Long Lens suggestions please

matty D

matty D

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Matt
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Im looking to get a decent telephoto lens (Nikon fit) mainly for wildlife. I currently have the 70 -300 VR which is great but its a bit slow, both aperture and AF. It will be used on both DX and FX, and must be able to reach at least 300mm, and have the ability to work with TC's.

Ive been contemplating the 300 f4, or the 70-200 with tc, or the sigma 50-500

Can anyone give any recommendations please. Budget is upto £2k

How would the 300 plus tc stack up against the bigma? Ive read great things about the 50-500 but I cant get my head around how a 10x zoom can be all that great.

And how does the 70-200 fare with a 2x tc attached?
 
Cagey75 said:
I just ordered the 300 f/4 AF-S today, and will probably get the 1.7x TC too. I should have it in the next day or two, can let you know how I get on with it. Owners of it on here have nothing but good things to say about it, I made a thread, it's on this page somewhere.

Here ya go:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=491992
Click to expand...


Thanks for that, it certainly seems like a great option


OldCarlos said:
The new 80-400mm might be worth considering?
Click to expand...

adamdavi3s said:
What about the 120-300 OS with a 1.4x ? That gets rave reviews!!!
Click to expand...


Both of these look great but are significantly over my budget, Im looking at £2k max (including a TC if poss)
 
I use both the 300 f4 and the 70-200 f2.8 vr1. Both are great lenses on a crop camera. The 300 f4 with a 1.4 tc is a great combination. I don't really use tc's with the 70-200 as for a bit more reach I use the 300 f4 instead. A friend uses the 300 f4 on a D800 with very good results.

When I was deciding between the Sigma and the 300 f4, the reasons I went for he 300 f4 was the faster aperture, better IQ (its a prime, not 10x zoom) and the possibility of 420mm f5.6 with a 1.4 tc. I then added 70-200 for the zoom and better AF over the 70-300vr.

Personally I try to not use a tc if its possible to get the reach I need with either lens. IQ is alway better without a tc. What distance with subjects be away from you? Will you need the benefits of a zoom? What you likely to shoot? Do you need VR?

If you need a fast aperture then the sigma may not be the best option. The new 80-400 is worth looking at, its an option Ive thought about as the ability to zoom would be good but I'm not sure about losing a stop of light at 300mm. The next option 200-400 f4 at £4k is a lot more for one stop of light over the 80-400.
 
You can get the new 80-400mm for a tad over £2K in the UK, or £1810 from DR ;)

I bought the lens about a month ago & although I haven't tested it out fully yet, so far i'm VERY impressed. I'm using it on a D800E & it seems very sharp, quick to focus & (against my recently sold 300mm F2.8 ) relatively light to carry round.
On a cropped frame body i'd imagine it'd be plenty long enough for most situations without a TC.


This is a crop of these fast moving birds. Just quickly lightened shadows slightly in PSE10 & added the frame in picasa.

D800E, 400mm, 1/3200th sec, F6.3, ISO 1250, +4/3rds EV.

.
Swift (Apus apus) by Carl B.1, on Flickr
 
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