Cameras for Bird Photography

To see some recommended cameras for bird photography go to the camera store. 

For those switching from film to digital here are answers to a few questions many will have.

What is the difference in lens focal length?

This is probably the most asked question.  The main difference in focal length is that the sensor in a digital camera is  18 millimeters, where as in 35 mm cameras the focal plane is 35 millimeters.  Because of the smaller sensor size you loose some of the wide angle.

Any focal length lens from a 35 mm camera is the same as a lens 1 and a half times that size for a digital camera.  That means that a 50 millimeter lens for a 35 mm camera is the same as a 75 mm lens of a digital camera.  This is good news for bird photographers since you are more likely to want a telephoto than a wide angle lens.

This is why many digital cameras these days will come with a 18 to 55, which would be about like a 28 mm to 80 mm in a 35 millimeter camera.  My favorite lens for film has always been the 135 mm.  To get the same lens in digital you would want about a 90 mm.

Many people will ask if they can use their old 35mm lenses with a digital camera.  The answer is that in some cameras if the mounts are the same you will be able to shoot with the old lens, but you will not have any metering ability because there will be no contacts.

A slow way around this is to meter with the 35 mm lens, then switch the lens to the digital camera to take the picture.  Most people will not want to do this.

Is there a difference in quality between film and digital cameras?

In film you are concerned with grain size to determine  how detailed your picture is.  While there is no direct comparison, in digital photography you are concerned with the number of pixels.  The more pixels or spots registered in your image the better quality of image.  A six mega pixel image will look good if it is printed at 16 x 20.

To illustrate pixels; below is a high resolution picture of a waxwing head along with 3 parts of it enlarged 400 times. Each color square that you see in the enlargements is a pixel.  A lower resolution or pixel count would make each pixel cover more area and definition in the picture is lost.

For bird photography I would recommend the highest mega pixel camera you can afford.  They do get pricey at the upper end.

Many film photographers use the grain in film to get different effects in their photography.  This can be accomplished in a digital camera with ISO settings.

Here are some recommended cameras.

Read about binoculars for bird watching 
or
Go to the binocular store.