Suggestion for 800mm f 6.4 with (limited) AF, for less than £2000

[woodlark]

Not being able to pay £5000 plus for a new Nikon 500mm f4, I began to look at other ways of acheiving reach with quality gear.
I bought a Nikon 500mm f4 P manual focus for my D200. When I did hit the manual focus ok, the results were great. But especially for small birdsthe 'keeper' rate was small. They move too fast for MF.
Then I discovered the Nikon TC 16a, its a 1.6x TC with some ability to provide AF via a screw drive. Its apparently possible to convert this to use with the D200 but I found that this operation required v. steady hands (and good eyesight when you lose a contact spring!)
As the TC 16a was designed to work with the D2 Nikon series, I acquired a D2x. On lenses shorter than 300mm, the AF works with only a rough manual focus first. On the 500mm 'P' you need to be fairly close with the manual focus as the TC 16a has only a small travel.
But - result! I now have reliable (and fast!) AF and the keeper rate has soared. The D2x/TC16a combo also works with a lot of shorter Nikon MF lenses, giving fast and accurate AF.
What I dont understand is why other manufacturers eg. Kenko have not developed a TC/AF unit with a longer focussing range than the TC16a. It would bring many quality MF lenses a new lease of life with AF. Perhaps it would be too limiting on the sales of new AF lenses!

The (secondhand) costs are: Nik. 500 f4 P - say £1250
TC 16a - £100 or less
Nik. D2x - say £550
Total £1900 or so.

[nightshade]

Quite an achievement!

[eeyore]

looking good - but i'd like to know where you can get a D2x forb 500 odd quid - A quick look round the dealer websites shows them going for a lot more - D2H is available at the 500 notes mark, but thats only 4MP

[rogpow]

Back in the days of film (when men were men and Queen Victoria was on the throne ) I used a TC 16a with a manual 300mm f2.8 on a F100 for shooting motocross and yachting. The quality was surprisingly good and autofocus was generally quick and reliable.

Originally Posted by eeyore

looking good - but i'd like to know where you can get a D2x forb 500 odd quid - A quick look round the dealer websites shows them going for a lot more - D2H is available at the 500 notes mark, but thats only 4MP

A well known Devon camera shop has 3 s/h D2xs at the moment around the £699/799 mark with about 35,000 actuations.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by rogpow

Back in the days of film (when men were men and Queen Victoria was on the throne ) I used a TC 16a with a manual 300mm f2.8 on a F100 for shooting motocross and yachting. The quality was surprisingly good and autofocus was generally quick and reliable.



A well known Devon camera shop has 3 s/h D2xs at the moment around the £699/799 mark with about 35,000 actuations.

yep - saw those - theres one in a well known cambridgeshire outlet for about that too - but nearly 8oo notes is a bit different from 500

[woodlark]

Hi, I bought my D2x (about 12500 shutter count) about a month ago for £550 on Ebay, theres more at that sort of price.
The AF is a revelation to someone used to a D200. And the viewfinder is much better
Dave