£500 to spend on a lens for wildlife photography?

the-Hegehog

the-Hegehog

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hi, Im looking for either a lens or maybe a teleconverter that will make my wildlife photography better, I already have the 55-300 and am aware it's not as good as the 70-300. I just want something that will give me some more reach.
Thank you,
 
Could have bought my 300mm f4 for a tad more than that,assuming a Nikon user.
 
would help if you mentioned which mount you are using. You should be able to afford a (used) 150-600mm from sigma or tamron which would give you twice the reach.
 
Just something to think of, make sure a teleconverter is compatible with your lens ,they are not all mix and match.
Some also may require manual focus above certain f stops. Don't get a sigma one, I had 2 and both fell apart
 
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You need to say what camera you are using! :)
 
When going for extra reach you need to be sure that extra focal length translates into extra detail resolution. A good 50mm lens can produce more detail resolution than a not so good 100mm.

For example, I have a 500mm f8 mirror lens, and a 70-300mm lens which many people assured me would give me obviously better detail resolution than such a rubbish 500mm mirror lens, mirror lenses being "well known" to be rubbish. In fact it obviously doesn't. The 500mm lens very obviously provides a lot more detail resolution than the 70-300mm at 300mm. On the other hand I've also compared the 500mm with a very expensive highly regarded 70-400mm f4 lens. At 400mm that zoom does produce slightly more detail in dim areas of the image than my lower contrast 500mm mirror lens. But only the kind of extra detail that an experienced pixel peeping photographer would be able to notice, the kind of extra detail that you might just be able to notice if you used a magnifying glass on a good A3 print.

On a dim misty day a 100mm lens can produce just as much detail of a distant big ship on the horizon as a top 600mm prime.
 
Go with one of the 150-600's - I used to have the Tamron such as Jerry's and its an excellent lens.
 
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Use a Tamron 150-600 for airshows and a great lens, my old 300mm f4 was slightly better IQ wise but more limiting in length. Both are great though ad available used for around 500
 
I too am thinking of getting a sigma 150 600 to go on my 7d2, anyone on here selling one by any chance?
 
I suggest a Nikon 300 f4 afs, these are now very good value 2nd hand (Ace Optics - have one for £450). At a later date you could add a 1.4tc to gain a very good 420mm lens and later again add a close up lens (something like a Canon D500) if insects are of interest.
 
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