Lens and Tele- Extender for birding

[ifti]

My current lenses are not capable of many a bird shots as they are beyond their

reach. I have Nikkor 18-200 VR, 70-300 VR and a Sigma 135-400. I cannot justify

the price of 500mm Nikkor. I looked into tele-extenders but none is available

for the Nikkor lenses that I have. I think I can justify a Nikkor 80-400 VR.

Question is, is there a tele-extender that will work with it ? Or is there

another brand that with tele-extender will give me a better reach for bird

photography. Thanks for your help. Regards ifti

[stemked]

Bird photography is difficult, but not impossible. Before you go after new optics, you might try a different approach. Do you have a hide? Do you have a remote release system?

 

There are cheapie long lens, ie mirror lenses and cheap 500mm f7.2 lenses. The mirror lenses have a host of problems including that they usually are not fast and not optically of the highest caliber. The cheap T-mounts and other older lenses aren't very fast.

 

Sorry though I know next to nothing about Nikon bodies.

 

If you have a good remote system you can actually use a macro lens or fairly short telephoto to get your shots. I happen to have Pentax and my cameras have the ability to do 'snap focus' (I *think* many Nikons can do this too. Use a manual lens, camera on autofocus, use a remote shutter release and focus somewhere where a bird my 'walk into focus' Works pretty well. Search under 'snap focus' to see what you can find.

 

About the best cheap long lenses were the old Sigma 400mm APO f5.6, which you can use with a 1.4X TC and still get good images (although the lens is now darn slow). Tokina had a decent lens in this range as well.

[ifti]

Hi Douglas thanks for the response. No I don't have a hide. I will definitely get a remote. I dis try a 500mm mirror lens but the pictures were not 'crisp' I will look for Tokina. I do have a Tamaron 90 mm and that is a darn sharp lens. Regards ifti

[dirtlawyer]

Ifti; I am using a 50-500 mm Sigma for bird shots. Works fine as long as the bird is standing still. Haven't tried it on birds in flight yet. Give it a look.

[geoff_foale]

There are several makes of universal extenders but you will have to check that they will work on your camera and lens, some lenses are problematic. Even if you do find one, autofocus will not work so you will have to manually focus and there will be some reduction in image quality especially with the x2 size.

 

400 mm is the minimum for birds but can work OK if you are able get a bit closer. I have never used the Sigma 50-500 but on a wildlife site which I use there are some good images which have been taken with it including flight shots, in good light.

[alex_lofquist]

The 80-400 is too slow with a 1.4X TC, becoming f/8!

[Christal1664882414]

Ifti, have you considered getting a spotting scope specifically for birding? That's on my wish list. They're expensive, but the magnification is amazing, and some of them you can combine with digital cameras. You may want to check into them. They come in all price ranges.

[ifti]

Thank you every body and your input That has given lot to think about. I think I am going to stick with what I have till I can afford a better lens. Happy shooting. Regards ifti