Sigma 120-400mm vs Nikon 80-400mm (VR1) Please help??

Hi all,

Nikon newbie here, just defected from Canon and got myself a D750

I am considering one of the above lenses for wildlife photography (mainly birds, foxes etc.. nothing large), If I had the money I would grab the Nikon VRII prime lens but I don't have roughly £1500

I do however have around £500 to spend on one and there's plenty going on ebay and other sites "used" for my price range

I just wondered if anybody knew which was the better lens at all? or if there's another out there that I'm missing, I want the sharpest/clearest image possible at 400mm for my budget really.

Hoping the AF and quality of my camera will make up for whichever lens I get but I'm not too sure.

If anybody out there can help with any of this it would massively be appreciated

Many thanks in advance

I have only recently sold my sigma to buy the Tamron 150-600 i had it for about a year,if you click the link in my signature most of the pictures are labeled with the lens i used,for the money you are talking you would only get the D version of the Nikkor which i understand is not as good as the latest version and most likley slower focus.
If i was you i would try to stretch the budget to a 150-500 sigma i would have said the Tamron but that would be more of a stretch.

Sigma uk stock 3 year warranty
Sigma 150-500mm f5.0-6.3 EX HSM DG OS Stabilized Telephoto Lens For Nikon | eBay

Thanks Mike, I was considering the sigma 150-500 as the have it new at my local store for £650 but been reading reviews online where most people are sayign at 350-500mm the shapness and image qulity is very poor. (there words not mine)

But then I can't have it all for £500 ish lol

I think the ones that talk about lack of an serious IQ at those focal lengths are the brand snobs,it will never match a 400 or 500 Nikon or Canon but its not the same money,have you done this search.

https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=sigma+150-500

I hadn't but just had a look, some nice shots indeed! Thanks Mike.

Think I'll go down to my store and check out the lens in person

Avoid the older 80-400mm D. Its always been a slow unloved lens. The siggy is the way to go, a second hand 50-500mm provides a hell of a lot of bang for your buck (as the Americans say). I had the non OS version, and tried it against my new 80-400mm G. The Sigma was a tad slower to acquire focus, and bokeh was not quite as good, but only just, and the price difference is very substantial

There are no stats for the D750 at the moment but the new Nikon 80-400 is sharper than the Sigma on the D610 and D810 so it can be expected the same is true for the D750. The old 80-400 Nikon scores worst.

18-14-12 on the D810
15-12-10 on the D610