Zoom lens for D70 (Nikon 80-200 F4.5-5.6 or Tokina 80-400 F4.5-5.6)

newbie here w/ D70 wanting a Tele zoom lens. I was looking at a

sigma but from things I've read, folks say thats maybe not a good

choice quality and that I should look at others. SO reading reviews

here and visiting BEH.com I found some used lens that I'm curious

what folks think about:

 

Nikon 80-200 F4.5-5.6 D is about $90

TOKINA 80-400 F4.5-5.6 is about $260

Sigma 100-300 F4.5-6.7 is about $50

Tamron 200-400 F4.5-5.6 D is about $200'ish

 

Invariably when we go on vacation we're site seeing & I want to snap

a photo of something a pretty good distance away (on a lake or in a

boat some place snapping the wild life). So this is not real pro-

use nature photography. This is the first lens (other than the kit

lens) But would like something reasonable good/fast. Budget is

somewhere under $350'ish. Much of the time this would be hand held

although I do have a tripod. As I understand it, at maximum zoom on

these, photos taken hand held will probably be pretty bad....

 

lastly, maybe different subject, but whats good for shooting say the

moon in the daytime sky and being able to see a reasonable likeness

of the moon?

 

Thanks

Scott

Scott, for a telephoto zoom at lkess than $350 I'd recommend to you the Nikkor 70-300 ED AF-D zoom.

 

For the pics of the daytime moon, use your tripod to steady the camera for sharpness, because the contrast in lunar features is not so pronounced against a daytime sky (and through daytime haze) as it is against the cooler, clearer night sky.

 

Try a polarizer filter to give you a bit more contrast between moon and daytime sky... but when looking at the moon you will not be at the best angle for maximum polarizer effect (it's much more dramatic at right angles to the sun than it is when working toward or away from the sun... and the moon is gonna be following a path pretty much like that of the sun, yes?)

 

Even if you shoot lunar pics at night, use a fairly quick shutter speed because the moon MOVES so a long exposure would show some blur and turn the round moon into an oval.

 

Be well,

What about the old 75-300 AF nikkor? Not much more expensive than the Ed version, and far superior. If anyone can show that the new ED 75-300 is better than the G 70-300 (99$) I'd like to see.

I bought a used Tokina 24-200/F3.5-5.6 for my D70 for a bargain price. Remember 200mm on the D70 is the same as 300mm on a film SLR, with 300 you will need a tripod. My main reason for such a super zoom was not the wide zoom range but the internal focus mechanism. The D70 AF works not very fast, so IF is an advantage.