which telephoto lens for nikon D 70s

[ajay_ukidve1]

Hi all!

 

I have the 70-300 VR and I found it excellent for wild life Photography. How

ever during my forays to wild life reserves I found that I am falling short for

birds. The birds are essentially on trees etc which I encounter. I am

contemplating whether I should go in for the nikon 80-4oo or the bigma Sigma 50-

500. I have a nikon D70s which I might upgrade to a D200 if prices do fall a

bit after the intro of the D300. For the present my budget is USD 800 and the

sigma goes to around 900 USD at sigma 4 less. TC's do not work with the Nikon

70-300 VR as I gather from this forum. What would you recommend. The present

bag of lenses I have is: Nikon 18-55, 18-135, Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 30/1.4,

Nikon 70-300 VR. I have put a bird to give an idea what is in my mind. I do not

print photos but use an LCD projector for slide shows. I am not a pro but an

amateur hobbyist. Thamks in advance.

 

Ajay

[ajay_ukidve1]

About the photo it was taken with the nikon 70-300 at 300mm/ 7.1/shutter 1/30 of a sec. crop 66 percent.

[geoffs1]

In addition to the "Bigma" (50-500mm), you might also want to look at the soon-to-be-available Sigma 150-500mm OS. Rumored price will be under $1000, so it sounds like it will be similar to the Bigma. The stabilization should be a help, and the 3:1 zoom-ration should improve image quality.

[ajay_ukidve1]

Wow that was fast Geoff thanks. I was not aware of this Sigma.

[michael_hahn]

I have the 80-400. Pretty good lens ... but not "incredible". And it also still falls short in focal length for birds ...

 

Maybe you could rent the Sigma for a weekend from your local pro shop and see how it works out for you before making the investment.

 

good luck,

 

michael.

[kayak203]

Nice photo. For better separation from the background branches, you might want to look at the fixed focal length, 300mm f/4 from Nikon. Then to overcome your crop, you might add the TC-14e, which will autofocus with the AF-S version of the 300mm only. Used, this will be slightly more than your budget, but it's worth considering. Anything bigger might be too big or heavy to lug around.

[michael_hahn]

here is an example from the Nikkor 80-400 taken at 1/1250 at 7.1 at 240mm w/ VR On and from a boat ...

[rob_piontek]

If mainly you want to go longer, 400 is barely longer than 300, and not really worth it.

[hash]

I have the 80-400 VR too, but I guess if you have the 70-300 VR it wont make much difference. Yoor one option would be to get a 300/2.8 and a 2x converter. Sigma makes a lens of that kind.

 

Some poeple have reported fairly good results with Kenko teleconverters with zoom lenses like the 80-400 if the light is bright. Kenko TC's generally work better than Nikon's in the sense that they retain AF and VR connectivity between the lens and the camera body. Maybe worth a look into - it just might work with your 70-300. Just don't expect any miracles in terms of image quality or performance.

[ronald_moravec1]

Just be aware that when you start to use lenses longer than 300/400 mm a tripod, or shoulder brace+ monopod become necessary, VR or not.

[artbuesing]

Get "the Art of Bird Photography" by Arthur Morris. After reading Artie's book you will want a

500 mm or 600 mm lens. You might try a used Version 1 to save some bucks.

[geoffs1]

Ronald Moravec, "Just be aware that when you start to use lenses longer than 300/400 mm a tripod, or shoulder brace+ monopod become necessary, VR or not."

 

Not according to the legions of hand-holding photographers I work with. Most of my photos are taken at over 300mm (on a 1.5 crop body) and I (almost) never use a tripod or other aid. There's not much room for one when you're hanging out a helicopter, or bouncing around in an small boat...<div></div>

[ajay_ukidve1]

Hi every body thank you very much for the fast responses. I am thinking may be the 50-500 Bigma idea is not very good aftr all looking at all the options. Have decided to try out the other options and wait for the 150-500 OS, check that out and then spend the bucks for which ever option that gives me the results I want. Thanks again.

[alex_tran3]

Hi i hav the bigma with the D70s and it's pretty good but not incredible. i don't do bird photography but it works well in sunny to overcast days. I think u should wait it out and hire out the 150-500 for the weekend. This lens is generally on a tripod/monopod but on a sunny day you can do with out. It can get heavy depending on your endurance for heavy lenses. It's stiff at first but will loosen up with progressive use. hope this helps!