Photography Q&A

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Q I’d like to start trying out some macro photography with my DSLR (it’s a five-year-old-Canon). Can you recommend some affordable lens options, please?

D Whittle, Petersfield

A There are many places to start regarding macro photography, depending on the camera you do have, whether it is a crop-sensor or full frame, and the budget you have.

A specific lens that is affordable, I’d recommend the Sigma 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO Art Lens. It has a great minimum focus distance of 0.26m, making it an ideal candidate for macro.

The Sigma is an affordable option, and has 9 aperture blades which will make your bokeh rounder and your background a lot smoother when shooting at wider apertures.

If you’d like to find a lens best for you, get in touch with us at Clifton Cameras and we’ll be happy to help.

Q Having just started taking bird photos with my DSLR, I’m struggling to track birds in flight. Is there an easy way to do this?

H Miller, Sleaford

A This is one of the hardest parts of wildlife photography, the simple answer to the question is practice. Any moving objects you can use to practise on, cars, planes etc will all help.

Even if light is bad and you don’t want to take shots at a certain time, you can still practise tracking birds and not firing off any shots, this will help when the light does turn good. Equally, start with slower moving birds before moving onto faster, more agile birds.

Recommend starting with a smaller focal length to allow you more time to find and follow the bird, building confidence to move into longer focal lengths.

www.cliftoncameras.co.uk