Zoom Lens

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Tony
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Hi just brought a cannon 450d, my first slr, have a Sony Cybershot but could never zoom into anything, thats why i brought the slr. Looking to buy a zoom lens, been reading up on len`s but just more confused now then before. You know what they say, a bit of knowledge is dangours.
Read some where that to find the zoom you have to divide the lowest into the highest, ie 28-300 = 300/28 = 11x zoom, but was talking to someone who said 50 is the normal eye or something, so its 50 into 300, so it would be 6x zoom??????.
We go Scotland quite a bit, and has a example of what i am after. Saw this eagle perched on top of a telegraph pole, zoomed in as much has i could with the cybershot, but when looking at the photo, could not tell what kind of bird it was. So i am after something that would enable me to zoom right up to it.
thks
 
Then forget a zoom and think about a re-mortgage as you're in 400mm plus range. The Sigma 50-500mm could do it, that's a 10x zoom but suffers in quality beyond 200mm. Filling the frame with birds needs big expensive lenses but the results can be stunning.
 
ignore the x zoom rating they are used are a marketing tool. its the lower number devided into the bigger number.
its measure in focal length - the length from the sensor to the front element (iirc) compact cameras can be as little as 8mm but because of the small sensor size its magnifield and so appears to be around 28mm on full frame.
50mm is meant to be equal to your field of view your eyes give you. (on a full frame sensor though)

You are not guaranteed the shot of the bird just because you have SLR system. There are many lenses that can get you the shot but the quality will vary. you can spend £150 on a 70-300 lens or you can spend thousands on a 600mm prime lens. the results tend to justify the price difference.
 
Dont mind paying a couple of grand, thats why i was after some advice before i go out spending, like the sigma, would not have known about that, so does not sound very good.
 
A 500mm will set you back about 4k and isn't something you can really walk around with. I suppose another option would be something like the 300mm f/2.8 + a 2x convertor giving you 600mm f/4. That's a pretty luggable combo for wildlife on the move.
 
You're lucky you decided to buy a Canon. They offer you lots of options for telephotos....

* £800 ish => 400mm f/5.6 L - very light, very very very sharp, great for birds in flight
* £900 ish => 300mm f/4 L IS - takes a 1.4x Extender well to give you 420mm f/5.6, not as sharp as the 400mm f/5.6 L but IS lets you photograph static objects in poorer light
* £1000 ish => 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS - great all-round wildlife lens, very popular for safaris, wildlife holidays, birding, ...
... then there's a big jump in price ...
* £3000 ish => 300mm f/2.8 L IS - superb quality, takes a 1.4x Extender or 2x Extender very well to give you 420mm f/4 or 600mm f/5.6, just about hand-holdable
* £4000 ish => 500mm f/4 L IS - superb quality again, 1.4x Extender gives you 700mm f/5.6, but too big to hand-hold
... and then there are even more expensive ones!
 
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