Stuck on choosing a telephoto zoom

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Andy M

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Andrew
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I now have
  • D90
  • 18-70 3.5-4.5
  • 50mm f1.8
  • Circular Polariser

Now Ive been trying to focus on what I shoot the majority of, and as I dont shoot many birds or sport, I decided it wouldnt be worthwhile spending a lot on something like a f2.8 200mm lens.
As you can see ive got the wide angle covered OK with a nice 50mm prime.
However I need something for the odd occasion when I want to go close in. Ive had a play with my mates 18-200mm and I think it would be worth going a bit further and getting a 300mm. It just seems to lack the reach I'd need.

The 18-70 is what is on the body all the time, the 50mm is in the bag ready for when I want sharp portraits etc that would benefit from the large aperture. I now need a telephoto lens that is of decent quality.

On my old D70 the focus motor on the body seemed slow and noisy, however it seems quicker and quieter on the D90...has anyone else found this?

I see Sigma do a 70-300 APO and also a version for the D40 which I assume has a HSM motor, which is £150. Is it worth paying the extra for the inbuilt motor even though I have one on the body?

Is this 70-300 any good? I realise it wont give me bokeh like a 2.8 will, but 5.6 at 300mm seems good compared to other lenses such as the sigma 18-200 which is 6.3 etc.
I did consider the 55-200 VR nikon, but would I miss that extra 100mm in favour of VR?

Can anyone help?
 
Hello fellow Boltonian! :)

Andy, mind if I go off-topic? Just how good is the D90? I'm after upgrading and I'm open to suggestion

Cheers,

Mark
 
Hello! A fellow Boltonian!
The D90 is fantastic, I loved my D80 but would never look back. The live view and video is an added bonus, I didn't buy it for that. Higher fps and fantastic high ISO performance.

You are welcome to try it out anytime if you are thinking about buying one.

Cheers
Andy
 
I had the Sigma 70-300 and did not rate it personally - so i sold it and got a Nikon 70-300vr - which is what i should have done in the first place and its a cracking lens for the cost.
 
Andy M said:
I now have
  • D90
  • 18-70 3.5-4.5
  • 50mm f1.8
  • Circular Polariser

Now Ive been trying to focus on what I shoot the majority of, and as I dont shoot many birds or sport, I decided it wouldnt be worthwhile spending a lot on something like a f2.8 200mm lens.
As you can see ive got the wide angle covered OK with a nice 50mm prime.
However I need something for the odd occasion when I want to go close in. Ive had a play with my mates 18-200mm and I think it would be worth going a bit further and getting a 300mm. It just seems to lack the reach I'd need.

The 18-70 is what is on the body all the time, the 50mm is in the bag ready for when I want sharp portraits etc that would benefit from the large aperture. I now need a telephoto lens that is of decent quality.

On my old D70 the focus motor on the body seemed slow and noisy, however it seems quicker and quieter on the D90...has anyone else found this?

I see Sigma do a 70-300 APO and also a version for the D40 which I assume has a HSM motor, which is £150. Is it worth paying the extra for the inbuilt motor even though I have one on the body?

Is this 70-300 any good? I realise it wont give me bokeh like a 2.8 will, but 5.6 at 300mm seems good compared to other lenses such as the sigma 18-200 which is 6.3 etc.
I did consider the 55-200 VR nikon, but would I miss that extra 100mm in favour of VR?

Can anyone help?
Click to expand...

I used the Sigma 70-300 APO version when i had my Pentax kit .It needs good light to be honest ,and it's a wee bit soft at 300mm ,have to admit it's an ok lens at the price .I've had some really good results ,both nature and motorsport .:thumbs:
 
Andy M said:
Hello! A fellow Boltonian!
The D90 is fantastic, I loved my D80 but would never look back. The live view and video is an added bonus, I didn't buy it for that. Higher fps and fantastic high ISO performance.

You are welcome to try it out anytime if you are thinking about buying one.

Cheers
Andy
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good 'un :thumbs:

Cheers mate and thanks for the offer - you're very kind :)

I'll creep away now and let this thread get back on topic ;)
 
the logical move i see here would be the Nikon 55-200mm VR, have you looked at that? the Nikon 70-300 is a cracking lens to for the price so not worth ruling out (depending on budget)
 
The 55-200 would tick all the boxes, its a good price and its a nice size. Theres even one for sale on here at a good price.

The only thing I would question is would i need an extra 100mm? Or would it not be missed?
 
iit depends on what tracks you go to, how close you can get etc

the 300mm is a nice lens, its more of if you want to spend three times as much on one

i had the 55-200 then went for the 70-300 and its a nice upgrade, the extra reach was nice. so a tricky one lol
 
Did the right thing.

Owner of a 70-300 VR now.

Pics to come!
 
Doh, I'm too late on this. I'm just about to sell my nikon 55-200mm & my sigma 70-300 as I want to get a sigma 70-200 f2.8
 
I've had good use out of my 70-300 VR too but I'm looking to buy a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 shortly. I think I might hold onto the 300 though as well, but I'll decide that once the race season starts again.
 
viper_biker said:
I've had good use out of my 70-300 VR too but I'm looking to buy a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 shortly. I think I might hold onto the 300 though as well, but I'll decide that once the race season starts again.
Click to expand...

At the moment the sigma 70-200 f2.8 comes with a x2 convertir for free so u won't need the 70-300.
 
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