What camera do you use when birdwatching?

[Stacey32]

thanks for all the info. I plan on buying it either duty free on my next trip, or when i visit the states in july. i am soooooo excited and your advice is much appreciated. i love photographing wildlife and i have such a crappy camera!

[Parrotlover]

You don't see too many birds around here other than the odd robin or sparrow, but when I do take photos of the birds I use my Nikon D70. Its a great camera!

[Stacey32]

thanks vanessa. i'll look into that one as well :)

[Tiki]

Stacey, you will get a better deal buying it at one of the end-of-financial year sales. Harvey Norman's or whatever. Take the receipt to the airport and get the gst back. I was thinking of buying an Ipod like this, not sure about the budget though.

www.customs.gov.au Click on "Travellers", then look for "Tourist refund scheme".

[Buteo]

Distance work (birds & other wildlife):
I'll use my Canon AE-1 Program 35mm film cam with either my Canon 100-300mm zoom or 500mm reflex lens. Yeah, adding my 2X extender increases the grain & doubles the Fstops, but it brings it to 1000mm when I need the extra "reach".

Close-up work (plants & insects):
I love my Fuji S602 Zoom. It's macro focus capability is awesome, all though the depth of field is rather narrow.

[stan23]

I use a Canon Digital Rebel usually with a 80 - 200mm canon lens. Sometimes I will add on a 6X converter.