Lately, I've been using my vintage manual lenses for backyard bird and critter pics. For birds, I've been using my 180 f/2.8 P.C AI'd mounted on my modified TC-16A for fine focus, and for critters 5 ft or closer, the 55 f/3.5 P.C, also with the TC-16A. The 55 f/3.5 gave me a ton of keepers - my only nit is that the working distance was a bit too small for skittish critters like dragonflies and butterflies. The 180 f/2.8 with the TC had a lower keeper rate with birds for me due to CA and softness, and it's not a lightweight either.
For a change, I threw the 55-200 VR II on the D7100 to shoot birds, and was surprised to find it holding its own against the above lenses. Bird photos looked better to my eyes than with the 180 f/2.8 + TC setup. Even more surprisingly, the min focusing distance was not as limiting as I expected, and it actually made it easier to photograph dragonflies than the 55 f/3.5 due to the added working distance. I wouldn't expect it to compete with the 55 f/3.5 for super tiny critters like spiders, where the min working distance would dictate a lot of cropping, so it doesn't exactly replace the micro. Likewise, for birds beyond a certain distance (~50ft or so?), the crops do not hold up very well. Within the range though, its actually a splendid performer. Oh - it also plays well both with the built-in flash and the SB-700 (and probably other speedlights too, but I haven't experimented). The only caveat with the flash is it can make birds' eyes look unnatural due to the red-eye effect, so I've found it safer to lift shadows in post instead.
Ok - enough talking. Below are some sample pics to make the point. All these were shot wide open, so one would imagine even better IQ after stopping down some. Comments welcome!
Birds (~10-40 feet away, heavily cropped)
Spotted Munia by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Immature by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Critters (~3-5 ft away, lightly cropped)
Roseate Skimmer (female) by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Needham's Skimmer, female by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Tropical Checkered-Skipper by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Robber Fly with fresh-caught cricket by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
For a change, I threw the 55-200 VR II on the D7100 to shoot birds, and was surprised to find it holding its own against the above lenses. Bird photos looked better to my eyes than with the 180 f/2.8 + TC setup. Even more surprisingly, the min focusing distance was not as limiting as I expected, and it actually made it easier to photograph dragonflies than the 55 f/3.5 due to the added working distance. I wouldn't expect it to compete with the 55 f/3.5 for super tiny critters like spiders, where the min working distance would dictate a lot of cropping, so it doesn't exactly replace the micro. Likewise, for birds beyond a certain distance (~50ft or so?), the crops do not hold up very well. Within the range though, its actually a splendid performer. Oh - it also plays well both with the built-in flash and the SB-700 (and probably other speedlights too, but I haven't experimented). The only caveat with the flash is it can make birds' eyes look unnatural due to the red-eye effect, so I've found it safer to lift shadows in post instead.
Ok - enough talking. Below are some sample pics to make the point. All these were shot wide open, so one would imagine even better IQ after stopping down some. Comments welcome!
Birds (~10-40 feet away, heavily cropped)
Spotted Munia by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Immature by p.g.photo.graphy, on FlickrCritters (~3-5 ft away, lightly cropped)
Roseate Skimmer (female) by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Needham's Skimmer, female by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Tropical Checkered-Skipper by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr
Robber Fly with fresh-caught cricket by p.g.photo.graphy, on Flickr