Does anyone use any of the super-zoom camera + teleconverter lenses for taking bird photos?
I have recently tried taking photos of small birds with a Nikon D50 and the Nikkor 28mm-200mm lens. 200mm (300mm equiv after 1.5 crop factor) is simply not enough reach for small birds. Being a newbie, my aim is just to take bird photos that are decent enough for posting on the Internet. Even though Nikkor quality is good, with my 200mm lens, it's like, "where's the bird?"
I don't have a high budget. So, with $400, I can get the Lumix DMC-FZ8 with a 1.7x teleconverter. Is that good enough for bird photos? I am thinking this is a good alternative as this already comes with Image Stabilization. The prices of Nikkor lenses with VR are a bit high, so I am really interested if the Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G at less than $200 can get better photos than the FZ8. Sorry if it sounds ridiculous, but has anyone tried putting a teleconverter (such as an Olympus TCON 17) in front of a DSLR lens? Does this work? Am just asking because I cannot afford 400mm or longer lenses as of the moment.
I am leaning towards the FZ8 primarily because my P&S camera is too old and the DSLR is a bit large for travel. I take more travel and family photos compared to birds.
Your comments and experience are most welcome.
I have recently tried taking photos of small birds with a Nikon D50 and the Nikkor 28mm-200mm lens. 200mm (300mm equiv after 1.5 crop factor) is simply not enough reach for small birds. Being a newbie, my aim is just to take bird photos that are decent enough for posting on the Internet. Even though Nikkor quality is good, with my 200mm lens, it's like, "where's the bird?"
I don't have a high budget. So, with $400, I can get the Lumix DMC-FZ8 with a 1.7x teleconverter. Is that good enough for bird photos? I am thinking this is a good alternative as this already comes with Image Stabilization. The prices of Nikkor lenses with VR are a bit high, so I am really interested if the Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G at less than $200 can get better photos than the FZ8. Sorry if it sounds ridiculous, but has anyone tried putting a teleconverter (such as an Olympus TCON 17) in front of a DSLR lens? Does this work? Am just asking because I cannot afford 400mm or longer lenses as of the moment.
I am leaning towards the FZ8 primarily because my P&S camera is too old and the DSLR is a bit large for travel. I take more travel and family photos compared to birds.
Your comments and experience are most welcome.