Money for one lense, which?

[1957split]

Hi all

After recently buying my Nikon D80 and then taking advice mostly from here that the one lense I should buy [all finances permit at the moment], I have been all out for a Sigma 50-500mm.
Since then I have been reading all the posts and advice given on here and have spotted some rating prime [fixed focal length?] lenses over the bigma and also some posts rating their camera manufacturer's own lenses.
I have the opportunity to purchase a
Nikon AF Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR Lens for similar money to the bigma, as a wandering type wild life picture taker that does own a tripod and monopod what lense would you choose?

I am new to digital photography, I am learning and have no experience in either lense so help/advice appreciated.

Kind regards
Brian

[BillyPilgrim]

I'm a Canon user so can't comment on Nikkor lenses but a good prime will always give you a sharper image than a good zoom.

Personally I use only prime telephotos but you can get some fantastic images with the Sigma 50-500mm. I understand that to get the best out of it you need use a tripod, pull back a bit with the zoom to about 450mm(?) and use around f/8 aperture. Have a look at Glsammy's image library. There are plenty of excellent examples in there.

[madukan]

Hi Brian

I have a bigma which goes for walks with me almost every weekend attatched to my Canon 40d. It's heavy, but probably one of the best bang for buck lenses out there imo. The lack of image stablisation isn't really a problem because I rarely use it hand held, it's almost always attatched to a monopod which helps with carrying it around, over the shoulder. I get some funny looks sometimes I have to say

I hope some Nikon users can comment further on the Nikkor lens but having looked at some reviews about the 80-400 lens and the main gripe would seem to be it's fairly slow autofocus and not having full time manual focus without flicking a switch but it does seem to be sharp and comparitively light. Also has a poor minimum focusing distance but this may not bother you.

here's a link to one review I read but you should look for more-

Nikon 80-400mm VR

Usually when I use the bigma it is almost always at 400-500mm so I guess a prime would probably suit me better but I'd have to carry another lens, just in case.

[1957split]

Thanks very much for your comments guys, really appreciated

I had read a on a few posts that the bigma didn't perform quite so well at full zoom and a few people struggled with lack of light, then again there are some excellent shots out there taken with the bigma and it gets a lot of praise on the whole.

Bigma it is then

P.S. all my bad shots are down to me and not the equipment anyway hope to get there one day though

[Cellarman]

PLEASE, can we get the spelling right. While the plural is lenses, the singular is lens, no 'e' on the end.

[NJP87]

Have you considered the nikon 300mm f4? I have just picked one up and couldn't be happier with it, very sharp and works well with a 1.4 convertor to give you 420mm f5.6

[1957split]

Originally Posted by Cellarman

PLEASE, can we get the spelling right. While the plural is lenses, the singular is lens, no 'e' on the end.

I don't doubt you but it doesn't look right [looks like it's something that belongs to a guy called Len]


Hi NJP87
I will check the price of the 300mm f4 and suitable converter's, I steered clear of these as the D80 manual seems to list so many that you can't use, well I was bound to buy the wrong one
I will investigate now

Cheers
Brian.

[Geoff F]

Just to add a little more to the confusion. When faced with the same dilemma recently, I finally opted for the Sigma 150-500 which has excellent stabilisation OS and enables reasonably good hand holding at 500mm. But you do lose the 50-150 range.

Primes are certainly the sharpest option providing you only use your lens at that size. The biggest and best of them, however can work out a tad expensive. A converter also adds around £200 to the cost.

A 1.4x converter is the best option but you will still lose a bit of quality and you can, depending on the lens, also have auto focus problems and lose a couple of F numbers from the widest end of the lens. Some lenses work OK so check this out before buying.

2x converters cause more problems but can still be worthwhile with the better quality lenses.

[NJP87]

Originally Posted by 1957split

Hi NJP87
I will check the price of the 300mm f4 and suitable converter's, I steered clear of these as the D80 manual seems to list so many that you can't use, well I was bound to buy the wrong one
I will investigate now

Cheers
Brian.

The best option for a TC would be the kenko pro, i have heard nothing but good about them.

Also there are 2 versions of the 300mm f4, the AF-D and the new AF-S version, they are priced around £300 and £1000

[1957split]

Thanks guys, I am trying to take all this in

Going through the Gallery pic's and reading many posts is it right to say that a fixed focal length lens [prime?] will produce a sharper image, a zoom can produce a softer image that could be sharpened up later on the PC?

I have seen some Nikkor prime lenses around the 400-500mm length but they've been more money than my car