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swapping for different lens... (1 Viewer)

W

wrogers

Active member
Hi there...

I have 2 sigma lenses
100-300 F/4
150-500 OS

I am looking to replace them with a better lens for general wildlife...

My budget is £1300 assuming i get a reasonable price on the Sigmas

what lenses should i lookout for in that price range new or secondhand??
I am thinking either a 100-400L or 400 5.6L....

basically i want a lens with good sharpness and a good build quality...

what would you recommend?
BTW I photograph Birds mainly, but also Deer and my 2 dogs...

can anyone suggest what to do about selling my old lenses?

Will
 
Birds and deer both keep there distance , as for the dogs throw them a stick and get them to run away at least 3.5m , the 400mm f5.6 is the best bet for both birds and deer , sharpest and quickest AF.
 
I think the 100-400 and 400 are my best bet...

How easy is it to find a bird, and track it with the 400mm 5.6??
I guess you have to learn the lens, to be able to find the bird quickly!
do you miss having zoom with the 400mm F/5.6


anyone have any views on secondhand lenses?
is it worth getting a Non-IS 300mm 2.8 etc.??
and what about a Sigma 120-300 F/2.8?

my thought is that will f/5.6 be bright enough when you are photographing birds in trees rather against the bright sky...
maybe a 300 f/2.8 plus a 1.4x tc would give 420 F/4...
 
wrogers said:
what lenses should i lookout for in that price range new or secondhand??
I am thinking either a 100-400L or 400 5.6L....
Click to expand...

Both are excllent lenses - have a look through the forum and you'll find numerous threads about them. I've owned both over the years and would happily use either. The prime has slightly faster AF and is lighter and cheaper. The zoom has IS, better close focus and is more flexible... try them both and see which suits your style of photography.
 
wrogers said:
anyone have any views on secondhand lenses?
is it worth getting a Non-IS 300mm 2.8 etc.??
and what about a Sigma 120-300 F/2.8?

my thought is that will f/5.6 be bright enough when you are photographing birds in trees rather against the bright sky...
maybe a 300 f/2.8 plus a 1.4x tc would give 420 F/4...
Click to expand...

The 300 f2.8 lens options that don't have IS will need support unlike the smaller 400mm options. If you can get to a shop that holds them all in stock then it would definitely be worth taking some time to compare them.
 
thanks for the reply PostcardCV..

I think I will have a play with the lenses.... and see what shops will offer me Part-Ex
my problem is my nearest camera shop is a small Jessops, with low stock.. and the nearest decent shop is in the next county! about 40 Miles away!!

as for support, Manfrotto's website says my tripod + head should be ok at the moment... and should have 1.8Kg to spare! enough for a grip and a camera body upgrade

as for your website... very good... looks like I will have fun with primes.. and you can always crop slightly

I think the 400 5.6 and the 120-300 are the ones being tossed around in my head the most...
time for a play though.

Will
 
Last edited:
wrogers said:
my problem is my nearest camera shop is a small Jessops, with low stock.. and the nearest decent shop is in the next county! about 40 Miles away!!
Click to expand...

It would be well worth driving 40 miles to make sure you get the right lens, if you get it worng it could be an expensive mistake...
 
I have the 400 f5.6 and had the 100-400 zoom. For birds and wildlife I much prefer the prime lens and personally feel it is marginally better. However, if you are only going to have 1 lens then I would give the 100-400 serious consideration because of the added focal lengths it would give you.
 
wrogers said:
I think the 100-400 and 400 are my best bet...

How easy is it to find a bird, and track it with the 400mm 5.6??
I guess you have to learn the lens, to be able to find the bird quickly!
do you miss having zoom with the 400mm F/5.6
Click to expand...

You will learn very quickly to track a BIF with the 400mm f5.6 if you have a zoom its another decision you have to make during tracking.
 
As others have said: both are excellent and are not likely to let you down. I have the zoom and am very happy with it. Sometimes I do wish for the prime. But mainly I am very happy with the zoom, especially in situations, when i.e. a butterfly is closer than the close focus distance of the prime (e.g.: http://www.pbase.com/tjsimonsen/image/105857533 or http://www.pbase.com/tjsimonsen/image/83832660), or when I have to zoom out to frame properly (e.g.: http://www.pbase.com/tjsimonsen/image/101006145 or http://www.pbase.com/tjsimonsen/image/105624261).

The prime certainly have better AF, and BIFs is the one area where I feel the zoom lets me down a bit - though the problem may well be my technique. The prime is also perceived to be sharper. Whether that means anything in real life is another matter.

Main differences:
Prime: lighter, better AF, cheaper
Zoom: more flexible

Only you can decide what is most important for you.

Thomas
 
thank you for the wealth of information you have given me to mull over in my head...

I think the 40 miles is no problem now!... always exciting to travel to the Norwich..
Gimme a high 6! (sorry, a Suffolk/Norfolk Joke)

anyway...

there are 3 camera shops.. one is a big warehouse that sells from a small shop at the front and online. one is a nationwide shop that are small-scale, and do secondhand and the other is a big Jessops...

should find a lens to look at in each!

Will
 
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