Advice on T4i Canon Camera?

Question

Hello folks!
I am in the market for purchasing a camera for my father. This will be his first High-end camera and he intends to use it for birdwatching. We are not to savy or in the know about these hi-end cameras. On amazon.com , I saw the "Canon EOS Rebel T4i 18.0 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera" And we have options to purchase the Camera Body only, or the camera with either the 18-55mm EF-S IS II Lens or the 18-135mm EF-S IS STM Lens.
I am of the opinion that he should purchase the 18-135mm EF-S IS STM Lens. However, in a review on youtube, I heard that it is best to purchase the Body only and then the Lens, as opposed to purchasing the both together(as a kit I presume). The reason given is that the lens that comes with the kit is of a plastic-like, "shoddy" construction as opposed to a lens that you can purchase separately of higher quality.

I want to know these answers from you, the knowledgeable and experienced community:
-Are there lenses made by other manufacturers that works on Canon cameras?
- Are there other Canon lenses out there that are built of better quality, other than shoddy materials?
-Can you please recommend a good lens(preferably Canon, if it's the best) that I can purchase separately?

Many thanks for your help!

Answer 1

If he's planning to go bird watching he's going to need a 400mm lens, at least, unless the birds are very close by, or big. Certainly if it's wildlife photography, i.e. not garden birds, a 135mm lens will be pretty useless.



The linked photos were taken with a 70-300mm zoom at 300mm and are uncropped. The egret was probably 30m (100ft) away and the house finch was around 5m (15ft) away. As you can see, especially with the finch, the bird is small even at that focal length. These were taken with the T3i.



Now things get expensive. Telephoto lenses are not cheap. The 70-300mm lens I used is around $1500 (link 3). The Canon 100-400mm is a similar price (4). There's also the 400mm prime lens that's marginally cheaper (5).



There are other manufacturers, e.g. Sigma who make long telephoto lenses, e.g. link 6, which is used for wildlife photography, but, again, it's not cheap.



For your case, any camera will do the job, it's the lens that's going to be the headache and cost a lot. I'd recommend visiting birdwatching forums, e.g. link 7+9, and see what equipment people use and the sorts of photos they get. Certainly any kit lens won't be suitable.



To add, link 8 was taken with a 70-200mm F4L lens which is about 40% of the price of the 70-300, but the bird wasn't that far away, & puffins aren't that big.

Answer 2

All lenses and most cameras incorporate a great deal of plastic today. It's something photographers need to get used to and struggle with on a daily basis.



Plastics of the 21st century are much tougher and more structurally stable than those of the 80s. Many composite materials outperform metal because when deformed, they bounce back instead of permanently denting. It feels like plastic, because it is plastic, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Just different.



However, a 135mm is not enough for birdwatching. Not even with 18 megapixels. In your dad's case I would recommend going with at the very minimum a 300mm on the long end. Tamron has a 28-300 that's gotten some good feedback, but I myself have not shot with it. It's around $650. The wide end would make it a great "only lens" for a birdwatcher.

Answer 3

Consider the Canon T2i instead. It offers the same image quality and is nearly the same camera in many other regards as well, but cheaper.



Both the T3i and T4i are just minor upgrades of features that are not really necessary for very most purposes.

Direct the saved money towards a good telephoto lens.