Lens

Fortkentdad

Senior Member
Like others have said - 'what's the budget?"

At the very least a standard DX that goes to 300mm is a start.
The more mm's you can get the better - to a point.

There is the question of new vs used.
My first 'longer' lens was a Tamron 200-400 I bought used on line for under $200. I see it on offer now and then for $150-$200. It was a good start for me.

Eventually I bought a Nikkor 200-500 F5.6 and love it. Both Tamron and Sigma make comparable lenses (about 150-600mm) Sometimes you'll see them on offer used too.

There are those who like the prime 300mm lens - you can extend the reach with the right teleconverter but that could come later.

If you are hoping to shoot BIF - Birds in flight shots then a good autofocus system is a must. Some with super-photo skills make a manual focus lens work in birding but you probably don't want to start with a manual lens. It was the speed of the autofocus that helped me decide on the Nikon over the Tamron and Sigma when I tried out all three in the shop.

Whenever you buy used it is 'buyer beware"
I would recommend a store with a good rep or someone you know.

I have used the 200-500 on my D5100 and it works fine, tend to put it onto my D7100 now that I have one of those.
 
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