Lens advice from the pro's pls

I have a D7000 which im enjoying playing around with at the moment. I have two lenses. A 55-300 and an 18-55.
What do you think my next lense should be ? I enjoy taking shots of aircraft at airports and sometimes they can be quite far away.
Im also concidering buying a 2x teleconverter. Any advice there ?

Thx

Stephen

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Hi Travanian,
If it is more reach you need I would suggest the 300 f4 and a 1.4/1.7 teleconverter. They are a very sharp lens for around $900-1000 used and pair well with teleconverters up to the 1.7
I am not familiar with the 55-300 but it may not work with the 2.0 teleconverter.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

That 55-300 on a DX camera should be able to pull in the aircraft pretty well? I don't even think the 55-300 can be used with a Nikon 2x teleconverter, but even if you did, the loss in resolution and contrast, especially pulling in airplanes from far away, would be I think disappointing. Since you are usually focusing at near infinity anyway, consider a second-hand Nikon 300 mm f4 manual focus lens and put a second-hand Nikon 1.4x teleconverter on it. I bet the image quality would be so much better than with the 55-300 with a converter, and you would end up with the equivalent of 630 mm focal length with f5.6 which is not too shabby.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Ahhh Billy posted while I was writing my post....there ya go.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Neither of you lenses are listed to work with the teleconverter.

Second hand Sigma AF 100-300mm F4 EX IF HSM APO, about $700 and Sigma 1.4 teleconverter, about $240 new. I've seen great shots of aircraft with this combo and more versatile than the Nikon 300mm prime, though I'm sure you would be very happy with that lens and the Nikon 1.4 converter.

Yes quite a number of lenses will not work with teleconverters. Not to mention the autofocus will slow down considerably especially using a 2x converter. Better off looking at a compatibility chart to see if the lense you're interested in will allow you to use one. Using you're 55-300 on the 7000. You should still get decent photo after cropping in post.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Thank You...... Sigma or Kenco Teleconverter in your opinion ? And why ? Pls educate me...

Thx

Stephen

I've got the same two zooms on my D7000. I preferred the 18-55mm to the 18-105mm and made the switch when I bought the D7000. It felt more robust and better built.

My next purchase was the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 then I decided that I liked more open lenses and next bought the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and then the Nikon 35mm f/1.8.

I have to say that I seem happier with larger aperture primes than smaller aperture zooms!

Depends on what you're shooting of course and I lean towards portraits and landscapes rather than aircraft hence my choices. I do find that long lenses with narrow apertures are hard to use!

David


Sent from my iPhone 5S using Tapatalk 2

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Travanian said:

Thank You...... Sigma or Kenco Teleconverter in your opinion ? And why ? Pls educate me...

Thx

Stephen

Click to expand...

If your going to buy a Nikon lens then save up and get a Nikon converter. If however you do go for a third party converter then firstly make sure that it's compatible with the lens you are going to buy and that it will Auto focus with that converter not just manual focus.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Travanian said:

Thank You...... Sigma or Kenco Teleconverter in your opinion ? And why ? Pls educate me...

Thx

Stephen

Click to expand...

Stephen, I'd say NO to both for the following reasons:

1- Teleconverters involve lenses and the quality of the images from third party TC can be from tolerable to miserable, depending on lenses you will be using them with.

2- Nikon has a list of lenses with which you can use a TC and the consumer level lenses are NOT included in this list. There should be a list in your camera user manual. There are a few reasons for this: There is a lens protruding in front of the TC and there is a lens protruding from the back of some lenses, and, if these touch each others, there could be damage; second, TC do reduce the light coming in from 1.5 to 2 full stops, making the lenses too dark for actual auto-focus to happen.

​TCs work better with pro zooms f 2.8 or fixed lenses below 5.6.

Sigma 150-500mm. It was listed at a remarkable $760 on Overstock.com a couple days ago, but they seem to be gone. Still, at under $1000 it's a great lens that will give you plenty of reach with the cropped sensor and no need for the teleconverter. I used one for a couple years with my D7000 and they are a great combination. If you're looking to shoot things in the sky, whether they be planes or birds, it's a great lens.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Travanian said:

Thank You...... Sigma or Kenco Teleconverter in your opinion ? And why ? Pls educate me...

Thx

Stephen

Click to expand...

Here is a picture of a DX and a Nikon TC. If you look at how they are supposed to be connected, they won't mate. If you want to use a Nikon TC you will need to get a 70-200mm f2.8, 300mm f4 or something similar.

Kenko or Sigma have a different design and can accommodate various consumer lenses.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

Marcel said:

Stephen, I'd say NO to both for the following reasons:

1- Teleconverters involve lenses and the quality of the images from third party TC can be from tolerable to miserable, depending on lenses you will be using them with.

2- Nikon has a list of lenses with which you can use a TC and the consumer level lenses are NOT included in this list. There should be a list in your camera user manual. There are a few reasons for this: There is a lens protruding in front of the TC and there is a lens protruding from the back of some lenses, and, if these touch each others, there could be damage; second, TC do reduce the light coming in from 1.5 to 2 full stops, making the lenses too dark for actual auto-focus to happen.

​TCs work better with pro zooms f 2.8 or fixed lenses below 5.6.

Click to expand...

Point 1 is absolute rubbish.

Re: Advice from the pro's pls

dramtastic said:

Point 1 is absolute rubbish.

Click to expand...

So apparently you've never had an experience with a shoddy third party TC, eh? Marcel said, "can be", and he's spot on. Some work very well. Others, well, you get what you pay for. Cheap TC = Cheap Glass = "Tolerable to Miserable". At least in my experience.

Travanian said:

I have a D7000 which im enjoying playing around with at the moment. I have two lenses. A 55-300 and an 18-55.
What do you think my next lense should be ? I enjoy taking shots of aircraft at airports and sometimes they can be quite far away.
Im also concidering buying a 2x teleconverter. Any advice there ?

Thx

Stephen

Click to expand...

Here is my "non-pro" opinion: If you have not done so already, check online to see if there are any local plane spotting "clubs" in your area. From there, you will be able to find out where the best spots are to plane spot/take photos. The most important part of this, is that you do it legally and safely.
Secondly: I have used a 55-200 for my plane spotting and it was just enough. When I went up to a 70-300, it was even better. With a 16mp sensor, you should be able to crop and have no loss of IQ.
Thirdly: how close do you want to get? This goes back to finding the right spots at the airport. If you find the right spot, you can even use some wide angle lenses. Here at CYUL, people can get right under aircraft as they land.

Fourth: If you are for some reason relegated to a certain spot and can't get closer, then take the advice of Billy, Marcel, Backdoor and Glenn.
In sum, it really is all about location when you plane spot & what kind of photos you are after. Good luck!

Thx very much guys for all your replies. Youv been very helpfull.
I have one more question for now... Pls advise me on a decent flash for my D7000 ????? Im loving it and loving the pics im taking, so much fun.

Thx again

I stayed with Nikon, I use a SB-800 (older) and a newer SB-910. Both have never failed me, recycle like crazy fast and go forever on a set of charged batteries. I know others are having good success with Yongnuo, cost a lot less but don't know what the longevity will be.

Thx but a bit pricey for me at the moment. Anything i can look at a little cheaper to get me started ?

Regards

Stephen

Iv just looked at this ?

Yongnuo YN-565EX i-TTL Flash Speedlite TTL ITTL for Nikon SB-900 SB-800 SB-700 0018208048014 | eBay