nikon lens question

puyjapin

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Bit of a silly question probably
I have a d40, kit lense. thinking of getting a 70-300 VR lens ... would this auto focus on a D40?
Also if i got the normal non VR equivelant would this autofocus too?
thanks
 
The only 70-300 that will auto-focus with your body is the AF-S 70-300 f4 VRII. If the lens is an "AF-S" (Auto-focus, silent-wave motor) than it will auto-focus with your D40; if it's anything else you will have to manually focus it.
 
so i assume the sigma lenses are no use for auto focus? Does that mean that if i was shooting a bird in flight the auto focus is essential with the setting on continuous servo focus?
 
Some Sigma (as well as Tamron and Tokina) lenses will auto-focus on the D40; I assumed since you made reference to "VR" (A Nikon propietary term) that you were only interested in Nikkor lenses. With respect to your second question: It depends. Shooting at f8 with a subject 50' away, you have a DoF of about 3'. If the subject is 100' away, you have almost 11' to play with. That said, CS-AF will definitely be a great benefit if you're shooting birds on the wing, especially close in.
 
Look for AF in the lenses description, if it doesn't say AF anywhere then you will have to manually focus the lens.
 
Oy vey!

The 70-300 VR lens will autofocus on your D40. Nikon only makes one 70-300 VR lens and it is AF-S.
 
Look for AF in the lenses description, if it doesn't say AF anywhere then you will have to manually focus the lens.

Almost. The D40, D40x, D50 and D60(?) don't have internal focusing motors, so they need lenses with built-in focusing motors. Those are designated AF-S rather than simply AF.
 
gonna ask another daft question. If shooting a bird for example which might fill the frame quite well why would it be beneficial to use anythin other than the biggest aperture? or would it be the case to use the widest apeture for such shots?
 
Not daft at all. When possible, it's always best to stop down at least 2 - 3 stops from the maximum aperture, as that is the range where lenses generally perform best. It's especially important if the subject fills the frame since the edges are where softness and aberration are typically the worst.
 

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