New guy here with a few questions.

[Gr8outdrsmn]

Hi. I currently only own a Sony DSC W7 (it is a decent point and shoot camera, but isn't giving me what I want), but I am going to make the plunge and purchase the new Canon Digital Rebel XTi within a month or two. I am really new when it comes to SLRs and would greatly appreciate any pointers that you guys could give me. I am really in the dark when it comes to lens purchasing. I enjoy nature and would love to shoot wildlife photos, but I am unsure of what mm lens to buy, and is the IS really necessary if I am shooting from a tripod? Also, what kind of range could I expect to get with say a 70-200mm lens or the 100-300mm lens? Any information/help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Hoppy]

Hi and welcome
If you can afford the 70-200 IS lens it is a far better lens than the other one. It has more and far better elements giving better image quality. I use this lens all the time with and without 1.4x and 2x extenders, the 2x making a 400mm f 5.6 lens. The IS is not essential when you will be using a tripod but it gives you the option of hand holding in areas where a tripod don't fit or on long walks when the weight of a tripod seems to get heavier. The animal shots on my web site are shot using a 70-200 IS lens see what you think.
If you have money to spend a 500mm or 600mm f4 is the way to go for wildlife....

 

[Gr8outdrsmn]

Thanks a lot for the information. It helps, means I have to save a little longer, lol, but it helps. How far will it zoom clearly?

 

[Gr8outdrsmn]

Those are some really nice shots on your website.

 

[Hoppy]

Thanks a lot for the information. It helps, means I have to save a little longer, lol, but it helps. How far will it zoom clearly?

It all depends on the size of the subject.
A sparrow would have to be fairly close but a swan could be a couple of hundred yards but you would need to crop in alot on the computor.

 

[fightheheathens]

200 mm on a standard Film SLR is about 4x.
I was taught to divide the focal length by about 50 (assuming 50 mm is about what we see)
this may be different on DSLR's as they have a different sensor size then film