question to wildfowl photographers??

[rickus]

O.k, getting to old to treck the hills,had a think,and I,d like to try photography while sat down.Now just near where I live is a nature reserve with a lake with hides around it.The question is this.I now have a canon s3is compact with a 12times zoom(36-432mm) now cannon do a tele converter that gives an extra 1.5times boost,it,s about £85,do I need it,I would be using tripod so no bother there.I know the closer you get the better,But,do I really need it.(Please say yes!) :rot fl:

 

[Peakoverload]

Yes you do.

I used to have a Sigma 50-500 and found that too short most of the time when using a hide. A friend also has this lens and sometimes uses it with a 2x TC (manually focusing) and even that, 1160mm in 35mm terms, is sometimes too short.

Animals just dont do what you want them to do. Just because you are in a hide and they can't see you doenst mean that they WILL come close, just that they MIGHT.

Also the thing to remember is that public hides can get quite busy and noisy which will make the animals keep their distance. Even if it's quiet when you go, the animals may already have been conditioned to when it has been noisy and therefore keep their distance.

The only thing to consider is you may well get vignetting at the extreme ends of the zoom on your camera when using a TC.

 

[rickus]

Thank,s for that Peakoverload,on my way to shop!!been looking on another site and vignneting not to bad at max zoom,with the 1.5 converter it will take my lens up to 620mm with a good tripod,that should be enough hopefully,