Which Lens

[HowlinWolf]

Originally Posted by Oy

Ignoring the sidetracking Canonites for a second

The Nikon 300mm F4 plus x1.4 TC would be a great bet for birds. At 420mm it would certainly outperform lenses like the Bigma - even when cropped to an equivalent 500mm.

The Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 is an excellent optic, even when used wide open, plus it has the ability to focus down to around five feet: handy for close-up shooting (although not 1:1 ratio unaided). Used with the Nikkor TC-14E II, you have a versatile setup. Also, build is first class, the lens barrel being metal (not plastic).
I used one for 16 months, but recently upgraded to the 300mmf/2.8 AF-S VR IF-ED. Having said that, I'm keeping the f/4, as it's just so good.

HW