upgrading my zoom lens
Discussion
Afternoon all,
Looking to upgrade my Nikon 55-300mm lens. New lens would be used with my D5300 for taking pictures of planes (airshows/airports) as well as some action shot of car and bikes on track, a little extra reach maybe useful. Had a look at the Nikon 70-300mm which seems to get some good reviews, but wondered what other lenses people would suggest having a look at.
Looking to upgrade my Nikon 55-300mm lens. New lens would be used with my D5300 for taking pictures of planes (airshows/airports) as well as some action shot of car and bikes on track, a little extra reach maybe useful. Had a look at the Nikon 70-300mm which seems to get some good reviews, but wondered what other lenses people would suggest having a look at.
^^^^ - shouldn't you be working?
As Ogr4m says, I have the Sigma 50-500 - just upgraded from the non-OS to the OS and its made a very noticeable difference
Not something you'd want to use hand-held for any length of time though - despite being a company director, I'm not of the powerfully-built type, so it gets a bit heavy after a while. Ultra-versatile though, which means I only need to carry a half-decent 18-55 and I've got just about everything covered (although I rather fancy a 17-50 f2.8 to replace the Nikon kit lens)
As Ogr4m says, I have the Sigma 50-500 - just upgraded from the non-OS to the OS and its made a very noticeable difference
Not something you'd want to use hand-held for any length of time though - despite being a company director, I'm not of the powerfully-built type, so it gets a bit heavy after a while. Ultra-versatile though, which means I only need to carry a half-decent 18-55 and I've got just about everything covered (although I rather fancy a 17-50 f2.8 to replace the Nikon kit lens)
Edited by Nigel_O on Wednesday 12th August 10:08
Thanks all,
See the 200-500mm listed here for £1179
http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-nikon-200-500mm...
See the 200-500mm listed here for £1179
http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-nikon-200-500mm...
Genuine question (I'm still near the bottom of a pretty steep learning curve)....
Why would a 200-500 f 5.6 Nikkor at £1200-ish, be better than a 50-500 f4.5-6.3 for around £800?
I know the Nikkor is f5.6 at all focal lengths and its clearly a newer lens, but I'd be interest to know why the Sigma might be inferior
Why would a 200-500 f 5.6 Nikkor at £1200-ish, be better than a 50-500 f4.5-6.3 for around £800?
I know the Nikkor is f5.6 at all focal lengths and its clearly a newer lens, but I'd be interest to know why the Sigma might be inferior
andy-xr said:
From the sounds of it, you dont need a quicker lens as such, just one that gives better IQ and is longer?
I'd either go with just a teleconverter on your existing lens, or the 70-300 VR II G something something EX Nikkor and a teleconverter
You would most likely lose AF with a teleconverter.I'd either go with just a teleconverter on your existing lens, or the 70-300 VR II G something something EX Nikkor and a teleconverter
Nigel_O said:
Genuine question (I'm still near the bottom of a pretty steep learning curve)....
Why would a 200-500 f 5.6 Nikkor at £1200-ish, be better than a 50-500 f4.5-6.3 for around £800?
I know the Nikkor is f5.6 at all focal lengths and its clearly a newer lens, but I'd be interest to know why the Sigma might be inferior
Well, this is all speculation, as the lens is not out yet, However the reason people are getting exited about the possibilities of this new lens are as follows: Why would a 200-500 f 5.6 Nikkor at £1200-ish, be better than a 50-500 f4.5-6.3 for around £800?
I know the Nikkor is f5.6 at all focal lengths and its clearly a newer lens, but I'd be interest to know why the Sigma might be inferior
1. Speed - its a half stop faster at the long end. This means you can increase your shutter speed 50% for the same ISO, which makes a BIG difference for action and handholding. Also, generally speaking most zooms are sharpest one stop down. So that 150-600 6.3 zoom ? It is actually sharpest at nearer f9 or f11. Also, as the D7200, D750 and D810 and D4 will autofocus at F8, you may be able to put a 1.4 teleconvertor on the new Nikon successfully.
