Steve V Loc: New Jersey

Just a hobbyist here. I own a D750 and like to shoot any wildlife I come across. I have been using a 70-300 4.5 but would like to get a little closer on my walk and stalks. I want to stay under 1K for a lens, well under if I can. New, used, prime, zoom I am thinking about is all so I thought I would throw it out there see what comes back. Not to technical here so keep it simple. Thanks in advance for any replies.

dugeeeeeee

Nikon 200-500. Love this lens. Got mine from lens authority for $960. Looks and works like brand new. I far as I understand they sell stock from lens rentals. In the box USA model. I find it quite sharp and it focuses fast. Using it with Nikon D810.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

This is somewhat controversial, but you might want to consider a Kenko 1.4 teleconverter. That will make your 300 mm the equivalent of 450 mm for minimal cost. If you don't like the results, return it.

https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=kenko+1.4+tc&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I got my 200-500 from MPB in “like new” condition for under 1k. I also traded my old version Tamron 150-600 in on it. I think I was something like $514 out of pocket. It’s a great lens.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

I have no experience with them, but may be you can find a used Nikon 200-500 or Tamron/Sigma 150-600 for under 1K.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

Rineal Loc: Copake NY

If you just want a bit more reach why not get the Nikon 1.4 Teleconverter? Otherwise, the 200 - 500 is a great lens - I use it a lot, often with the 1.4 for more reach. (You never really have enough...)

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Sigma and Tamron both have 100-400's for about $650 - I lean towards the Tamron.
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BryGuy Loc: Buckeye, AZ

Tamron and Sigma both have a 150-600 mm that rates pretty well and goes for about $900.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

I've been through the whole 3rd party glass scenerio for birding and wildlife and my recommendation is to stay with Nikon glass (unless you want to get into tuning), but another option to consider is buying a used aps-c body like a D500 or D7500 which will give you a 1.5x boost in reach and stay with your current 70-300mm f4.5 along with a 1.4x teleconverter. That gives you 300mm x 1.5 x 1.4 = 630mm f/6.3 and boost your fps as well.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The 70-300 F4.5 is 5.6 at 300mm. This F5.6 lens with a 1.4 TC will be F8 at 300mm, making the focus performance challenging at best, and you can just about forget about using it in poor light (early/late in the day, under the forest canopy, etc). The D750 has only 15 cross-type sensors which can work with a lens with a max aperture of F8.

A 300mm lens will be 420mm, regardless of sensor size. Cropping will simulate longer "reach" whether you do it in/with the camera. Getting a crop sensor camera will put more pixels on the subject, but the larger pixels on the D750 will provide better sharpness and light-gathering capability. Uncropped images taken with a D500 will not look as good as cropped images taken with the D750. I did a similar comparison with a D500 and a D810, and the D810 won each time.

A third party lens is not automatically a candidate for fine tuning. in fact, third party lenses often perform on par and in some cases even better than the OEM lenses. I chose a Sigma Sport, which I purchase used in 2016 for $1100, over a brand new Nikon 200-500 after borrowing 2 copies on separate occasions from Nikon's NPS program. The Sigma was noticably sharper, even though I fine-tuned the Nikons. I am not saying the Nikon lens it bad. I am saying that the Sigma was simply and visibly sharper.

Case in point, the shots below were taken with a Sigma 100-300 or a 150-600, straight out of the box - no fine tuning, and all are moderately to heavily cropped:

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Sigma 50-500

(Download)

Sigma 100-300 F4

(Download)

Sigma 100-300 F4

(Download)

Sigma 100-300 F4

(Download)

Sigma Sport 150-600 F5-F6.3

(Download)

Sigma Sport 150-600 F5-F6.3

(Download)

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

The 70-300 is not supported by Nikon teleconverters, not officially at least:
https://cdn-5.nikon-cdn.com/Assets/Common-Assets/Images/Teleconverter-Compatibility/EN_Comp_chart.html

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

I started birding with a Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2 on a D7200. I was not getting good results beyond 400mm so after "talking" to Customer Service I sent the camera and G2 to Tamron where they found no problems with either and they came back no better than they went out. I thought I had wasted my money on the G2. After a lot of research, I learned how to tune using Tamron's Tap-in and with a lot of time and effort I started getting good results with the G2 even at 600mm (which is not really 600mm, it's more like 550mm).

Along they way I picked up a used D500 and found I did not need to re-tune the G2 to the new body, they worked just fine together and still do today. I picked up a Nikon D200-500mm f5.6 and found the Tamron and Nikon had similar IQ in the center, but the Nikon was sharper towards the edges and much sharper in the corners compared to the G2. The Nikon focuses much faster than the G2 at longer focal lengths, probably the difference between f/5.6 and f/6.3. I can also use a 1.4x teleconverter with the Nikon, which takes me to 280-700mm f/8 (420-1050mm f/8 on an aps-c body), and the AF on the D500 (and now my D850) work fine at f/8 as long as I use the center of the frame (BBF really helps here), but AF is slower at f/8. I go to manual focus under lower light conditions.

So, my recommendation is to stay with Nikon glass for these longer focal length zooms. With that said, I am getting very good results with Tamron's shorter zooms, especially the 24-70mm f/2.8 G2, 70-200mm f/2.8 G2 (rarely comes off my D850) and their 35mm and 85mm f/1.8 primes.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Being lazy and old I decided not to bother with the Tap-in calibration and use Live View instead. While the Tamron G2 new is more than $1,000, I'm sure you can find a "reconditioned" one for less. The Sigma Sport is the heaviest and most expensive but is the one most seriously weatherproof, if you really need that (I don't). Some say the Sigma C doesn't quite have the IQ of those 2 but it is the least expensive.

Steve V Loc: New Jersey

Thanks, I like this idea and look them up. None in stock now but it’s a consideration.