Lens Upgrade advice

[baggins]

Hi Folks,
i'm after a bit of advice. i do a fair bit of wildlife photography (purely as a hobby) and currently use a Nikon 300mm F2.8 (very old, circa 1980, one of the first auto focus ones) with a 2x converter. I do get some lovely shots but i'm starting to find that the autofocus is very noisy and, with the converter, a little hit and miss. Also, it weighs a ton.
Have heard a bit about the Sigma 150-600 and the Nikon 200-500 but am still not sure whether i'd get any comparable pics to the 300, even with the addition of image stabilisation.
Anyone out there with any views or comments please.

Cheers
Baggins

 

[MrEd]

I had the Sigma 150-600 on a Nikon d7100
And it was great for ‘reach’ but it was fairly ‘slow’ and I never got photos sharp enough I was happy with. I persevered for a couple of years then traded it in for the 300mm f4 - but the newer one compared to yours - and it’s ace, I use it with a 1.4TC if I need. I would prefer a wider aperture but weight becomes and issue and I am not a ‘static’ wildlife photographer.

I also used a sigma 120-400 (a friend lent me for a few months) for a while but didn’t like that either. I also found that I rarely used the short end of the ‘zoom’ range on either of them and was almost always at the long end. Slow lens aswell

This is what I have, old lens but solid as hell and super sharp, and with the iso bumped up, handholdable...
https://www.parkcameras.com/p/SH-95...tNR58o2lZZCiW7QYi6AGb-BvvWIieGuoaAp0_EALw_wcB




My brother has brought the new version of the 300mm f4 which is a good bit lighter and easier to use
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/nikon-af-s-nikkor-300mm-f-4e-pf-ed-vr-lens-review-27097

Personally I give the super zooms a swerve now, they are kind of ‘Jack of all trades’ and I didn’t get on with them.

Maybe hire a lens and try it out for a weekend before splashing out? You might like the superzooms, depends on your style and demands I guess

Ed

 

[MrEd]

Oh and I turn image stabilisation off. Imo let havenone lens with it and I don’t use it, i prefer to keep an eye on my shutter speed and keep it above the focal length of the lens

 

[brancho]

Have you considered having the old lens serviced/repaired?

 

[baggins]

cheers Ed, hiring one might not be a bad shout.
Brrancho, i don't think it needs a service, the old 300s were always noisey and i think the focus issue is more from using the 2x converter. but thanks for the suggestion.
cheers
Baggins

 

[Nomad64]

I have the first gen 200-400 f4 which is comparable in bulk (and cost) to the 300 f2.8. I love it and have taken many pictures I have been very happy with but if It had been available at the time (about 12 years ago) when I bought the 200-400, I would probably have been happy with the 200-500 f5.6 and feeling less guilty at what I’d spent.

I guess one issue will be whether 500mm will be enough at the long end and whether you end up wanting to add a 1.4x converter and if so how the AF copes at f8?

I do still have some of the older screw driven Nikon AF lenses and while the optical quality is undiminished and we all thought they were magical when they first appeared, the mechanical mechanical whirring is annoying and the acquiring focus painfully slow compared with the latest lenses. That said, would a 1.4x converter with 300 f2.8 be a compromise?

To save you the trouble of taking the 300 to the tip, send it to me (I’ll pay the postage) - I probably won’t use it but it would work well as a matching dumb bell to go with my 200-400 if I fancy a workout!

 

[baggins]

Haha !Thanks for the offer! Although i might just pass at the mo.
I'm not sure 1.4 would really have the reach for me, even on the crop sensor. i might just pop to the photography show at the NEC next month and have a bit of a browse (leaving all cards and organ donor cards at home).

 

[Nomad64]

Haha !Thanks for the offer! Although i might just pass at the mo.
I'm not sure 1.4 would really have the reach for me, even on the crop sensor. i might just pop to the photography show at the NEC next month and have a bit of a browse (leaving all cards and organ donor cards at home).

This voucher might save a few £s although you can probably wangle a free pass if you can convince the organisers that you are a professional.

https://www.countryinnovation.com/blog/the-photography-show