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Budget 500/600mm lens for Nikon D3000? (1 Viewer)

Boogieshrew

Well-known member
Hi,

I am wondering if there is a budget way to get into bird photography using aD3000 that I have already.

I've only just started looking into this and have seen asigma 170-500 for £350 and a sigma 500mm f7,2 for £175.

Anone know what these lenses are like?

Also, anyone got any suggestions for getting a budget lens. Fixed or zoom- I don't mnd.

Thanks
 
See if you can find a location to rent a nice Nikon 500 or 600mm f4 for a weekend, then compare that to an inexpensive mirror or zoom lens (if you can find one to rent). I think you will settle on saving up for big glass vs an inexpensive lens that might well prove to be unusable for getting images equal to your camera. For my money I would start with a nice 80-400 Nikon with a 1.4x teleconverter if you need a little more pull. You will only lose a stop and virtually no sharpness. Even after you get a big super-tele, the 80-400mm will serve you well as a good bush lens.
 
Hi,

I am wondering if there is a budget way to get into bird photography using aD3000 that I have already.

I've only just started looking into this and have seen asigma 170-500 for £350 and a sigma 500mm f7,2 for £175.

Anone know what these lenses are like?

Also, anyone got any suggestions for getting a budget lens. Fixed or zoom- I don't mnd.

Thanks

Bad news: Your D3000 would not AF with either lens. The mirror lens has no AF, and the Zoom has no AF motor that would allow it to AF on the D3000 (it would do on the D50,D70,D80,D90,D200,D300, ....). This will be a problem with a number of budget long lenses, like the Tamron 200-500 or Sigma 400.

Digital SLRs are not geared up for manual focus, i.e. the standard view finder screen does not offer any focussing aids (e.g. prism ring). Tricky business and the minimum aperture of all those lenses will not help (dim viewfinder image).

The only "budget" lenses that will give you the requested reach and AF on the D3000 are Sigma's 150-500 or 50-500. Both substantially more expensive than the ones you quoted above, quite capable to produce good results and cheaper than what Nikon has to offer in this range. I would try to find a good 2nd hand deal on one of those (or a x-400 zoom from Nikon or Sigma).

The mentioned 500 and/or 600 primes are in all aspects in a different league, and as desirable they are not neccessarily beginner lenses -even if money is not an issue.

Ulli
 
Sigma make the most expensive lenses on the planet. You never happy with them and you need to spend more cash to get the right kit.

The only option you have is 300mmf4 with 1.4TC.

Good luck.

Regards
 
Thanks folks. Quite a lot to think about. I shall carry on researching for a while yet before I make a decision. WhenI do, I'll post about what I bought and how I'm getting on with it.
 
Here's my humble opinion. I started with a D40x, which has similar limitations.

If good glass is your point, and you're ready to MF and expose Manually, then a Nikkor 300/4.5 IF-ED Ai/s is an option.

A 300/4 AF-D will not AF on the D3000, but at least will expose automatically, which can improve your reactivity. And it will AF on your next body.

If you want AF-S, go for the 70-300VR. I would not advise the 80-400, as the IQ and AF of my sample were terrible, although it's much more expensive than the above-mentioned lenses.
 
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