Just bought the missus a Nikon D3300 for her first DSLR. It came with a standard 18-55mm lens. But she wants a lens that can zoom to see some boats and stuff out to sea from our local beach.
Can anyone suggest a lens and where is a good price. Cheers..Pookie
Cool, thank you. For oil tankers etc… what strength would I need? Some say 500mm, others 900mm. Seem to be T-Mount and around $250-$300 AUD.
I found this Samyang but its a crazy price ?? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Brand-New-Samyang-500mm-MC-IF-f-6…
You can find crazy prices on almost everything… I can find a D3300 for over $6000 if i wanted to. Have a look at used ones. Any mirror lens will work.
I think with the D3300, because of the high megapixels, you want the VR2 version.
The earlier lenses show their flaws on this camera having been designed around 10 to 16 megapixel processors.
From memory the D3300 is a 24 megapixel camera.
I'd suggest you look for the AF-S 55-200mm VR2 or perhaps the AF-S 55-300mm lenses to go with this camera.
Lots generally for sale on either gumtree or eBay although I personally prefer gumtree so I can personally check in sunlight for any marks on the lens and try out with my camera to make sure everything is working perfectly.
These lenses are budget lenses usually sold in the 2 lens kits.
Most reviews suggest the mirror lenses are sub par, even the Nikon versions.
The AF-S 70-300mm VR is a better lens than those previously mentioned but of course its more expensive ranging between around $400 second hand to approx 800 retail.
For the best budget big lens, Nikon has recently released a AF-S 200 - 500mm VR lens to much fanfare ranging from around $1550 on eBay when they have the 20% off specials.
I just missed out on one of these this week due to them running out of stock. Full retail is closer to $1900.00.
Sorry to ask so many questions… but I also found this one:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/500mm-prime-telephoto-lens-for-Ca…
I don't recommend either the ones you suggested because they have extremely cheap/crap glass. They are also of low build quality and not compact.
Also, can you tell me what's so special about this one ? http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/sorrento/lenses/nikon-70-200-…
Is it worth the investment?
The f number (2.8 in this case) is the aperture of the lens - the wideness of the opening that allows light in. The smaller the number, the bigger the opening, the more light it lets in, the shorter the exposure time, and the more glass required. A 70-200 f2.8 is a good lens. It's the sort of lens that a professional photographer would use for medium distance photography. $1200 is actually at the lower end of what one of these costs (not saying it's a good deal, just that it's not an expensive one).
ok. Thanks. I'm looking for something to really bring the boats on the horizon up close enough to make out the people on board and the name of the boat etc…
Ok….
Boats on the horizon?
Suggest you look into renting for these occasions.
This will allow you to find the best lens for your application and then consider purchase.
Although in an above post I suggested 55-200, 55-300 and 70-300, hearing about your distant boat photography, I think renting the
200 - 500mm vr lens is the way to go.
Believe it or not its a budget lens.
Big lenses are big bucks and cost thousands.
Boats on the horizon is like 10 km distance. Thats insane levels of zoom…
Hmm ok. Do I need auto-focus? I notice AF is much more expensive than manual.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tamron-SP-200-500mm-F5-6-adaptall…
Is the above ok ?
Thats the lens I mentioned above.
I think you need to research that company though.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/257596
Get one of these, Sigma 200-600mm http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=Si…
With one of these Sigma 2x Converter, http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_odkw=Sigma+2x+converter&_…
Hmm, ok.
I already have a 55-300mm Nikkor lens but it's just not powerful enough to bring ships out at sea close enough to make out the names and other details. A 200-600mm would be much better as you say above , but I am wondering if you know if the following teleconverter will work good with my 55-300mm Nikkor lens:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/58mm-2-2X-TELEPHOTO-UV-FILTER-HOO…
My camera is a Nikon D3300
thanks
Will that mean I would get a zoom equal to 1200mm ?
What about quality using a 2x converter , will it be affected ?
Do they have the VR like Nikon and will the converter affect the VR ?
Will that mean I would get a zoom equal to 1200mm ?
See comment to your last post.
What about quality using a 2x converter , will it be affected ?
To some degree yes, your biggest problem though will be the atmosphere, photographing anything over a long distance will be effected greatly by the conditions on the day, sea spray, mist, smoke and general haze will have a huge effect on you images.
Do they have the VR like Nikon and will the converter affect the VR ?
Sigma's equivalent to VR is OS, and yes this lens has it. The converter does not effect the VR or OS, but I would strongly recommend shooting with a tripod or monopod and a very fast shutter speed over this distance as even the smallest movement will be magnified greatly.
Ok, so I went out today and took some pics with my new Nikon 55-300mm VR lens : http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BRAND-NEW-NIKON-AF-S-DX-NIKKOR-55…
I'm fairly happy with it, seems good quality, VR works well, the zoom is average…brings the ships on the horizon fairly close but not close enough for what I want :(
So
I'm wondering about the following teleconverters, and what's the diff between the following, besides the big price differences…
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nikon-Tele-Converter-Lens-TC-E2-2…
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_odkw=Sigma+2x+converter&_…
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nikon-TC-20E-III-2x-Teleconverter…
Basically I am wondering if any of these will make my existing 55-300mm lens do a better zoom ?
Thanks
Pookie
Teleconverters will not work with the Nikon 55-300mm.
Nikon Telconverters Compatibility https://www.nikonusa.com/Assets/Common-Assets/Images/Telecon…
The Nikon 55-300mm is a DX lens so the maximum zoom you will get is 300mm
The Sigma 150-600mm (not 200-600 as I mentioned earlier) is a DG (FX) lens, so on your DX camera it will be a 225-900mm, add the 2x teleconverter will make it a 450-1800mm.
"DG: Designed for digital. But that’s not quite all there is to it. Basically it means that it works on full-frame cameras. Sigma uses DC for lenses designed specifically for cameras with APS-C sized sensors like Nikon’s DX cameras. DG lenses will work on full-frame, APS-C, and film cameras. DC lenses will only work on APS-C cropped sensors. But this lens will also work well on a cropped sensor cameras like Nikon’s DX range, in which case it transforms it into a staggering 225-900mm equivalent."
Regarding my new Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DGX 2x Teleconverter 2.0x Extender for Nikon:
I received this today. Nicely packed, well protected with lots of bubble wrap etc. Original box with easy to understand short instruction booklet. I was a little skeptical whether or not this would work on my Nikor 55-300mm AF telephoto lens but when I tried it I had no real issue getting it to work fine.
Even the AF mostly worked, but it did take a few seconds to get the focus right, and on a couple of shots I simply went to manual focus…no problem.
The Nikon Vibration Reduction still works 100%, and I have only noticed a slight degregation in picture quality and brightness, but I am sure with a little adjustments to iso and whatever else my new D3300 can do the pics will be fine.
All up, I am happy with this product. I tried it today on a few very distant television towers onto of mountains and it certainly brought them closer than without it.
I will try it on some ships at sea on the next fine day :)
Since spending thousands on a 600+mm lens is beyond me this made a great compromise :)
Cheers
Pookie
Have a look at the Nikon 55-200. There are several versions but they are all extremely cheap and optically excellent. You can get used ones on eBay for less than $140 easily, even under $100 if you're lucky. If you are talking about the oil tankers on the horizon…. you might want to look at mirror lenses which go for less than $100 each. They are often M42 mount, which means you'll have to buy an M42 to Nikon F mount adapter (which costs less than $5).
I bought my Samyang 500mm f8 mirror lens for $70 on eBay + $5 for the M42 mount. Note however, that these are not optically very good. Ask me if you have any more questions!