Upgrade from 55-300mm

SteveH

Senior Member
Hi All,
I'm thinking of upgrading my 55-300mm, and I'm stuck on what options to look at with a budget of up to around £1000. I would be looking to shoot mainly general wildlife, zoo trips etc. Looking at my favourite 55-300mm shots, 75% of them seem to fall in the 100-300mm range.

On the one hand, a 70-200mm F2.8 would be nice - The Nikkor being over budget, so I'd look at the Sigma / Tamron variants... but I would miss the 200-300 range. I would still have the 55-300, but that would be an extra weight in my bag most of the time.

Then there is the Sigma 50-500... What are people's thoughts on these with the large zoom range? Is the IQ up to the price tag? I'm not sure the new generation of 150-600's are quite for me, the majority of use will be doing some dog shots at a local kennels, a day at the zoo, and wildlife when walking our dogs etc so I think I'd miss the lower focal length more than I'd enjoy the top end, if that makes sense as I'd have no cover between 55mm and 150mm.

Can the Nikkor 80-400mm 'D' still hold it own against newer lenses - Also I have read that the focus can be slow due to not having an internal motor... But then how much slower are we talking?

Any thoughts appreciated!

ETA: - The lens is to go on my D7100, but I'd prefer FX compatible!
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I can speak to the Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM a little bit... I've had opportunity to shoot with this lens on a loaner basis and I found the sharpness on my D7100 to be very, very good. Not jaw-droppingly fantastic but surprisingly good across the entire focal length. The lens showed remarkably little distortion, chromatic aberration was hard to find and vignetting was almost imperceptible. It's a lot of money but wow... What a zoom! Built in typical Sigma-fashion... Meaning tank-like.

....
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
I was going to say if your not bothered about 600mm then the 50-500 may be worth consideration,then if the wildlife side grows you will have the right lens.
 

SteveH

Senior Member
I can speak to the Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM a little bit... I've had opportunity to shoot with this lens on a loaner basis and I found the sharpness on my D7100 to be very, very good. Not jaw-droppingly fantastic but surprisingly good across the entire focal length. The lens showed remarkably little distortion, chromatic aberration was hard to find and vignetting was almost imperceptible. It's a lot of money but wow... What a zoom! Built in typical Sigma-fashion... Meaning tank-like.

....
Thanks for the info! Perhaps before spending this kind of cash, hiring the short-list for a weekend could be a good idea!
 

BrawlerO

Senior Member
Hi Steve,

I can only speak from using the 55-300 and the 150-600 Tamron. I went for the Tamron primarily for longer reach and better IQ. It's quite big and might be overkill for what you want but I have noticed a big improvement from the 55-300 (which was pretty good value for the price).

If you are not bothered about having massive reach what about the getting the 70-200 but with getting a teleconverter for when you do need that bit extra? You could afford the f-stop penalty if starting at f/2.8...?
 

SteveH

Senior Member
I was going to say if your not bothered about 600mm then the 50-500 may be worth consideration,then if the wildlife side grows you will have the right lens.

Thanks Mike, I think the 50-500 fits my preferred focal length requirements - I'll maybe look at hiring one sometime soon and giving it a run out!

Hi Steve,

I can only speak from using the 55-300 and the 150-600 Tamron. I went for the Tamron primarily for longer reach and better IQ. It's quite big and might be overkill for what you want but I have noticed a big improvement from the 55-300 (which was pretty good value for the price).

If you are not bothered about having massive reach what about the getting the 70-200 but with getting a teleconverter for when you do need that bit extra? You could afford the f-stop penalty if starting at f/2.8...?

A very good idea @BrawlerO ... The benefit of the 70-200 sharpness, and the "Extra legs" when needed..... So many options!
 
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