Upgrading tele for wildlife, need suggestions

snj979s

Senior Member
Several years ago having been relatively uninterested in wildlife photography my interest peaked when I became aware of the winter migration of the Bald Eagle to our area. Not wanting to spend much I opted for the Nikon 70-300mm VR. I was able to get some good shots when I was able to get close enough. When the birds were distant cropping the image lacked the sharpness I am use to with portrait primes (Portraits have been my primary interest). At 200mm and under the lens is plenty sharp but at 300mm I can't crop with good results. As a result I'm considering (and saving for) two lenses: 70-200 VR ii, and 300mm f4 afs both to use with tc-14 extender for wildlife. I can use the 70-200mm for upgrade with low light events, full body portraits, etc. But the 300mm f4 is probably better for wildlife. My conflict is I'm not sure which or if there are options I'm not aware of. Your thoughts and experience are greatly appreciated.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Since you have a D800 (full frame sensor), you should consider either the Nikon 200-500, a Sigma 150-600 C or a Tamron 150-600 G2 lens for wildlife photography. Any of these lenses will give you more reach than either of the lenses you are considering. I use the Sigma on my D7200 and am very pleased with this lens.

And Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
 

robbins.photo

Senior Member
No need for conflict. My recommendation, get yourself a good used copy of a Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 VR I.

Then find yourself a good TC-20 EII or III. This will give you a great lens to use for indoor events, etc.. and when needed the added flexibility to go to 400mm at 5.6.

I know a lot of folks get pretty down on shooting a zoom lens with a TC - but really the trick is just shoot a touch wide, then crop out the corners. As it is at least in my experience your pretty hard pressed with a quality zoom and quality TC to see the differences, you really have to pixel peep to find them.

But as an example:

20161126_4706 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr

That was shot with a Nikon D600 with a Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 and 2x TC wide open at F/5.6. I've always found the image quality more than good enough for my needs.

At some stage yes, I want to get a 150-600mm, but for now the Nikkor with the TC is doing the job quite nicely. So this might be an option for you to consider as well, since your already in the market for a 70-200mm 2.8 anyway.

Thing I like is that I can carry one lens, and with a couple of light TC's it becomes incredibly versatile. I have a 98-280mm F4, or a 140-400mm 5.6 depending on what I need with just the one lens and a couple of very portable TC's.
 

jay_dean

Senior Member
Its the old adage, you can never have enough reach, and it depends on the budget. I'm not a fan of TC's and i do own one. You could spend £500 or £15,000 on a lens and anywhere in-between. Second hand is a great money saver. In the older camp theres lenses such as the Sigma 50-500mm and the 150-500 or 500mm prime. Then theres the newer generation Sigma, Tamrom and Nikon as mentioned above or even Nikon primes. Using a D800, whatever lens you choose you'll still be cropping. Welcome along..
 

snj979s

Senior Member
Thanks for the responses already and I'm glad I made it here. I would like more reach but not at the cost of IQ since I almost always crop wildlife. Are the zooms listed better than the 300mm f4 with tc-14 (=420mm f5.6) at 420mm in terms of IQ? I can use the 70-200mm for so many things but I'm a little concerned about using a 2x converter with it.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I can tell you that my 300mm f/4 with 1.4X TC is a bit shaper than my Tamron 150-600. It's also lighter. But, ther are certainly times that the zoom is nice, as is the VR on the Tamron. Meanwhile, I have not triwed the Nikon 200-500, but those who have it seem to love it.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
I have the Nikon 300mm f/4 + 1.7 TC and the Tamron 150-600mm generation 1. If I had to choose between the two setups, and you have yet to buy, I would go with the Tamron 150-600mm generation 2. The generation 2 was improved on the wide open end and with the high iso capability of the D800 you would be good.
 

Chris@sabor

Senior Member
IMG_20161221_110724.jpg
This was shot at 600 mm with a Sigma C lens on D7200. Egret was at least 500 feet from me. This has been heavily cropped and processed as I normally do. I certainly don't get this result every time, but it does illustrate what this combo is capable of.
 

singlerosa_RIP

Senior Member
Hello from a fellow Missourian.

