Nikon 300mm f4 and TC vs 80-400mm vrii

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Maccas

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Ian
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Would like some feedback please.Im going upto the Highlands at the end of the month to hopefully photograph crested tits,red squirrels etc and cannot decide if I will need to hire or purchase 80-400mm vrii.
I have the 300mm f4 and am very happy with it but im worried that the light maybe poor and that a lens with vr will be really helpful.
Having read reviews of the 80-400mm it seems to be very good,has anyone got this lens or has used one and can comment on this?
The versatillty of the zoom and vr is very appealing considering we may be handholding a lot of the time.
Any comments and experience and the choice you would make would be greatly appreciated.

Ian
 
VR is great to stop camera shake at slow shutter speeds but it can't help freezing a subject.squirrels move quite fast so at slow shutter speeds you may get some blur. With VR on a70-200 f4 I can get images down to around 1/30 sec but trying that speed with squirrels will likely mean there are few keepers due to the subjects movement. If a squirrel is walking, running or sitting eating (mouth and arms moving) there will be some movement.

A zoom will be more versatile than a prime lens. (And the reason I moved to the 200-400 f4 from a 300 f2.8. + TCs). If you are hiring the 80-400 for the zoom and taking your 300 f4 then you have the best of both worlds and can't regret not having one or the other if this is a trip you are not repeating again any time soon. Could you increase ISO to compensate for the loss of light from f4 to f5.6 instead of shutter speed?

Could you use a bean bag instead of handholding to get a reasonable shutter speed (1/250?) yet still have some support for being under 1/focal length shutter speed?
 
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Thanks for your comments Rob.I have a D7100 so I can push the ISO up a bit and will have a bean bag with me.
I was just wanting to hear if a zoom particularly one with vr would be worth taking on the trip maybe taking my 300 f4 aswell is the way to go.
Also what about the Tamron 150-600mm? there are some great reviews on that and is half the price of the Nikon.
 
Maccas said:
Also what about the Tamron 150-600mm? there are some great reviews on that and is half the price of the Nikon.
Click to expand...

I'm rarely without mine, the reach is fantastic for someone into wildlife ... at f6.3 at the long end it does need stability, reasonable light or good ISO handling to cope with movement but I find it a great lens for the price. :)
 
I use the 80/400 with d7100 and can't fault it for wildlife.
Not in the wild, but l spend a lot of time at the BWC taking pictures of
Both squirrels and otters, find the focusing with this combination very
Fast.
 
Hi Ian

I have an 80-400 that stays on my D800 and have had some very good results photographing reds at Escot in Devon.
Again, as Ingrid said, not wild but still challenging and it works well.

If you're using the peanut butter method for cresties you may well find a tripod handy too.
For anyone not familiar with this it involves spreading peanut butter on a suitable stick. They love it.
Use smooth, I was told in no uncertain terms once that crunchy isn't as good as the tits can fly off with the chunks!!

This time of year even quiet opening of a jar can result in a coal tit stampede, so be careful!!

Have fun

cheers, cw
 
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