Nikkor or Tamron? I have a D3200 and am looking for a telephoto zoom lens mostly for bird photos while hiking and camping. I'm considering the Nikkor 200-500 f/5.6 ED VR and the Tamron...

Barry Sivertson Loc: Utah

I have a D3200 and am looking for a telephoto zoom lens mostly for bird photos while hiking and camping. I'm considering the Nikkor 200-500 f/5.6 ED VR and the Tamron 100-400 f/4.5-6.3 Di Vc USD. My main concern is auto focus speed, image quality because I don't do post processing, and that the lens will pair well if I upgrade to the D7500. Thoughts?

JR45 Loc: Montgomery County, TX

I have the 200-500 that I have used on both D7200 and D500.
The focus is smooth and fairly quick.
For me the only drawback is the weight. Because of age and medical
condition, I need to use a tripod, although I have used it handheld.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

I agree with JR45. The Nikkor 200-500 is an excellent lens but it is heavy. My person preference would be to stay with Nikon.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

#3 for the Nikon 200~500. You will never regret the extra 100mm

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Barry Sivertson wrote:

I have a D3200 and am looking for a telephoto zoom lens mostly for bird photos while hiking and camping. I'm considering the Nikkor 200-500 f/5.6 ED VR and the Tamron 100-400 f/4.5-6.3 Di Vc USD. My main concern is auto focus speed, image quality because I don't do post processing, and that the lens will pair well if I upgrade to the D7500. Thoughts?

Have you considered the Tamron 150-600 G2? It’s lighter than the Nikkor 200-500 and will give you an additional 100mm over the Nikkor. I have one and use it on my Nikon D500 and D7200. My usual subjects are wildlife and birds.

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

Before making a lens purchase, in addition to advice from UHH members, I look at the DXO website where the lens comparisons are done and they base it on the camera model you select. In the case of my D750 the Tamron lenses are usually ahead of Nikon lenses in their scoring. With only a couple of exceptions my camera bag is loaded with Tamron lenses and I have been very happy with the quality and price.

I also read online reviews and watch YouTube video reviews of the lens I am interested in. Best wishes on you research journey and I hope you enjoy whatever lens you decide to purchase.

Dodie

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Barry Sivertson wrote:

I have a D3200 and am looking for a telephoto zoom lens mostly for bird photos while hiking and camping. I'm considering the Nikkor 200-500 f/5.6 ED VR and the Tamron 100-400 f/4.5-6.3 Di Vc USD. My main concern is auto focus speed, image quality because I don't do post processing, and that the lens will pair well if I upgrade to the D7500. Thoughts?

Welcome aboard Barry. I am a biased guy. My preference as the owner of one would be the Nikon 200-500. Sharp through the whole range. Get a nice back pack for your equipment as you hike. My preference would be for Think Tank.
I have tried and bought Sigma and Tamron and wound up selling them and wound up with Nikon Glass.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

I like the 200-500 a little more for quicker focus, particularly in lower light, than my 150-600 G2. I use both on a weekly basis.

Hammer Loc: London UK

In theory the Tamron G2 lens should give you a slightly better quality result , whether that is noticeable in the real world is another issue .

However, you can attach a 1.4 teleconverter to the Nikon, with a 280-700 focal length as a result and you will still have autofocus , albeit limited to the centre point .

Just another pain to add confusion .

FiddleMaker Loc: Merrimac, MA

MadMikeOne wrote:

Have you considered the Tamron 150-600 G2? It’s lighter than the Nikkor 200-500 and will give you an additional 100mm over the Nikkor. I have one and use it on my Nikon D500 and D7200. My usual subjects are wildlife and birds.

I have a copy of the Tamron 150-600 G2. It is 4 oz. lighter in weight than the Nikkor 200-500. The Tamron is very fast in focusing. Both the Nikkor and Tamron take a 95mm filter. This gets rather expensive if you want to add a 95mm polarizing filter, however.

Paulco2 Loc: Gettysburg PA

I have had both Tamron and Nikkor zoom lenses (but not the specific lenses you are asking about). I found the the Tamron has a big edge in price and the Nikkor has a small edge in image quality. My preference for the Nikkor is based on experiencing a high degree of sensitivity to humidity on the contacts of the Tamron which required fairly frequent wiping of contact points when at the seashore or other places with high humidity. Overall I found both to be good lenses. As suggested above, check out neutral comparisons and make your choice on what factors are most important to you.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Barry Sivertson wrote:

I have a D3200 and am looking for a telephoto zoom lens mostly for bird photos while hiking and camping. I'm considering the Nikkor 200-500 f/5.6 ED VR and the Tamron 100-400 f/4.5-6.3 Di Vc USD. My main concern is auto focus speed, image quality because I don't do post processing, and that the lens will pair well if I upgrade to the D7500. Thoughts?

The Nikon 200-500 was specifically designed from the beginning to work on your D3200. It was built to tighter tolerances than the Tamron, has better optics than he Tamron, and will be worth much more than the Tamron in 5 years.
Below is a sampling of what the 200-500 can deliver. And this is a shot after the lens had about 50,000 exposures on it.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Barry, this is a no-brainer...Nikkor.
--Bob

Barry Sivertson wrote:

I have a D3200 and am looking for a telephoto zoom lens mostly for bird photos while hiking and camping. I'm considering the Nikkor 200-500 f/5.6 ED VR and the Tamron 100-400 f/4.5-6.3 Di Vc USD. My main concern is auto focus speed, image quality because I don't do post processing, and that the lens will pair well if I upgrade to the D7500. Thoughts?

analogman

All of you missed the fact that the gentleman with the question said he had a Nikon D7500 not a D750. Huge difference. D.L.L.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

analogman wrote:

All of you missed the fact that the gentleman with the question said he had a Nikon D7500 not a D750. Huge difference. D.L.L.

The Nikon 200-500 will work just fine on the D7500. Since he wants it for wildlife, that lens will give him a field of view of 300-750 mm. This would be ideal for wildlife photography. And, as a bonus, he is, on the D7500, only using the center part of the lens (the sweet part), plus, he can put more effective megapixels on the subject with this lens. All in all a great lens for a great camera. What could be better.