rbfanman wrote:
The "Best" photos will require more like $25,000 for the lens. For $1,000.00, you have to make do with "Very Good". Compare Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, etc, and see which suits you best. Some lenses will be sharper in the center, and a bit blurry at the edges. Others will be sharp all around, but cost a lot more. Look for APO (Apochromatic), Extra Low Dispersion, Multi-Coating, and the like. You'll probably have to get a single aperture (f/4, rather than F/4-5.6, etc), and Manual Focus, Manual Exposure, item. Asking others for specific lens suggestions will probably get you a thousand different lenses suggested, as everyone will have a favorite.
Even the Best lens won't give the Best results if you don't spend time waiting for the right bird, in the right place, and take the time to focus. Shooting birds from nearer distances will let you get by with a 200mm, or 300mm, lens. Shooting from a greater distance will mean using a higher powered lens...a 500mm, 600mm, 800mm, or such. Using such will also mean having a sturdier tripod.
The "Best" photos will require more like... (
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Your first comment says the best photos require $25,000. Then you state that the best lens will not always give you the best. I agree with the second and let me also state - equipment is overrated. I have the best and it was never the equipment. It was always me. Light and composition trumps equipment almost every time. Famed photographer Galen Rowell did not shoot with the best and he did so on purpose. The expensive equipment will likely get you out to shoot more and it is that experience from trial and error, from setting up before dawn, staying out past midnight and post processing that will do more to improve your photography than an 800 mm Nikon on a Ds4.