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Lens advice please

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    #16
    Re: Lens advice please

    Minor irrelevant detail. Technically, you're not using a DSLR but rather a MILC, as the M series are not "single lens reflex". OK, that's a nit pick. Something else you might find useful is the lens tests at https://www.opticallimits.com/Reviews/overview (formerly Photozone.de) and in particular the resolution tests at various apertures. That site is a good place to look before you buy a lens, and in your case, it is a place to see the strengths and weaknesses of it, so you can make the best of what it is.
    Bill
    "If I were the Devil, I'd take from those who have and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious." -Paul Harvey, 1964

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      #17
      Re: Lens advice please

      As another suggestion for Lens for the M w/the adapter would be the Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3. The down side is the @ 400mm it is @ f/6.3 which means using it for bird photography, you need to have very bright lighting or your ISO will climb. I use it for hiking and my Grandson's outdoor sports and find the images to be acceptable quality when not pushing the ISO too high.

      Tom

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        #18
        Re: Lens advice please

        Agreed, Tom. I didn't get the impression the OP was looking for lens suggestions. I have the Tamron 16-300, which I used on an SL1 for a long time before getting the M50. After getting the firmware updated on the 16-300 it's become better on the M50 than it was on the SL1 (since the SL1 did not have AF microadjust, and the M50 doesn't need it.) As to birds, I know several people whose first tele zoom was a 70 or 75 to 300, and they've all moved on. The move from 300 to 400 doesn't yield much in terms of reach. If still working inside a budget but wanting better reach, the Tamron 150-600 or the Sigma version of that zoom, could be a reasonable option. My wife uses the 500 F4 usually with a 1.4 extender, but that's a lot of money AND a lot of weight and bulk.

        Since the OP is using a mirrorless, he might find that AF still works with an extender on his existing zoom. I was surprised when I found my M50 still had AF with a 1.4x on the 16-300, and it's F6.3 at 300 (although it lies to the camera and reports F5.6 so as to not shut off autofocus on DSLRs that quit AF above 5.6.) A 1.4x bumps the effective focal length to 420mm at a cost of one aperture stop, making it about an F9, which on most DLRS would shut of AF, but on a mirrorless may still work, albeit slowly.

        I'm not familiar with a Canon EF 75-300, but another consideration is if that lens has IS, and it's not turned off on a tripod, the IS can induce movement within the lens. The original 100-400 was/is notorious for causing the view to oscillate in the viewfinder with IS on while on a tripod, with a resulting kind of camera shake.

        A word of advice to the OP. Don't get caught up in equipment. My wife uses a 50.6MP 5DSR, enough high end lenses to bankrupt a third world country, but her favorite work, and largely some of her best birds and bugs, were when she had a Canon 20D (8mp) and Sigma 50-500 zoom, with extension tubes for closeups.
        Bill
        "If I were the Devil, I'd take from those who have and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious." -Paul Harvey, 1964

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          #19
          Re: Lens advice please

          All very interesting and informative, thank you. I’m learning a lot here.
          I bought a Tamron 100-400mm which i’m finding so much easier. I Adjust the light to allow the aperture at f/6.3 and seem to be getting reasonable results. Well, certainly better than previously.
          But it’s all trial and error no? And research of course.
          I appreciate all the input, thank you.

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            #20
            Re: Lens advice please

            Andy, as others have pointed out, it is rare-indeed almost unheard of--for a lens to be its sharpest wide open. Typically, one or two stops down from maximum aperture is the best. You'll almost certainly get a sharper picture if you stop that lens down to, say, F8. Of course the three elements of exposure still have to be taken into account: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. With wildlife, the best pictures are going to be action: birds in flight, diving pelicans, hawks on the attack, etc. Those will dictate shutter speed. Then you have ISO. Easy except that the higher, the noisier, and the sharpest lens in the world can't overcome ISO 12800 noise! So then you're back to faster lenses, so you can stop down that 500mm F4 to 5.6, and it never ends. Good luck and have fun with it. My wife never gets tired of birds.
            Bill
            "If I were the Devil, I'd take from those who have and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious." -Paul Harvey, 1964

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              #21
              Re: Lens advice please

              Bill, thank you, I will try that. And yes, action pictures definitely. I’m working on it ��

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