Camera Labs

Im looking at getting the canon 18-135mm lens as my first DSLR lens. How good will this be for wildlife photography. Ie Deer or birds.
Thanks.
It will be mounted on a 60d

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Cameras: Canon Ixus 100is. 60D 17-85mm
Computer: 2008 Apple Macbook Aluminum (dreaming of a new retina macbook pro!!)
Phones: iPhone 1g And HTC Wildfire Apple iPad 3 wifi
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gareththomasjones/

In short, it depends how close you get! If you can approach close (e.g. captive ones) then it can be ok.

Do consider a longer lens in addition, particularly for wild birds where you often can never get enough. On the value end there's the EF-S 55-250 IS for example and also various 70-300 class lenses.


Ural Owl by Crestie Crazy, on Flickr
Example at 135mm. Note this was taken at a distance of 2.3m! I don't think I cropped this shot.


Short-eared Owl by Crestie Crazy, on Flickr
This one was 400mm at 9m, so you'd need to be about 3m away for the same subject size here at 135mm. Note this shot was cropped.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

I think for deer it "might" be useable if you can get close enough and the birds if they are at a feeder you'll get a few.
300mm would be a wiser investment for starting out and you won't end up with a shorter lens sitting idle in the bag later on.

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Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

personally i think 135 will be pretty much short for wildlife.. for mammals it depends how close we are , but for birds its definitely short.. i have my 70-200 2.8 mk2 lens and at some cases i felt quite short when i recently visited a bird sanctuary.. yes , you can try with 55-250 or 70-300 lens .. guess you should look FROM 300mm lens and provided go for primes...

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Canon EOS 5D mk III|Canon EOS 7D | 70-200 F2.8 L IS II USM | 400 F5.6 L USM

As mentioned, it tends to be thought of as short for most wildlife work, definitely for birding. But it's situational - it depends on where you are using it, and the animals/birds in that area. There are lots of places you can go where the wildlife interacts much more closely with people. Or maybe shooting in an aviary or zoo it could be useful as well. But overall, most birders would agree that 300mm on a crop body is the minimum reasonable lens reach, and most want much more...wildlife usually requires at least 300mm as well and depending on the animal maybe much more.

If you travel to my state, you'll find a 135mm more than enough for most wildlife and birds...in fact, even a 50mm is plenty for some birds and mammals. Just this Saturday, I could have shot bird closeups with a 10mm ultrawide lens at the wetlands where I was shooting - and these are all wild birds. Some tropical places around the world will have similar opportunities as the birds in these places tend to live all among the people.

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

Have a look at Wolfsongs wildlife shooting post here http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtop ... t=wildlife

He explains where your lens will be up to the job and where you'll find it short

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Canon EOS 550D (with Magic Lantern)
18mm - 135mm Kit Lens, 50mm f1.8, Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
430EX II Flash with Phottix Strato Wireless Tigger Set
Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 with 496 Ball Head. Gorilla Pod SLR
Canon Powershot A720IS with CHDK and intervalometer script. Pentax Optio W90

My Blog - http://www.ianganderton.wordpress.com

It all depends how close you want your pictures to appear, and how close you can get to your subject...
If you want a head shot of a deer at 50 yards you need a serious telephoto lens. Cannons 70-300mm is a relatively cheap nice zoom lens, the 55-250 EF-S (I think it is) is even cheaper. Steer well clear of Tamrons cheap non VC 70-300mm, I have one and its BAD, and now broken (sticky aperture).
I think their more expensive stabilised version is a LOT better.

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My Stuff: Canon 550d, 18-55mm kit lens, 50mm f1.8, Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro, Tamron 70-300mm (never buy one of these EVER), and a whole bag of other gadgets, filters, flashguns etc.
My Flickr Photostream

Ive decided against the 18-135mm due to lack of usm. so ive decided to go for the 17-85mm instead. I am likely now to invest in canons 70-300mm non L. but that won't be for some time.

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Cameras: Canon Ixus 100is. 60D 17-85mm
Computer: 2008 Apple Macbook Aluminum (dreaming of a new retina macbook pro!!)
Phones: iPhone 1g And HTC Wildfire Apple iPad 3 wifi
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gareththomasjones/

A friend of mine has the Canon 70-300mm you mention and it is pretty good for the price.

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My Stuff: Canon 550d, 18-55mm kit lens, 50mm f1.8, Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro, Tamron 70-300mm (never buy one of these EVER), and a whole bag of other gadgets, filters, flashguns etc.
My Flickr Photostream

Too be honest I consider myself a landscape photographer, mainly because my ixus has been unable to reach the wildlife. Things may change in a month or two.

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Cameras: Canon Ixus 100is. 60D 17-85mm
Computer: 2008 Apple Macbook Aluminum (dreaming of a new retina macbook pro!!)
Phones: iPhone 1g And HTC Wildfire Apple iPad 3 wifi
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gareththomasjones/

135mm can be a great lens for wildlife, as long as the wildlife is'nt too far away. Most 135mm lenses are small and light enough to allow them to be used handheld which can really help when you have to frame and shoot a moving animal in a hurry.
I use a Sigmatel 135mm f1.8...These were taken at either f4 or 5.6:



And a 100% crop:





And a 100% crop:





And a 100% crop: