I have a cannon 1000d and am wondering which is the best zoom lens to get for taking photos of garden birds ?
Hello and welcome to the forums Jackie! For birds and garden photos you your definitely looking for a decent reach in a zoom. Long fast lens (wide departures) can get spendy really fast. I will assume that since you have a 1000d which is an old dslr your on a fairly modest budget. I would suggest the Canon 55-250 STM, it gives you plenty of reach for you back yard and does not break the bank at roughly $300, you can likely save 30-40% if you pick up a refurbished or used. If you go the used route I would get something with a return policy and test it well right away, sometimes used copies are being sold because the owner fond the copy of the lens to not be as sharp as expected. I would definitely get the STM version of the 55-250 over the others as reviews have noted it to be a noticeable improvement over the older copies. Link to a review: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-55-250mm-f-4-5.6-IS-STM-Lens.aspx
Welcome to the forum. I've purchased several refurbished lenses from Canon and have no trouble at all. Like johnsey stated, a long lens for your needs.
Welcome to the Forum, Jackie. my personal use is 75 - 300mm but as Johnsey said 55 -250mm is sufficient. It will also come down to how far away the birds are and how much you want to spend on a lens. If you want to see people photographing birds, have a look at You Tube, it may also give you some ideas on how to attract the different birds to your garden. so all the best with it and just enjoy yourself. When you do get some put them up on the forum.
