New camera and long lens

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Everyone,

I have a friend in my condo who is going to buy a DSLR. Originally she was going to purchase a D40x with a "kit" zoom lens. When she asked me my opinion I asked her what types of pictures was she expecting to take. I knew that she is not a beginner, but I was surprised at her answer.

It seems she takes a lot of bird pictures at a great distance. I gave her some suggestions, but the good folks who hang out here probably have better ones.

Here was my line of reasoning: One, get a really long lens. The biggest one you can afford and carry. Marion is old, so weight is an issue. Two, go for the quality of the glass and not the features. Since she will be using the lens at its maximum range, zoom makes no sense to me. You might get more "bang for the buck" if you bought an old lens second hand. Even an old manual lens would work for her as auto focus and aperture have little value in her work.

I fear my lack of real knowledge may be sending her off in the wrong direction. What do you all think?

Thanks in advance,

Bob

[Not4wood]

Bob,

Truthfully, if she is going for longer shots for wildlife I think your correct in a single size longer lens. But, a Zoom like a 70-300 will also cover the areas that she might need. The problem in helping her is she has to realize that you buy equipment for what you don't need as well as for what you do. Limiting yourself to only a One MM Telephoto will also prevent her from doing any other kinds of Photography or how bout a subject (bird) a little closer then the lens would allow for a good shot??

You say she is a little older, I would then assume this lens would be VR Vibration Reduction correct?? Is money a problem for this little lady??? How does she feel about the quality?

In Nikon the D80 is only slightly more money then the D40X but I think the Kit lens is probably the same as my D80 Kit 18-135mm but its not VR. Me thinks at this time, she needs to go to a Photo Store with someone else that also knows technology and photography and see what they offer at what prices.

Now In My Honest Opinion:
I think buying the Kit Lens would be good for a start and if she feels she needs more she can always go for a 300 mm or 400 mm lens on top of that. I dont think she should just buy a body and a larger Telephoto cause it would limit her abilities to shoot anything else thats a lot closer. The only definate thing I would say is the VR Lens would be more important. I also agree with you about buying the best lens you can afford but picture walking around with a 400 or 500 Telephoto and all of a sudden a Dear walks into your sights and your now looking at the Deers One Eye instead of the whole Dear? A close up of the face I could see but you can't Zoom out with the Single MM Lens. I think if she buys the Kit Lens it wont help her in the VR catagory either. I just looked at the Nikon Lens site and I found this new lens,

(AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED) here is the link: http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php...productNr=2146

you could show her this and see what she says. I dont know the price from the details over at Nikon but a Photo shop would probably give her a few choices.

[Chuck S.]

Bob, I'm a birder and enjoy going out in the field with my 8x binoculars and 25x scope. I hoped to be able to photograph birds as well, but my results have been disappointing.

You are spot on - a long lens (beyond 300 mm) is really needed to get a decent-sized image that can be minimally cropped for birds 'at a distance'. I've tried with a 75-300 mm zoom and a 70-200 mm with 1.4x converter - still too short. I've thought about a 100-400 mm lens, but I'm not going to go that route because I believe it will still be inadequate.

What's interesting is how your 'mind's eye' plays tricks with you when looking through binoculars or a a long camera lens. You see the bird and it looks to be large; when you take the photo, however, you see how little of the field of view is taken up with your primary subject. The result is a lot of cropping and loss of image quality.

If I were to try a longer lens for wildlife photography, it would be a fixed rather than zoom and bright (i.e., f 2.8 if possible).

If she's going to get a DSLR for other purposes, she could proceed with a kit lens and rent a longer lens....

My two cents.

[Joe M]

This is a very interesting thread.

Bob, something you said intrigued me. "Two, go for the quality of the glass and not the features." I'm considering purchasing a Sony A700, one of the reasons being all the used Minolta lenses available at very reasonable prices. I looked at KEH and they have a large choice of older Minolta lenses. My question is, how do you decide what is "good glass" and would work well with a modern DSLR?

Am I fooling myself thinking I can get an older lens that can perform like a modern lens. Or is quality glass, quality glass, no matter when it was manufactured?

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Everyone,

I may have failed to mentioned one point. If Marion goes the long lens route it will be in addition to a kit lens, not in place of.

I will keep reading this thread and learn more.

Cheers,

Bob

[Not4wood]

A fast answer to Joe: Using the "Older Lens" a lot or should I say most older lenses don't work with modern day Digital Bodies. The plane of Focus or the Curtain where the film or sensor is that the lens will focus its image on is in a different place. Some lenses will work but you must get advice from your Photo Store to see what they have to say about an older lens and which one will work for you.

Bob, in that case it changes everything. Under this new choice, I would go for the longest VR lens she can afford within her given budget. The only thing I would suggest after this is try to make sure the lens is also faster then f:4. For some reason, a lot of these lenses are very slow at F:4, and I would like to see if there are faster lenses down to maybe 2.8 or if there really good a 1.7 I am now on eBay looking around for a lens to recommend but everything I see is not worth the effort to even bother to post the link here. I had thought a had a great 1000mm lens, but it was a scam. It was a 500 mm lens with a Tele Converter, manual focus and the f:8 as a start was not worth the asking price. A real con put this one up. LOL

The most lenses I see are up to 300-400 mm some with a bad larger start and others aren't even worth a manual focus either. I'm very disappointed so far, I thought there would be a larger selection on higher power telephotos with VR capabilities for the Nikon Line. Even Sigma and Tamron dont offer that much but I haven't searched out there sights yet only from what I've seen on eBay.

[lexcell]

Let me throw my two cents worth in here. If your neighbor is really serious about bird photography she needs a 500mm or 600mm lens. These lenses are F4 which is relatively fast for such long glass. They are fairly heavy and very costly but that's the nature of the beast if she wants to capture birds.

There are some exceptions...there are several locations in Florida where the birds are quite habituated and fairly easy to get close to. But for most bird photography even a 400mm is not quite enough. If she is willing to compromise, the 200-400mm that Mark mentioned is a good lens, just a bit short for most bird photography.

There are Nikon teleconveters that are designed to fit these lenses that come in 1.4XX, 1.7X & 2X. The best option, in my opinion, is the 1.7X.

I would also recommend that she look at a D300 for bird photography. It is much faster and more responsive than either the D80 or the D40X.

This is going to cost quite a bit of money but the rewards are great with wonderful images.

I would have her double check the specifications of the lenses...weight, minimum focus distance and cost. The 600mm is very heavy, the 200-400mm & the 500mm are significantly lighter.

If you have seen my blog, all the photos I took in Bosque were with a 600mm and some had a 1.7X teleconverter as well.

[Chuck S.]

It goes without saying that Canon has cameras and lenses in the same performance ranges cited by Laurie....

[lexcell]

Thanks Chuck, that is correct. I went with Nikon because, she was originally considering a D40X but Canon is also a great option for birds in flight...just translate the figures into the equivalent Canon lenses and bodies.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Everyone,

I have printed this out for Marion. These are all great suggestions. I fear that the weight issue will preclude her from buying the really long lens options, but this is up to her.

Thank you,

Bob