Sigma Lens

[Mick58]

My son has a Nikon D60, and I have been offered a Sigma 170-500 APO Zoom for a Nikon AF with a Hoya 86mm UV filter for £400. (mint condition).

Is this OK for his camera, and is the lens a Good one:thinking:

[bartoszwozniak]

This is FANTASTIC value! Really good. The zoom will look a little funny on the small D60, but I am sure that he would love this lens.

[PsiFox]

Bear in mind that if that lens does not have an inbuilt motor, he will have to manual focus.

Oh and welcome to TP:)

[corky]

These lens normally sell 2nd hand in the region £300-£350

[Mick58]

Thanks guys, just the info I needed.

PsiFox, will the 1x5 TC work well with the 55x200? will that turn it into something like 350mm or as I heard that it is like a 500 SLR?

Sorry for my lack of Knowledge in this field:bonk:

[Nod]

#1, As said above, the lens is body driven as far as Auto Focus goes and will not AF on a D60.

#2. The lens isn't a stellar performer. It's a cheap way into long telephoto lenses (although £400 is closer to a dealer price with a warranty) but it's slow to aquire focus, has a small maximum aperture (so needs good light to get a fast shutter speed) and isn't particularly sharp at the long end, especially when it's wide open.

Especially on a D60, the 150-500 OS Sigma is a better bet. It's an HSM lens so has an AF motor built in and is faster to aquire focus than the older 170-500. It's still got a small maximum aperture but also has Optical Stabilisation so can be hand held at slower shutter speeds (although that cabn introduce the problem of subject movement rather than camera shake). The other problem is that there aren't that many on the 2nd hand market and a new one will be £700 or more.

[artyman]

I have the 150-500, the lens you mention was its predecessor and not very well regarded, might be OK if the price was right and you are unable to afford the 150-500 which is a far better proposition.

[fabs]

Better off in Talk Equipment I think.

[Mick58]

thanks to everyone. don't think I need anymore answers now, think I will go for a nikkor 70-300 and maybe 1x4TC

[Nod]

Mick, the Nikkor 70-300 VR is not suitable for use with a Nikon teleconverter - the rear element of the lens can hit the front element of the telecon. Some 3rd party telecons can be used with the lens but they can bring in image quality issues of their own. IMO, you're better off cropping an image than you are using a converter and you don't lose that stop of light either. The 70-300 VR is definitely suitable for use on a D60 since it's an AF-S lens.

[Mick58]

Nod

I did not know that (still learning along with my son) :thankyou:!

[Nod]

If your son has registered his D60 with Nikon, he should be able to access all the manuals etc on the Nikon website. They can be found under Customer Services > Support and Downloads then finding the product in the lists provided.

[Mick58]

Thanks again Nod.
Had a D40 until recently, so should be registered to Nikon. Not sure if my son has registered the D60

[Mick58]

OK, here are my options.

I have a nikkor 55-200 - should I get a 1.4xTC to go with this or:

Sell the 55-200 and buy a new NIKON 70-300mm 4.5-5.6G VR AFS IF-ED and not have the TC.

My son mainly wants it to shoot birds/wild life pics.

:bang:

[Martyn...]

OK, here are my options.

I have a nikkor 55-200 - should I get a 1.4xTC to go with this or:

Sell the 55-200 and buy a new NIKON 70-300mm 4.5-5.6G VR AFS IF-ED and not have the TC.

My son mainly wants it to shoot birds/wild life pics.

:bang:

Mick I doubt that the 55-200 will take the Nikon 1.4TC because of the reasons stated a few posts above, the only Nikon zooms that will take the Nikon TC's are the expensive ones 70-200 f2.8, and 200-400VR.

The 70-300 VR is a super lens, that would be my choice, make sure you get the latest 'VR' model, not the previous non VR one.

[Mick58]

Thanks Martyn, will proberbly sell 55-200 and get 70-300 (get rest of Dosh from son (yeah)!

[Steve2]

definatlly get the latest 70-300 as it is a very nice lens

[Mick58]

I was going to post a couple of his images, but don't know how to on here

[Martyn...]

(get rest of Dosh from son (yeah)!

I have a 23 year old son, and 20 year old daughter .... that has yet to happen, but I live in hope :D

But if he is providing the balance get the 200-400VR and tell him that he owes you £4000 :naughty:

[Mick58]

You can now see some of the photos he has taken in my album. (think I have done it right)

[Martyn...]

You can now see some of the photos he has taken in my album. (think I have done it right)

Yes they are there Mick, nice shots :thumbs:

How old is he?

[Martyn...]

Yes they are there Mick, nice shots :thumbs:

How old is he?

Just seen your other post, 14 years old, he has a good eye for a shot.

One tip, keep the Sun behind you, ideally coming over your shoulder.

[Mick58]

cheers, I thought they were good, but always nice to get somebody else opinion

[Martyn...]

cheers, I thought they were good, but always nice to get somebody else opinion

I know at 14 it is unlikely, as most 14 year olds already know everything, but if he does need any advice feel free to ask on here.

The thing is with practice he will improve, once he gets to grips with what different aperture settings do to an image, with regard to sharpness and depth of field.

The Dragonfly shot was done wide open f5.6, which gives a narrow depth of focus, especially the closer you get to the subject, ideally he needed to be at f7.1 or f8, this would have put more of the subject in focus, and also made it a little sharper.

The Heron in flight was also shot wide open, this is fine with the top range prime lenses, but with the normal zooms he will see a benefit if he can close down to f6.3 or f7.1.

I would recommend a nice easy to follow, and easy to read book "Digital Exposure Handbook by Ross Hoddinott".

[Nod]

Sell the 55-200 and buy a new NIKON 70-300mm 4.5-5.6G VR AFS IF-ED and not have the TC.


Mifsuds have one listed in the 2nd hand section of the latest advert in AP - may be worth checking their website to see if they still have it (they want £349 for it).

Another option could be the new Sigma 70-300 APO which now has OS (Sigma's version of VR). The older 70-300 APO was reputed to perform quite well so the latest incarnation may be worth a look. (My money would still go on the Nikon, even at the extra money.)

[Mick58]

being dumb here… Mifsuds? advert in AP?

[Martyn...]

being dumb here… Mifsuds? advert in AP?

Mifsuds LINK (http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/ActChange.htm) look under used items, scroll down the page to the Nikon stuff they had a 70-300VR listed.

AP = Amateur Photographer Magazine