advice on decent zoom lens

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pedroj

Senior Member
Have you thought about a Sigma 70-200mmF2.8 with a 1.4 tele-converter a lot more expensive but a much better lens...A great portrait lens at the short end and long and fast enough for sports and birds....It is F2.8 at all focal lengths and I think F4 with a 1.4 T-C....
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
Marcel said:
Who said this is so simple. If you just want the best, read the reviews and get it. But best lenses have their prices. There are some questions that only you can answer. What do you need the lens for? Is this for a "Pro" use, or just for weekend snaps? How much money can you spend without going hungry or homeless? We can't answer this for you.

One thing I can say though is that I got great bargains by getting a used lens. Wether you buy from a reputable shop or ebay, there will be a huge saving done with a second hand lens. when I first got my D700, I needed a walkaround lens. I thought the 24-70 was way too expensive and the 24-120 on the heavy side. Well, I shopped ebay and got a Tamron 28-200 for 125$. It's not as good as the 24-70, 24-120 or 70-200 Nikkors 2.8, but it served me well at the time. And sometimes, I still will put it on even if I now have the others because it's still my lightest lens to cover FX.

So, take your time, read, take pictures with what you have and then see what you can get.

I forgot that a macro lens is a lens that I would never part with. (just to give you more food for thought)
Click to expand...

Hmmm.. definitely not for anything professional.
Just like a lot of photographers here, i just realized how much joy photography gives you..
so it's completely going to be something personal...
I enjoy nature and wildlife photography (can't do much for that with the stock 18-55mm).
i have been reading a lot about nikkor lenses in particular and i guess i've decided to get a f1.4 as my next lens for sure :p
but for now i want to get a 'good enough' telephoto lens for a budget of around the 70-300...
the compatibility for future cameras is something i do think is great but by no means the only deciding factor...

here in Bangalore we have no place where we can test lenses or even buy used/refurbished ones as far as i know, so that's a bummer :numbness:
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
pedroj said:
Have you thought about a Sigma 70-200mmF2.8 with a 1.4 tele-converter a lot more expensive but a much better lens...A great portrait lens at the short end and long and fast enough for sports and birds....It is F2.8 at all focal lengths and I think F4 with a 1.4 T-C....
Click to expand...

:) That looks to be a good one but as you rightly noted, it is over my budget...
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
Hi all ya!
just wanted to say i've finalized on the 70-300
in fact i have ordered it & it should be delivered today!
thank you very much for all your input, trust me it was a real hard choice but what forced my choice were these:

- i MAY upgrade to a full frame sometime
- slightly fasted AF
- slightly better IQ
- slightly better build

all in comparison to the 55-300

very excited about this :p
 
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