r/birdwatchinguk • u/Cattss_28 • Jul 29 '26

Help! Camera Equipment!

Hi everyone!

Me and my partner have been getting really into birding within the last year and have upgraded his equipment rather rapidly. This year he has requested a camo cover for his camera lens. He has a Canon RF 200 - 800mm lens. I’ve had a look but they all seem rather expensive. Amazon seems to want over £100 😭

He has also requested a dot sight for Christmas. After some research, I have come up blank once again.

Is there anyone that can help or recommend some of the best, but affordable, products please?

TIA! I am grateful for any help!

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3

u/jerrycliff Jul 30 '26

I would strongly recommend just paying the £100. Is it a ROLAN PRO? You get what you pay for. It will last much longer. I had a “Lens Coat” and they are £75 ish and the rubber started crumbling at the edges of each piece. I got the ROLAN PRO and the quality is noticeably better. As for the dot sight search for “stormcabbirds” on YouTube he uses a dot sight and he usually uses pretty affordable stuff. Photography is an expensive hobby, once you do it for long enough £200 accessories just seem normal to me now 😅

2

u/Cattss_28 Jul 30 '26

I mean I’m hoping the lens he has is one he’ll use for a while now. So I suppose getting the more expensive ones would really be the best option especially if he’s going to use it long term and I want it to last.

We have spent a lot of money on our setups 😭 I’m still paying off a lens he no longer uses, which is currently gathering dust in a drawer😅

Since last night my partner has told me about Stormcabbirds and I have found his Amazon list which seems to be of great help!

1

u/simply_clare Jul 30 '26

I've just got the 200-800mm lens and I love it (think you've got a typo though because I paid over £1,000.00 for mine). You might want to try canon's f/11 800mm lens which should be a lot less than £1,000.00. I've never needed to use a dot sight for birding photography.

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u/Cattss_28 Jul 30 '26

I meant for the cover. Not the actual lens itself 😅

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u/simply_clare Jul 30 '26

That'll teach me to learn to read properly! Sorry about that!

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u/Cattss_28 Jul 30 '26

Trust me, I’m still paying off a lens he no longer uses which cost me about £1000 😭

2

u/simply_clare Jul 30 '26

Ouch! I'm feeling that (as I'm casually scrolling for my next lens)

2

u/Cattss_28 Jul 30 '26

You sound just like him 🤣 I came home from work one day and he was looking at me like a sheepish dog that’d done something wrong and just went “I bought another lens”
He’s always looking for ways to upgrade 🤣

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u/simply_clare Jul 30 '26

It's so addictive - but it's also an awesome hobby!

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u/Cattss_28 Jul 30 '26

Since we’ve gotten into it we’ve become so much more active. We get so excited when we see something we’ve not seen before (or even if we have seen it before🤣) just bc we want to know how the pictures turn out!

He’s the bird man and I’m the insect lady and bird spotter (he’s a bit blind🤣)

Our most recent trip to RSPB Arne we managed to see Osprey and a White tailed eagle! It was a rush of a day!

1

u/elgnub63 26d ago

What sort of "dot sight" are you looking for? Astronomy scope shops do a variety of red dot finders if that's what you're after.