While I prefer zooms over primes, the 300 with TC is light compared to any big zoom. Your wallet will be lighter, too. :) I've owned the 200-500 since it came out and, while I don't shoot a lot of nature stuff, it seems to be a decent lens. But it is very heavy for prolonged hand-held shooting. Good luck.

J75_2631.jpg
 

jay_dean

Senior Member
Hello from a fellow Missourian.

While I prefer zooms over primes, the 300 with TC is light compared to any big zoom. Your wallet will be lighter, too. :) I've owned the 200-500 since it came out and, while I don't shoot a lot of nature stuff, it seems to be a decent lens. But it is very heavy for prolonged hand-held shooting. Good luck.

View attachment 239482
Steady hands there Jim! Like you i prefer my 2.8 zooms over primes. However, when it comes to birding i take the opposing approach. As i like to take shots of (usually) small birds in treetops, i often perform a lot of aggressive cropping, so i like to have the maximum IQ i can get with a bit of added speed. I do appreciate that the Sigma/Tamron 150-600 and Nikon 200-500mm are easier to master and a hell of a lot lighter than what i use, so its not for everyone
 

snj979s

Senior Member
Still undecided so it's a good thing I don't have the money yet. haha. Question, is the 300mm f4 AFS suitable for macro work?
 

csgaraglino

Senior Member
One thing not mentioned is that the Nikon 200-500mm will accept a 1.4x TC (I have both) for a fixed f8, neither the Sigma nor the Tamron will. The Nikon combo on a DX body (I have the D500) is an extreme amount of reach!

I also have a D810 and I have only had one chance to shoot my 200-500 (just got it) but first shots hand-held BIF, I'm very happy.

IMG_2593.jpg

IMG_2584.jpg
 

Chris@sabor

Senior Member
One thing not mentioned is that the Nikon 200-500mm will accept a 1.4x TC (I have both) for a fixed f8, neither the Sigma nor the Tamron will. The Nikon combo on a DX body (I have the D500) is an extreme amount of reach!

I also have a D810 and I have only had one chance to shoot my 200-500 (just got it) but first shots hand-held BIF, I'm very happy.

I am pretty sure your info is incorrect, at least as it applies to Sigma.
Here is a link to Sigmas website where they sell a 150-600 plus 1.4 teleconverter as a package.
https://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/telephoto-lenses
 

csgaraglino

Senior Member
It is a well known fact that Nikon bodies (and most Canon) especially the new more sensitive versions cannot Auto Focus at a maximum aperture greater than f8.

Nikon states it all over their websites and the forums are fill to the brim with posts talking abut it.

Because these both are variable aperture lenses - as soon as you hit native f/6 (with Sigma that's just past 250mm) your done if you have the TC on. Why would any reasonable person spend well over a Grand on something to only be able to use less than 1/2 of it?

Just because a company sells a lens/tc combo together does not mean that it will function correctly in all, most or even some specific bodies.

The other thing to remember is that Sigma is also banking on the fact that Live View (Canon/Nikon) uses a different AF system and is not limited to the f/8 restrictions and thus can state that AF does work - but if you do a tad bit more homework, you'll quickly see that the majority of folks out there cannot get the combo to work on Nikon (or Canon) at f/8 or beyond via the viewfinder. It's slick borderline deceptive marketing IMO.

Knowing this, lets look at your link, it covers Nikon as a mount option, but also Canon and their in-house brand Sigma. I would expect it to work on the Sigma body (their own brand) - but not so much on the other two. Also, right on that page, Sigma has a disclaimer: "...with full autofocus functionality with most recent DSLR cameras" and my guess is because most resent cameras have a LiveView function.

Nikon addressed this SPECIFICALLY with the 200-500mm just to avoid all the issues that come after f/5.6
 

Chris@sabor

Senior Member
I guess I misunderstood your post. In reading it, it could be understood that the Sigma lense "will not accept" a teleconverter. I guess we agree that it will. I was not endorsing it or commenting on how well it works. I did a little searching and found several reads both agreeing with your "facts" and disagreeing. I personally don't feel qualified to say as I have no personal experience with this combo.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
I have used my Kenko 1.4x Teleplus Pro 300 TC with Sigma 150-600mm C on my D7200 at 600mm without issue. See below:

sigma_150-600_w1_4x_525443.jpg
 
Last edited:
Top