300mm f4 or 80 to 400 nikon zoom (1 Viewer)

dear members

I found ond 2nd hand lens nikon 300mm f4 afs for sale
and new 80 to 400 nikon zoom lens from the dealer

which one do u recommend me to buy for birding

thanks you

Hi Yousif you have posted your question in the wrong forum. Try Cameras and Photography.

It's in the right place now :t:

loads of threads that touch on these lenses, imho I would rather have a 300/4 AF-S and a 1.4tc than a 80-400. If your the type of person that wants variety then the zoom will be best, if you believe that you'll be shooting at 400mm most of the time for birds then the fixed lens will be better.
I have the 300 and a 1.4 and its a superb combo, never used the 80-400 AF-D but on this forum people tend to suggest that the AF is a tad slow.
What will you be using it for? This may answer the question for you

I bought the 80-400mm as my first birding lens and it served me well, but in hindsight I should have bought the 300mmf4 plus 1.4 TC instead. I found I didn't use the zoom that much as 400mm is more often or not needed for birding shots. The 80-400 takes very sharp shots but the AF is noisy and slow, especially in poor light.Having barely used the lens in 12 months I decided to sell it, a decision I now regret though as my new body, the D300s, has video capability and I think I could have got a lot more use out of the zoom flexibility, plus it's light enough to hand hold with ease.