Help with lens choice.

Phil White

Phil White

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I will be buying a new or used lens in the near future for birds and I really cannot decide between the Nikon 400mm f2.8 VR or the 600mm f4 VR.
Regarding the 400mm I could always get a 1.4x TC for the extra reach if needed.

Thanks for your help.
 
If you intend to photograph birds then you will inevitably yearn for more reach ... especially if you !
The 400 f2.8 VR is a superb lens with great image quality that is hard to beat and it works well with all of the TC's, however the 600 f4 gives you a much better reach, also takes TC's and has excellent image quality.
Weight is on a par so there is no real gain there, although the front element on the 400 is huge and may not get out of some small hide windows if you use hides.
 
Thanks gramps, I just don't want to buy a lens I'm not happy with. I have thought about hiring one but it's a hassle for me. The more I think about it the more I'm inclined towards the 600mm f4
 
With similar motivation I recently went for the 600 f4 canon. Incredible :)
 
400mm is more universal in case you also do bigger mammals or even sports.

I don't know if Nikon does anything as a fairly lightweight 500mm f/4. That would be a great compromise for wildlife as it is nearly as long but weighs just over a half that. I absolutely hate lugging my 600mm with me and handholding it is torture.
 
Yes - it's definitely worth checking the weight. For canon the current model is under 4kg and fits inside a flipside 500 (without camera body attached). I find this quite convenient to hike with. Also would not want to shoot for more than a few minutes at a time without support - tripod / beanbag.
 
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