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Camera Suggestions (1 Viewer)

C

Caon

Well-known member
Hi there,

My family's been using a Nikon D90 w/ a 300mm lense for a few years, and I'm looking to get a similar camera for myself for primarily birding. Overall I'd like one that's similar to the one I'm familiar with, though I'd prefer one with greater image quality and a little more magnification (we've had the D90 for many years so perhaps there are just better versions of that now?).

Definitely a camera that can be carried around with relative ease.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Most cameras like the D90 can be carried around with ease its the lens that adds the bulk if you want it for birding,i would look at the 400,500,600 lenses in zoom form and then decide if they are too big,if so you can look at super zoom bridge cameras or the m4/3 system like the Olympus em5.
 
Caon said:
Hi there,

My family's been using a Nikon D90 w/ a 300mm lense ................
though I'd prefer one with greater image quality and a little more magnification
Click to expand...

Unless its a 300mm prime or high end zoom the limiting factor for IQ in the combo above is likely the lens.

The selection of zooms now available in the 150-600 mm range (including Nikon's 200-500) should provide improved IQ, and more recent body than the D90 will add a few extra pixels.

Where to go from here depends on your budget!
1) Get one of the current(!) lenses above (Tamron, Sigma, or Nikon), buying 2nd hand from a reliable source is an option!
2) Upgrade the body to a more current one (D7xxx, the more recent the better), also here 2nd hand maybe an option!
IF the budget doesn't allow to do both at the same time get the lens first and "borrow" the D90 until the piggy bank has recovered....
 
Thanks for the advice!

I've done a little more research and I (think I) have narrowed it down to two lenses and two cameras: AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED or AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR, and the Nikon D7200 or D750.

I'm leaning towards the AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR with the D7200, but wondering if that would be a good combination for bird photography?

Pretty new to all this photography lingo so any help/advice is appreciated, thanks!
 
Caon said:
Thanks for the advice!

I've done a little more research and I (think I) have narrowed it down to two lenses and two cameras: AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED or AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR, and the Nikon D7200 or D750.

I'm leaning towards the AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR with the D7200, but wondering if that would be a good combination for bird photography?

Pretty new to all this photography lingo so any help/advice is appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...

All good gear but you may want to consider a longer lens,if i was able to manage it i would have the Nikon 200-500 but its a bit heavy for me.
With 300mm you may soon be adding the 1,4 converter for more reach.
 
Hi nikonmike,

I'm not looking to add too much weight as ill probably be carrying around a pair of binoculars as well. Also, I've noticed that the price (on the nikon website) jumps excessively when moving from a 300mm lens to a 400mm+ lens (prime lenses).

I've also been looking at that teleconverter in case 300mm doesn't do the trick.

With respect to the two lenses & cameras I mentioned earlier, would you happen to know if a certain combo would be best, or would any combo be just as good?

Thanks!
 
The 300mm pf would be best,its lighter and has VR it will work well with the 1.4 converter giving a 420mm on full frame like the D750,i had a D750 for a while but felt it was not the best,i got a D7200 for birding,taking the crop factor into account the D7200 would give a field of view with the converter = to 630mm,i would not go into it though thinking i could add a 2x converter.
 
D7200 + 300/4 PF is a nice and light walk around combo for bird photo. And you can add the TC14E III for more reach.

For even more reach the Nikon 200-500/5.6 mm zoom is the next step,
also a very good lens for a very reasonable price, but a bit heavy for walk-around purposes.
(Though some will call it light, compared to a 500/4)
 
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