Buying a Telephoto. Maybe. What would you choose?

[ross.anderson.58]

Hi folks.

So. Here's the question. I'm getting more in to shooting wildlife. And more into photography in general. I am going on a photo day in a few weeks and my thoughts have drifted to a Telephoto. Something I can use as a wildlife lens but also as a general photography lens.

With about £600 what would you consider? To be paired with a D500 body.

So far ive thought maybe a used nikon 70-200 vr F2.8 v1. Maybe a nikon 70-200 f4 if I can find one. Or possibly the tamron 70-210 F4. Or the 35-150. So many options out there. Anything else you would consider?

Thanks in advance.

 

[gramps]

A 70-200 is unlikely to fill your future needs for wildlife ... I would look at a used Nikon 200-500 or Sigma 150-600 C for that and think of something else for your other needs.

 

[Mike.P]

Thing is, 200mm isn't long enough for most wildlife, you need something like the Sigma 150-600mm C which you should find used for around £600. However it's not really much good for general photography which a 70-200mm would be.

Need 2 lenses tbh.

Edit: Gramps beat me to it while I was typing

 

[Gremlin]

For your photoshoot a 70/200 will be fine, but out in the field you are going to need a lot more reach,
for that I have the sigma 150/600 and love it.
It does take a bit of practice to get used to it but worth the effort, mine is pin sharp

 

[Sky]

Another vote for the Sigma 150-600. IMO, it really can't be beaten for the price.

Black Kite by Trevor James, on Flickr

 

[fujilover]

200-500.

70-200 did not have enough reach for much wildlife when i had a go

 

[koogart]

For your photoshoot a 70/200 will be fine, but out in the field you are going to need a lot more reach,
for that I have the sigma 150/600 and love it.
It does take a bit of practice to get used to it but worth the effort, mine is pin sharp

I have both 150/600 and 200/500, I think the Nikon has the edge.....

 

[justpix]

Hi, I have both the Nikon 4/70 - 200 and the Sigma 150-600 C. -

The questions are: which wildlife you want to take pictures of and how ?

If you want to walk about (e.g in a zoo), the Nikon is lighter. If you go to one location (in the woods), mount your Sigma on a tri-pod, and wait for your prey to appear, you could use the Sigma.

I would start with the Nikon, and get the Sigma later on. (The D500 being APS-C, its range of 225-900 might be too long ...)

P.S.: I use the Nikon for shooting squirrels :





And Jaguars :





The Sigma for birds:





The Sigma sits on a tri-pod on my dining-room table. It never left the house ...

 

[keeweeman]

i think purely for wildlife then the longer lens (sigma for your budget) is the way to go. That said i bought my first 70-200 in spring last year and it has so much versatility beyond just wildlife. I've found the image quality to still be excellent even using a 1.4tc with it too. My lens is the sigma 70-200 sport and its the newer model tc which i think is the same as the one the 150-600 uses