Whan 200mm or 300mm lens for D3100 should i get?

nmoody · Mar 23, 2013

lonerunner said:
coastalconn said:

The Tamron 70-300 VC that nmoody mentioned is a great lens. It is faster to focus then the 55-300 and pretty much on par with the Nikon 70-300 VR. The VC on the Tamron is pretty amazing also. I guess it depends on pricing in your country.

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I didn't consider taking other lens than nikon, anyway looking at lenses here, it's only available some 70-300 tamron lens which cost about 300$, i don't think it's the same one you are talking about ?

Here is the one we are talking about: Tamron -70-300mm F/4-5.6(Model A005)

There is a cheaper one without VC but that is not the one we are talking about.

MK3Brent · Mar 23, 2013

Tamron 70-300 VC.

Have had one for years, and still use it today on a full frame.

coastalconn · Mar 23, 2013

I have had the cheap 70-300 tamron, the 70-300 VC and the Nikon 55-300. (don't ask) I started with the cheap 70-300 and it wasn't all that bad, of course I had no idea what I was doing back then. It did have a close focus that was handy starting out also.

"cheap tamron"

Hawk reflections 3 by krisinct, on Flickr

"cheap tamron close focus"

Magnolia by krisinct, on Flickr

Nikon 55-300 test shot

Got so close but... by krisinct, on Flickr

Tamron 70 300 VC test shot

Sparrow Portrait 3 by krisinct, on Flickr

lonerunner · Mar 23, 2013

coastalconn said:
I have had the cheap 70-300 tamron, the 70-300 VC and the Nikon 55-300. (don't ask) I started with the cheap 70-300 and it wasn't all that bad, of course I had no idea what I was doing back then. It did have a close focus that was handy starting out also.

"cheap tamron"

Hawk reflections 3 by krisinct, on Flickr

"cheap tamron close focus"

Magnolia by krisinct, on Flickr

Nikon 55-300 test shot

Got so close but... by krisinct, on Flickr

Tamron 70 300 VC test shot

Sparrow Portrait 3 by krisinct, on Flickr

Well cheap tamron doesn't look bad at all, nikon 55-300 image is best and what's up with last image, it has too much noise, is it higher iso? I have found one 70-300 vc tamron and it's 150$ cheaper than nikon here.

gregtallica · Mar 23, 2013

coastalconn said:
I have had the cheap 70-300 tamron, the 70-300 VC and the Nikon 55-300. (don't ask) I started with the cheap 70-300 and it wasn't all that bad, of course I had no idea what I was doing back then. It did have a close focus that was handy starting out also.

Nice pics! :thumbup:

So you've owned all three? Which one would you recommend? (did I miss that post?) Is the Nikkor that much sharper?

djacobox372 · Mar 23, 2013

Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 af-s... I've seen these sell for as little as $600 on ebay. Make sure it's the af-s version, as the af versions won't autofocus on your camera.

coastalconn · Mar 24, 2013

OK, to clarify a few things, the Heron was shot at F9 with the 55-300 Nikon, The sample shot with the 70-300 VC I just pulled off my flickr page. It was from 6 months ago while I was still pretty clueless about sharpening etc. I've uploaded a newer version of one of the sparrows with the 70-300 VC. This sparrow is shot wide open.

I thought the 70-300 VC was the best of the 3. The VC on the Tamron is a touch slow to engage, almost like a glitch, but it locks on and I had sharp results at 1/10th sec at 300mm (obviously on non moving test subjects). I purchased the 55-300 on a sale 2 Decembers ago. It was sharp, but the focus speed was average. I liked the lens but sold it when I got the 200-500. The cheap Tamron was good for what it was. It was only $150 US new. If I knew what I know now I probably could have gotten more out of it but the focus speed is a little slower than the Nikon and it did have purple fringing that was more pronounced than the other 2 lenses.

It seems the media host is compressing this image for some reason I think you can download it here.. http://www.mediafire.com/conv/2243d2b033f695d4f2b624ab98d89be3baf1e8ef91a699fa0b3f0ab373072fc86g.jpg

lonerunner · Mar 26, 2013

I think i will go with nikon 70-300mm lens, if im going to buy new lens it's maybe better to wait few months more than to buy with rush. Anyway i will have to wait about 5 months to get lens, maybe something better will come up in meantime.