2. Sharpness. The Tamron and Sigma super zooms have a very wide zoom range compared to the Nikon, and all except the Sigma 150-600 sport are nowhere near sharp at the long end. So IF and it is a big IF the Nikon is sharp at 500mm AND sharp at f5.6 then it will be far ahead of the competition.
3. Autofocus speed and accuracy - The Nikon lenses generally have much better autofocus speed, less hunting and accuracy.
4. VR - Nikon VR is generally better than third party VR - and the 3rd Gen Active VR works much better whilst panning, which will be ideal for bird in flight and motorsport.
However it all remains to be seen, it could be a slow focussing, it could be soft at 500mm, it could be soft at 5.6.........who knows !
ExPat2B said:
Well, this is all speculation, as the lens is not out yet, However the reason people are getting exited about the possibilities of this new lens are as follows:
1. Speed - its a half stop faster at the long end. This means you can increase your shutter speed 50% for the same ISO, which makes a BIG difference for action and handholding. Also, generally speaking most zooms are sharpest one stop down. So that 150-600 6.3 zoom ? It is actually sharpest at nearer f9 or f11. Also, as the D7200, D750 and D810 and D4 will autofocus at F8, you may be able to put a 1.4 teleconvertor on the new Nikon successfully.
2. Sharpness. The Tamron and Sigma super zooms have a very wide zoom range compared to the Nikon, and all except the Sigma 150-600 sport are nowhere near sharp at the long end. So IF and it is a big IF the Nikon is sharp at 500mm AND sharp at f5.6 then it will be far ahead of the competition.
3. Autofocus speed and accuracy - The Nikon lenses generally have much better autofocus speed, less hunting and accuracy.
4. VR - Nikon VR is generally better than third party VR - and the 3rd Gen Active VR works much better whilst panning, which will be ideal for bird in flight and motorsport.
However it all remains to be seen, it could be a slow focussing, it could be soft at 500mm, it could be soft at 5.6.........who knows !
... and resale value. That Nikon at £1179 (assuming it's as good as it should be) will still be worth the best part of ££800 in ten year's time. So the cost of ownership over the time you have the lens is unlikely to be any different than if you buy a 3rd party lens.1. Speed - its a half stop faster at the long end. This means you can increase your shutter speed 50% for the same ISO, which makes a BIG difference for action and handholding. Also, generally speaking most zooms are sharpest one stop down. So that 150-600 6.3 zoom ? It is actually sharpest at nearer f9 or f11. Also, as the D7200, D750 and D810 and D4 will autofocus at F8, you may be able to put a 1.4 teleconvertor on the new Nikon successfully.
2. Sharpness. The Tamron and Sigma super zooms have a very wide zoom range compared to the Nikon, and all except the Sigma 150-600 sport are nowhere near sharp at the long end. So IF and it is a big IF the Nikon is sharp at 500mm AND sharp at f5.6 then it will be far ahead of the competition.
3. Autofocus speed and accuracy - The Nikon lenses generally have much better autofocus speed, less hunting and accuracy.
4. VR - Nikon VR is generally better than third party VR - and the 3rd Gen Active VR works much better whilst panning, which will be ideal for bird in flight and motorsport.
However it all remains to be seen, it could be a slow focussing, it could be soft at 500mm, it could be soft at 5.6.........who knows !
Despite what others have said, don't write off a Sigma or Tamron 150-600.
This is the Tamron at 600mm, whilst the cockpit crop is admittedly unusable as an image, it does demonstrate that you can achieve pixel level detail at 600mm (that's if you're into looking that closely rather than at the image as a whole
)
This is the Tamron at 600mm, whilst the cockpit crop is admittedly unusable as an image, it does demonstrate that you can achieve pixel level detail at 600mm (that's if you're into looking that closely rather than at the image as a whole
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