kit for wildlife

i have a sigma 70-200 f/2.8 wth a kenko 1.4 tc its ok for birds in the garden where i can get close but i have not tried it in the wild yet

heres a pic i took earlier today from 6/7 meters away so its a fair crop

014 by martynwilliams366, on Flickr
 
I would think that the very minimum you will need for birds, (especially small ones) is 300mm f4 with a x 1.4TC ….. then you will have to get quite near ……. this is based on my experience, although I have only got to 300mm f2.8VR plus a x 2TC.

600mm …….. no matter how you get there, 300mm + x2 TC or better still 400mm x 1.4 is about the "norm" for good shots ………. it gets really expensive and this is driven by the constant need to get better shots, (by most people, not all)

Others may suggest the Nikon 1 with the FT-1 that will easily get you to 600mm at a reasonable aperture as the crop factor is x 2.7 and you do not loose any stops of light

Good luck
 
To get a LBJ near to full frame with a 300mm lens you would need to be within about 6 feet or so. All the best WPs spend much more time stalking/waiting than anything else.
 
Have a look in the "Bird" Section - they will sort you out!
 
I currently use a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8VR II + TC-20EIII as I'am in the middle of gear changes giving me 400mm, and I can safely tell you that it is far too short for everything about from deer at a good range, as Bill said you need to 600mm to be getting most things, I use to use the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4 + 1.7x TC and that gave a f/6.7 and 520mm I think it was and that worked very well for me. Mite be a setup you may want to look into.
 
I would get the Sigma 2x (EX APO DG)... That gives you 400mm f/5.6 and 600mm FOV. Can't say how well it will work w/ the 70-200 but it works quite well w/ my Sigma 120-300mm.

Still on the short end for BIF and anything small/distant...
 
My most used combo is the Nikon 300 with the 1.4tc on it. That will give you good focal length on your crop bodied D300
 
Its really down to your budget, and what's the best you can sensibly afford.

I got quite reasonable distance shots with my EF 70-300L, when I was using a 7D with it's crop sensor, but after moving up to the full-frame 5D Mklll I lost the crop-factor advantage.

I then considered both the Sigma 150-500, and the new Tamron 150-600, but having read several reviews, and spoken to some end-users, it was obvious that I wasn't going to get the L series lens IQ that I was used to, without 'stopping down'.

So, I went for the EF 400mm f/5.6 L, and the EF 1.4x lll TC. This now gives me 400mm at f/5.6, or 560mm at f/8 with the TC in-line, which suits my needs nicely, and the IQ that I have been used to.

Dave
 
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Going to go against the grain here and say that you don't necessarily need a huge zoom. You're using a cropped sensor camera, so you get an extra 1.7x from that.

so 200 x 1.4 x 1.7 = 476mm equivalent on a full frame camera. That's plenty!

The key is getting close and being patient.
 
MGarrick said:
Going to go against the grain here and say that you don't necessarily need a huge zoom. You're using a cropped sensor camera, so you get an extra 1.7x from that.

so 200 x 1.4 x 1.7 = 476mm equivalent on a full frame camera. That's plenty!

The key is getting close and being patient.
Click to expand...

I think the Nikon DX sensor is x 1.5, (in 36 x 24 relative terms), the OP has a D300 - a really good body IMHO

I think that the Canon cropped sensor is x 1.6
 
MGarrick said:
Going to go against the grain here and say that you don't necessarily need a huge zoom. You're using a cropped sensor camera, so you get an extra 1.7x from that.

so 200 x 1.4 x 1.7 = 476mm equivalent on a full frame camera. That's plenty!
Click to expand...

Or, you can crop the central 520x360 pixels and your 200mm lens magically transforms into a 2000mm equivalent.
 
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