Telephoto Zoom

[Robert Falcon]

I have a Nikon D70 (wife has a D80) and the only telephoto zoom we have is a Nikkor 70-210mm which we are always fighting over. We wish to add another large zoom lens and have been reading up on the Sigma 170-500mm,Sigma 80-400mm & Tamron 200-500mm. Has anyone got experience of these lenses. Unfortunatley the Nikkor lenses are out of our price range i.e. around £600.

Thanks Robert

[Leicaman]

I have a Nikon D70 (wife has a D80) and the only telephoto zoom we have is a Nikkor 70-210mm which we are always fighting over. We wish to add another large zoom lens and have been reading up on the Sigma 170-500mm,Sigma 80-400mm & Tamron 200-500mm. Has anyone got experience of these lenses. Unfortunatley the Nikkor lenses are out of our price range i.e. around £600.

Thanks Robert

I use the Tamron, with a Konica-Minolta 7D. I love it.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=58943

has a discussion on the lens.

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/96441/sort/1/cat/500/page/3

is one of my favourite pictures taken with the Tamron.

[DenisG]

I use the Tamron, with a Konica-Minolta 7D. I love it.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=58943

has a discussion on the lens.

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/96441/sort/1/cat/500/page/3

is one of my favourite pictures taken with the Tamron.Snap with the set-up Leicaman |=)|, Minolta 7D and Tammy 200-500, a very well matched pair. Works really well with new Alpha too. Had mine approx 2 years now (the lens) and it's been through hell and high water. It still works like new. Perhaps slightly better actually as the zoom and focus rings are a bit tight when new but loosen after a little use, although not on a continuous basis. Best around f8-f10ish but still sharp wide open. Min focus distance of 8' is handy for creatures other than birds too.

It is lighter than the Sigma but is still heavy around the neck, I prefer to carry mine on 'pod with camera and over the shoulder. It handles well on most types of head but if you intend to use it a lot and on 'pod then I would highly reccommend the Manfrotto 393 gimble type head which, for a quality head, is cheap at less than £100.

The 200-500 works reasonably with a number of 1.4x telecons but not with 2x, at least not with the ones I have tried.

At f6.3 at 500 you may find it easier to manual focus in low light but the Nikon maybe better at that than the Minolta, the Alpha beats the 7D here!

A very good value for money lens and sharper than some third party primes but not quite as good as the Minolta 500 prime (at 10x the price!!)

Good luck with your choice, I have used both the Sigma and the Tammy, they are both good but the Tammy had the edge in handling and end result but there wasn't much in it.

Hope this helps.

Denis.

[joe cockram]

I've used the sigma 170-500mm for a while now and think its a great lens for the money. it is capable of getting pretty sharp pictures, especially in good light and even more so when dropped down to f/8. its light enough to use handheld and carry around on the shoulder but i do try and use a tripod whenever its practical to carry around. The focusing on it can be quite frustrating at times as it can jump around a fair bit and is a bit slow but once you get to know it's limitations the results get better.
overall its a great lens considering it is probably the cheapest option for decent focal length.
there should be some pics on my gallery that show what its capable of.
HTH

[Robert Falcon]

Well I decided on the Tamron 200-500mm & it arrived yesterday. But due to the overcast weather I've only practised in the garden using a tripod but the results are impressive. Even at 500mm 1/80 @f8/f11 on the tripod the detail is very good. I had trouble getting the lens as some web dealers didn't carry them in stock and apparentley they are selling quite quickley, I eventually found one at Camerakings & it was delivered in 3 days.

I will post some photos when I get to Martin Mere, I intend using the tripod at first to see how it performs so I'll persue the ones I can't usually get near like flamingo & crane. Lets keep it simple.

Robert Falcon

[DenisG]

Well I decided on the Tamron 200-500mm & it arrived yesterday. But due to the overcast weather I've only practised in the garden using a tripod but the results are impressive. Even at 500mm 1/80 @f8/f11 on the tripod the detail is very good. I had trouble getting the lens as some web dealers didn't carry them in stock and apparentley they are selling quite quickley, I eventually found one at Camerakings & it was delivered in 3 days.

I will post some photos when I get to Martin Mere, I intend using the tripod at first to see how it performs so I'll persue the ones I can't usually get near like flamingo & crane. Lets keep it simple.

Robert Falcon
So, how are you finding it Robert?

Denis.