Camera lens no bigger than 300mm as low f number as possible?

[bigcake]

Hi

I was wondering what lens, any of you would recommend that is no bigger than 300mm in focual, but as little f number as possible, also a fairly fast lens as well, i do not want to spend no more than £300 though.

 

[AaronLLockhart]

You aren't going to find fast glass at that focal length for anywhere near that price. Multiply your budget by 4, and that's about how much you will invest in a 300mm fast lens.

 

[enzodm]

Plus, you have to tell which brand of camera you have.
E.g., Canon 300/2.8: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-300mm-2-8L-IS-USM/dp/B0040X4PRW/ (only 7300$, 37% discount).
However, your budget is for low end zoom lenses, more than fast primes (by the way, normally "fairly fast lens" = "as little f number as possible", unless you mean fast autofocus).

 

[rokvi]

Hi

as little f number as possible......fast lens...........no more than £300.

Im sorry mate. I Don't mean to be nasty, but photography is an expensive hobby, you will need to save your pennies a little while longer as good lenses cost an awful lot. If you have the 70-300mm kit lens you will just have to make do with that. If you keep it under 300mm you can still get decent photo's though.

 

[sm4him]

Also, you just say "no bigger than 300mm." That's a pretty wide-open range: 10-24mm, 35 or 50mm prime, 100mm...they're ALL "no bigger" than 300mm. Are you looking for something CLOSE to 300mm?

Regardless, you have two options. You can either get:
1. Desired focal length
2. Low f number
3. Fast, great quality

OR you can get:
1. Desired focal length
2. Low cost

Actually, a third option is to start now scouring Ebay, Craigslist, etc and hoping that you luck into the deal of the decade.

 

[enzodm]

The funny thing of those "hi" users that compare from time to time is that inside their message, invisible, there is a broken image URL, bringing to a known online shop. Not sure it serves for something, however I would call it spam, in some way. This one has 5 identical posts with www . axhx.info/ xiaowang6.jpg (Spaces added on purpose).

 

[table1349]

Take a couple of sleeping pills and dream photographic dreams. It's the only place you are going to find a fast cheap 300mm. Photography is not a cheap hobby.

 

[jake337]

Hi

I was wondering what lens, any of you would recommend that is no bigger than 300mm in focual, but as little f number as possible, also a fairly fast lens as well, i do not want to spend no more than £300 though.

Nikkor 300mm f2 ais.


Now for about under $400 you can find a nikkor 300mm f4.5 IF ED AIS and for much cheaper the non IF ED, AIS, AI version.

 

[jake337]

EVERYONE! He never said anything about f2.8 lens. He said the fastest 300mm for his price point.

 

[table1349]

Fast and f5.6 aren't in ths same sentence. Plus the lens you listed is a bit over the op's price range.
Nikon Nikkor 300mm f2 8 ED IF AI s FX Native DX Ready | eBay

 

[jake337]

Fast and f5.6 aren't in ths same sentence. Plus the lens you listed is a bit over the op's price range.
Nikon Nikkor 300mm f2 8 ED IF AI s FX Native DX Ready | eBay

I think the 300 f2 is over most peoples price point on this site!

I was just showing the OP what the fastest 300mm would cost if he chose to look it up.

The 300mm f4.5 ais should be within the OP price point especially if it is an AI version. F4.5 isn't fast but is the fastest at his price point. Can't go to ebay at work so I'm not sure how much the 300 f2.8 ais is in your link but I would guess anywhere from $999 to $2,000.


Either way we still don't know what body the OP is using. A D7000 or better would be nice with the 300 f4.5 IF ED AIS though with their better ISO handling. Having used one with my D90 I can say you'll be shooting ISO800+ a lot during the golden hours without flash.


I would suggest doubling your budget and looking for a nice used 300mm f4 afs/af-d or a 180mm f2.8 af-d/ais(not 300mm but long, fast and cheap)

 

[Dao]

I wonder why this thread got moved to Digital discussion.

 

[KmH]

Where was it moved from?

 

[Derrel]

Well, the smallest,lightest, and LOWEST-COST telephoto under 300mm AND with a low f/number is probably going to be...drum roll....a used manual focus 135mm f/2.8 lens. If you shoot Canon EOS, then you can choose from nine different lens mounts (like M42,Nikon,Yashica/Contax,Leica R,Olympus OM,etc) and get a $10 Chinese-made lens adapter that will allow you to mount the used lens onto a new EOS digital or film camera. 135mm f/2.8 telephotos were always plentiful, and are easy to carry, easy to manually focus, and easy to SHOOT. The focal length is not too big, and will easily be overlooked by security guards, boyfriends, insane dads, and mom-zillas...

Shoot...then crop later. 135mm/2.8 used manual focus lenses can be picked up second hand (fifth hand these days is probably more-accurate!) for $10 to $145, depending on brand. "Off-brand" 135/2.8's typically sell for only $10-$30 these days. I bought one a while back at Goodwill for $19.99, with a set of three extension tubes mounted to it!

If you have, say, a "Baby Nikon", they will accept all the old, pre-AI Nikon mount lenses,unmodified, so say a used 135/2.8 Q.C. Auto-Nikkor (vintage of oh,say 1973 and earlier) is like $60 these days in great shape! Vivtar used to sell a 200mm f/3.5 manual focus lens very affordably, and there are a number of those around these days for $40 or so.

 

[bigcake]

sorry guys i meant a long range lens, that is good in low light and can take photo's quickly meaning a shutter speed but can focus fairly quick i have a cannon by the way. cheers so far