My next (second) lens...

[goooner]

Haha, guess the Emu is faster than banana breath today-lol

 

[robbins.photo]

Haha, guess the Emu is faster than banana breath today-lol

Like that should surprise.. umm.. anyone?

But in my defense my people are sprinters.. very dangerous over short distances. Not really designed for that cross country silliness..

Lol.

Oh, for the op, this is a sample of the lens I meant:

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm F4.5-5.6 G ED VR Lens D3300 D3200 D3100 D5500

 

[Solarflare]

AFAIK the reason why old Tamron and Sigma lenses are so cheap is that they often dont work on newer cameras. So I wouldnt exactly jump in excitement about such offers.

The situation has a bit improved since both Tamron and Sigma have introduced ways to upgrade their lens firmware, allowing them to be more compatible. However there is of course no guarantee they will actually still actually make new firmware upgrades for their old lenses in say 10 years from now.

I personally used the 55-200mm on my APS-C entry level DSLR, back in the day. But I wouldnt recomment it for wildlife. Because at least mine was soft at 200mm, even if stopped down. It was very sharp at 55mm up to about 135mm though.

Personally I would pick up a camera with a good autofocus system, and a lens with good reach for wildlife. Like Nikon D7100 and AF-S 200-500mm f5.6 VR.

 

[table1349]

I am going to suggest a different route than the others. The term Wildlife doesn't really mean anything. Are you shooting bunnies, squirrels and birdies or moose, elk, bear and mountain lions. Depending on what "wildlife" means to you will dictate the lens you want to get.

Second, Your new, and all excited about your new hobby. I would suggest you slow down. Learn to fully use what you have now. Shooting and not looking at the results is about as useful as a screwdriver to drive nails.

As for a longer lens, you can go cheap, and get the good and the bad that come with cheap lenses, and later on buy better or you could bide your time, save your money, and get a lens that will last for years. Something like Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens 2208 B&H Photo

 

[b4rn5ey]

Well i'm from the UK, so "wildlife" is definitely for first set of animals. My reasoning behind it is simply there have been a lot of occasions I haven't been able to get a photo I want because the lens can't quite handle it. For example the pictures below, I would have loved to have been able to 'get a bit closer' and really pick up the finer detail. Obviously I can zoom and crop post photo, which i already have on those, any more and it just becomes quite grainy.

I have found a Tamron Lens where the seller claims it will auto focus with my D3300, so going to look into that more today.

Thanks for all the help guys, feel like I have joined a pretty great community here.

 

[chuasam]

Nikon 55-300 AF-S

 

[b4rn5ey]

Just thought i'd let you know i found a seller selling a Sigma AF 70-300mm, who claimed it had a focusing motor and I managed to get it for £56.. i'll let you know how it turns out, worse comes to worse i'll just sell it on again.

 

[b4rn5ey]

Update: lens arrived - exactly what i was looking for and for a bargain of £56 - thanks for all the advice people!! One happy beginner here

 

[unpopular]

put away the zoom and get a 50 or 35. Just forget about the zoom completely until you're done with the spray and pray phase.

trust me. it helps to slow down. it helps to say "I just can't get that shot". it helps to relax a bit and think.