Sigma Telephoto lens

I am thinking of buying the 150-500mm for my Nikon D3100. I have recently ventured into Bird photography and need the extra reach. I currently have the lens listed below in my signature

My site is here: Zenfolio | Terry's Studio

Look at the nikon 300 f4 with the 1.4Tc I think you will be happier

could I not use my own Nikon 55-300 with the TC?

Toppers said:

could I not use my own Nikon 55-300 with the TC?

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No to my knowledge. There are only a very few lenses that can work with the TCs. The reason being that the TC have glass sticking out at the front that could come into contact with the lens glass while zooming. Have a look in your lens user manual. There should be a list there.

Toppers said:

could I not use my own Nikon 55-300 with the TC?

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Yes, you could use your Nikon 55-300mm with the off-brand teleconverters (tamron, tokina, kenko...). They are cheaper than Nikon TC but they work.

The problem with zoom 55-300 is it too slow (f/5.6) to focus in low light situations makes it difficult to do birding. For birding, you will need a fast focus lens for better.

This redtail hawk taken by a Nikon 300mm f/4 w/o a TC:

hmmmm
ok I see what you mean

With f stop above 4 plus TC, it is going to be very challenging unless the lighting is great. Focusing would be a problem. Anyone has some photo to share using this combination?

This taken by a D300, 300mm f/4, and a TC-14E @f/7.1:







With a x1.4 TC, the lens turns to f/5.6. It's still fast focus enough for birding.

The Sigma 150-500 is slow (f/6.3) at the long end, soft and suffers from visible CA. I owned one for a little over a month and sold it.

On the other hand , i owned a 150-500mm when i used Canon bodies and loved it. Yes, it likes light, and yes it prefers F8, but you can still get decent ( IMO ) snaps with it.

Apart from my 600mm astro scopes i had adapted and used as fixed aperture lenses, its the longest FL lens i've owned. I'm going to get another

Sigma can be a bit hit or miss, so its important to try out the lens first ( if at all possible ). I never had that luxury when i bought mine, but it turned out fine.



150-500 samples - Exif intact in first 2 photos

I have a D3100 , and a D7000 .

55-300 mm Nikkor , and 50mm - 500mm SIGMA . The Sigma I ' m currently trying out on the D7000 . The image stabilisation is pretty Good . It heavy though for hand held , which is what its designed for . I'm advised that I need a better TRIPOD , Manfrotto 055 , and a decent 3 way pan head . In Tasmania , thats about $650-00 total . Its not a lightweight Tripod though , then again , neithers the lens !!!

Then again also , if you have not been to Tasmania , you ' ve just not been anywhere !!!!!