Lens recomendation

[Spent Brass]

Bare with me here don't know a lot about cameras.With that said I want a lenses that I can take pics from about 100 yards away and to be able to zoom in pretty tight.What do you recomend.Also do I get a NIKON lenses or are there other companys that would be money better spent.

[GunDogs]

What kinda camera are you using?

[remingtonman1108]

First - I shoot Canon so bare with me on the numbers here.

 

Second - What body are you shooting?

 

Opinion:

 

My go to lens when I want to get some reach but able to get great versatility in zoom lengths is my Canon 70-200 F/4L or F/2.8L.

 

Since you shoot Nikon, I think they have a Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 that would be great for your needs. This range is very versatile and having a lens that is an aperture of 2.8 will allow the addition of teleconverters for give you some extra zoom at a reasonable price while letting of light in the lens or have some nice creamy bokeh! Getting a TC will allow you to get in much tighter like you are talking about.

 

Matt (BowhunterNJ) will def be a better source for this since he shoots Nikon and I think has the lens and TC im talking about. He shoots this set up near perfectly.

 

 

Lens options:

 

Nikon (Nikkor)

Tamron

Sigma

 

For the most part, Tamron/Sigma and others are less expensive then Nikon.

 

Check out some reviews on B&H or YouTube on the different variations of telephoto lenses from other companies.

 

Hope this helps!

[BowTechExperience]

Which brand camera do you have? Is it full frame or a crop censor body. How much money do you want to spend? Is image quality an issue?. A 70-200 F2.8 in either brand is fantastic glass, but when you say to zoom in tight, what type of image are we talking about? How tight is tight? Are you intending to zoom in on an animal at 100 yards and fill that frame with the whole animal? Deer sized animals or birds?

 

Canon cameras (DSLR ) come in a full frame, a 1.3x and a 1.6x factor

Nikon cameras ( DSLR ) come in a full frame and a 1.5x crop factor

 

What that means is that on a full frame body the lens zoom range is just that as marked on the lens, but any body with a crop censor will change the lens specs by the crop factor of your body, basically giving you a bit more of a perceived zoom.

 

Consider also even though a 70-200 sounds like a lot of zoom, in wildlife photography it is minimal. Also when you introduce a Teleconverter to these lens's, you loose light into those lens's too. Meaning that you can loose up to 2 stops of light getting through to your censor depending on camera body and type of or brand of TC.

[remingtonman1108]

 

Consider also even though a 70-200 sounds like a lot of zoom' date=' in wildlife photography it is minimal. Also when you introduce a Teleconverter to these lens's, you loose light into those lens's too.

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Exactly. I assume you are looking for a lens that more versatile than just wildlife? If not, then this opens you up to tons of options depending on your price range.

[Spent Brass]

Sorry about that its a NIKON D50 12 mp

[Spent Brass]

Willing to spend between 5 and 7 hundred bucks and want it to take pics of mostly wildlife.I bought the camera a few years ago and had a lot going on now I will have some down time with a up comming surgery on my back so I figure its a good time to start messind with it.Thanks for the replys so far.

[BowTechExperience]

The D50 is a crop censor body with a 1.5x crop factor. So given your budget, I would suggest Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR Nikkor Zoom Lens. The VR is basically a 2ng gen vibration reduction built into the lens. Your body will turn that lense into a 105-450 zoom. That is decent reach at the 450 end but image quality might suffer a bit based on available light. I had this lens a couple years ago and is a great lens for the money.

 

check out this link:

 

http://www.bythom.com/70300vrlens.htm

[Spent Brass]

That's for the info guys

[johnnyo8148]

I've used the Nikon the 55-200 with basically the same F stops and VR as BTE's 70-300 recommendation and at 40-100 yards, I find that the quality holds up pretty well. However, go out any further and the pictures will start to blur. The tele-converters that are on the market are good, but you will need to keep the camera steady or it will be an exercise in futility. There are two places that have good quality converters at a decent price -- B&H Photo and Adorama Cameras -- even Amazon is a good place to look. If you go with a converter as I did, get a good tripod so that the camera stays steady as a rock and you will be surprised as to how far you can zoom without losing any quality in the pictures. But beware -- as you can spend a grand without even blinking. Good luck with the lens.

[BowhunterNJ]

Looks like these guys covered quite a bit already!

 

I'll only add that I have the Nikon Nikkor 70-200/f2.8 and grabbed a 2x TC to get a feel for that 400mm range. It was a cheaper investment versus buying a 400mm+ prime lens...at a cost of losing 2 f-stops, which essentially means you are limited to shooting good light conditions...yet most wildlife move during those magic hours, and you're pretty much SOL if you are targeting those timeframes.

 

There is no doubt, photography and "good" results (sharp, high res, low grain, good exposure) are an expensive combo. And to get "in" at 100 yards with those results in mind takes top notch gear.

 

An alternate option to "feel" things out would be to rent lenses before buying...maybe cost $100 for a week versus footing out big $$$$ to buy and try. There are few places around (locally and online) that offer rental services...and yes, get the insurance on whatever you rent

 

Good luck with whatever you decide, and definitely post your questions and pics on here! Plenty of us are avid photographers and would like to help out and see the progression!

[BowhunterNJ]

Here's a couple samples from my D700 + 70-200/f2.8 + 2x TC...all shot midday and bright conditions.

 

Shot at only around 35-40 yards...hence the tighter zoom, slow moving swim.

 

 

Shot at around 50-60 yards, right at takeoff...you can see the wind blur is there, needed to shoot faster.

 

 

Similar range shot, fast moving, good range in that 40-50 yard range.

 

 

Shot at around 80-90 yards, fast moving...pretty much the max of the lens and IMO it shows...I would have liked better sharpness/less grain.

 

 

Last one, pushing the limits of the lens, overcast, small subject, probably 80 yards or so and max zoomed in. Came out OK, but not a "superior" shot.

[BowhunterNJ]

I was out shooting these guys today! Had a blast, although I'm not sure how well they came out yet...won't know til I get home and edit them