Zoom lens for my D70 for Wildlife Work

I am in the process of buying a D70 in the UK. The walkabout lens

provided has good reviews therefore I am looking to purchase a zoom

lens as I will be taking the camera with me to the African National

Parks for some wildlife shooting. I have a budget of about 500

UKpounds, anymore and I couldn't afford to go to Africa! I need a

lens that has quick AF and will work in the early mornings and

evenings as these are the times that most animals are moving about.

Are second hand lenses worth investing in? I live in SE London and

willing to travel anywhere in London if a good lens is available.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

<a href="http://www.apertureuk.com/used-NAF.htm">Aperture</a> has a used 300mm f/4 AF ED for GBP 450, that's a decent reach on a D70. If you call 'em they'll usually hold stuff for you. I know it's not a zoom, but you'd be hard pressed to find a decently fast super telephoto zoom for GBP 500, and I presume you'd need a lot of reach for wildlife.

Your British Pounds can go a long way in the US in these days. Is mail ordering from the US an option? Of course you need to deal with import duty/VAT, etc.

 

There are two versions of the 300mm/f4 ED AF Nikkor. The current 2nd version is an AF-S lens that uses 77mm filters while the earlier version is not AF-S and uses 82mm filters. A few years ago, I sold my old one (non-AF-S) in mint condition for about US$500 and upgraded to the new one. AFAIK the used value has dropped futher since then.

 

AF on the old one is not bad but obviously the AF-S is faster, and you can add the TC-14E and maintain AF on the new one.

 

Given your budget, the 300mm/f4 is a good choice for African safaris with the D70.

Consider the Sigma 100-300 F4 (constant aperture), an excellent lens in all respects and it fits your requirements.

Two possibilities, which you may have already considered: buy a great lens on EBay and resell it after your trip (if you want a 300/400mm 2.8), or rent a lens. Also, you may be able to buy a used 80-400mm VR for ?500. If the lions start chasing the gazelles, you will find its AF sub-par, but if the lions are just lying on the savannah or walking by the watering hole, the VR makes it a pleasantly hand-holdable lens and the non-AFS autofocus is not an issue.

I'm awaiting a Sigma 170-500 APO from warehouseexpress.com which they sell for a bit over ?400.

Not a pro lens but reviews are favourable considering price.

Thanks for all the tips, will look at the sigma as the versatility of the zoom is paramount due to the animals being at different distance.

I'm using the older 300mm f4 with a Kenko 300 Pro 1.4x teleconverter on my D70. I have quite a few wildlife shots in my portfoio, you can get some ideas. It's no 600mm pro setup, but you can squeeze some decent stuff especially if its larger mammals. The lens cost me $300 US, the teleconverter $145 US.