hard during the first quarter of 2015. And I started researching gear by following the work of bird photographer extraordinaire and chef Kristofer Rowe. Kris is renowned for extracting every last iota of performance from his gear. Shortly before he switched from Nikon to Canon, I noticed he was shooting with the Tamron 150–600 f/5–6.3 lens. His images were excellent so I decided to find out more about this lens. And here’s the rest of that story.
Before late 2013, bird photography was the preserve of professionals and the well heeled. The rest of us had to be content with admiring photographs in orinthological and wildlife publications include the fabled National Geographic magazine. Or engage in bird watching with a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope.
Were there no low cost alternatives to premium Nikon and Canon big glass back then? Yes there were — like Sigma’s 500 f4.5 and 150–500 f5–6.3. However, the widely held opinion seemed to be that these alternatives either lacked in image quality or features when compared to premium glass. Sigma’s 500 mm retails for around USD 5000 and lacks image stabilization. So while it costs less than half the price of the equivalent Canon or Nikon big glass, USD 5000 isn’t exactly chump change either.
Tamron completely changed the game when they announced the 150–600 mm f5–6.3 in November 2013. Currently, this lens retails for around USD 1100, a price point that’s affordable for many bird photography enthusiasts. It was well reviewed. Sure no one expects USD 1100 to perform like USD 11000, but Tamron had significantly reduced the gap in areas that mattered. It was such a hit with consumers that for a short time after the product’s launch, Tamron couldn’t keep up with demand.
Not to be outdone, Sigma, the other big independent lens manufacturer, released a “pro” grade version of the same genre, the 150–600 mm f5–6.3 Sports, in September 2014. Costing USD 900 more and weighing 900 grams (2 lbs) more than the Tamron, this beast features a more sophisticated optical design, better weather sealing, all aluminum barrel, and water and oil repellent front and rear elements. Not satisfied with capturing a different segment of the elite super zoom market, Sigma released a direct competitor to Tamron’s product three months later — the 150–600 f5–6.3 Contemporary.
The success of Tamron and Sigma in the market place was not lost on Nikon who released their own superzoom 200–500 f5.6 in August 2015 and retails for around USD 1400. I wonder how long it’ll take for Canon to jump onto the elite super zoom bandwagon.
If you’re a micro four thirds shooter, Panasonic has your back. They announced the forthcoming Leica 100–400 mm f4–6.3 in July 2015.
What does this flurry of elite super zooms mean for the aspiring bird photographer? It means that enthusiasts like me get do something we enjoy immensely without having to sell a kidney.
I’m a pragmatic consumer. I’m concerned about how the lens performs in the field rather than in the lab. How do the images look? Are they crisp? Are they appropriately contrasty? Are the colors appropriately vibrant? What about shadow detail? What about fine detail? As opposed to DXO mark scores, and resolution charts.
Here are some really fine images (used with permission) that were shot with these super zooms by excellent bird photographers in United States and Australia.
John Pham (+John Pham) took this photo of a Red-tailed Hawk on the wing with the Sigma 150–600 f5–6.3 Contemporary lens. He’s based in Los Angeles and you can follow his photography at http://bit.ly/1OcyqYO
Donalee Eiri (+Donalee Eiri) is based in Sacramento, California and captured this graceful Great Egret in flight using the Tamron 150–600 mm f5–6.3. Her selected works are published at http://bit.ly/1PLevC2
This photo of a tiny Brown Thornbill with lots of fine detail was taken by Glenn Smith (+Glenn Smith) from Sydney, Australia using the Sigma 150–600 f5–6.3 Sports. Glenn publishes his photos of Australian flora and fauna at http://bit.ly/1LiWNj1
I ended up buying the Sigma 150–600 Contemporary because the Sports lens was too heavy to hold steady. Why Sigma instead of Tamron? Probably because Sigma are better at content marketing.
And here are a few of my bird photographs.
So if you’ve ever harbored the ambition of winning an Audubon photo award but aren’t ready to sell your kidney yet, check out these elite super zooms. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. I was and still am.
Note 1: With the exception of the banner photo, EXIF data for each bird photo may be accessed by clicking on the link that appears when you hover the cursor over the photo.
Note 2: Special thanks to John Pham, Donalee Eiri and Glenn Smith for letting me use their amazing bird photos.
Please send your comments to +Kelvin Param on Google+ or @kelvinparam on Twitter, and include the #birdphotochat hash tag.
Kelvin Param is a podcasting and content strategy consultant based in Melbourne, Australia. He is also an amateur bird photographer and publishes his photographs at http://bit.ly/1N7Qd6d
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