{"id":32,"date":"2008-12-23T09:54:03","date_gmt":"2008-12-23T14:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/?p=32"},"modified":"2009-05-28T10:11:57","modified_gmt":"2009-05-28T15:11:57","slug":"selecting-wildlife-photo-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/selecting-wildlife-photo-equipment\/","title":{"rendered":"Selecting Wildlife Photo Equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"      <p>Thankfully my nature photography has allowed me to build up a small budget that I will be using in the coming year to expand into the semi-professional field.<\/p>\n<p>I have been accepted to participate in a wildlife expedition at Canaan Valley WV next October which I am very excited about.<\/p>\n<p>So I am going to be purchasing a new camera and a new wildlife lens this coming year.<\/p>\n<p>I have faithfully been using my Canon rebel 350d for 5 years now and have taken it from the most rugged inhospitable canyons in WV to the most deslate windy and cold mountain tops.<\/p>\n<div style=\"float: right;margin: 2px;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-1085096769368578\";\ngoogle_alternate_color = \"FFFFFF\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 234;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\ngoogle_ad_format = \"234x60_as\";\ngoogle_ad_type = \"text\";\ngoogle_ad_channel =\"\";\ngoogle_color_border = \"ffffff\";\ngoogle_color_link = \"394948\";\ngoogle_color_bg = \"ffffff\";\ngoogle_color_text = \"394948\";\ngoogle_color_url = \"394948\";\ngoogle_ui_features = \"rc:0\";\n\/\/--><\/script>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n  src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/div><p>But I need some better equipment to get into the semi-pro field. So I am seriously considering a Canon 5d Mark II (when they are back in stock) And in the meantime I am trying to select a good Wildlife lens. I currently do not have one and have been limping by with a Quantary 70-300mm 4-5.6<\/p>\n<p>So I am really looking forward to a new wildlife lens and do not, I repeat absolutely do not want to waste my hard earned money (who does?).<\/p>\n<p>Anyway after months of searching and reading I am considering the Sigma 120-300mm 2.8 OR a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS with a 1.4x TC.<\/p>\n<p>I have read so much about the Sigma lenses developing focus issues and I am concerned about the quality. However, their price has went up which indicates a product in demand (it must be in demand for some reason).<\/p>\n<p>Anyway here are some Pro\u2019s and Con\u2019s about these two lenses that I have researched.<\/p>\n<p>Sigma 120-300 2.8<\/p>\n<p>Pros<br \/>\nFast and can be used with TC to really reach out there<\/p>\n<p>Cons<br \/>\nLarge Filter size that is uncommon and expensive<br \/>\nReported AF issues (I have experienced this with a fixed 28mm Sigma)<br \/>\nReorted Quality issues<br \/>\nNo IS<br \/>\nNo Weather seal (kind of necessary for nature photographers)<br \/>\nMuch More expensive<\/p>\n<p>Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS<\/p>\n<p>Pros<br \/>\nWeather sealed<br \/>\nCanon L Series Quality<br \/>\nSharper and faster dependable AF<br \/>\nIS for hand held shots<br \/>\nLess expensive<br \/>\nCommon filter size (I already have some good filters that are 77mm)<\/p>\n<p>Cons<br \/>\nLess focal length<br \/>\nSlower Speed at 280 mm with 1.4x TC<\/p>\n<p>I know it may seem obvious with the pros and cons but it is still a toss up to me since I am doing wildlife and nature photography.<\/p>\n<p>If anyone has experience in comparing these two lenses especially on a Canon Digital rebel 350d and\/or any experience on a Canon 5d Mark II, I would greatly appreciate your experience and input.<\/p>\n<p>Also if you have any other suggestions that may fit within this budget I am open for suggestions.<\/p>\n<p>I cannot use to slow of a lens becuase I often find myself shooting in low light forests and valleys or in early morning and late evening settings.<\/p>\n\n      <div data-chorus-discovery data-url=\"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/selecting-wildlife-photo-equipment\/\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thankfully my nature photography has allowed me to build up a small budget that I will be using in the coming year to expand into the semi-professional field. I have been accepted to participate in a wildlife expedition at Canaan Valley WV next October which I am very excited about. So I am going to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/47"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestwander.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}