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Archive 2011 · Lens advice please

  
 
mitch fennell
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Lens advice please


I own a Nikon 24-120 f4 VR that I am very happy with. In addition to this I also have an older 18-200 VR that is in very good shape. We are taking a trip to Alaska in June and I am thinking that I might want a longer lens for this trip. I am considering selling the 18-200 to help fund a purchase of a 70-300 VR. My question is would I be better off just buying a teleconverter for either 24-120 or 18-200 to save some money or will the IQ or performance suffer such that a teleconverter will just be a waste of cash.

I understand that the 70-300 is an excellent lens but I don't shoot often at 300mm and the overlap between 70 and 120 seems like overkill to me.

I would love to hear some of your thoughts about this.

Mitch



Dec 01, 2011 at 05:28 PM
MikeW
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Lens advice please


I would grab a 70-300 off the boards, they are selling very reasonably & the overlap you have is larger right now so its all good. A TC on either of your current lens will make you cry. You wouldn't gain anything unless you went to a 2x which would put you at F8. A 70-300 for sure.


Dec 01, 2011 at 05:35 PM
wellsjt
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Lens advice please


I would forget about the TC. It won't work on the 18-200 at all (or if you find a third party one that will work, it will be poor IQ and it likely won't autofocus). I don't know about a TC for the 24-120.

I'd say go with the 70-300VR idea, but the rub is that 200 to 300mm is not actually that big a jump (it sounds big, but it's not). Another alternative is to rent something - say a 400mm? Is this a cruise trip?



Dec 01, 2011 at 06:49 PM
Two23
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Lens advice please


Buy a used 80-400mm VR, then sell it when you get home. Forget about the TC.


Kent in SD



Dec 01, 2011 at 06:53 PM
mitch fennell
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Lens advice please


Yes it is one of those cruise ship tours that has a about 7 days on land with train travel and bus tours and 7 days on the ship in various ports. I am getting that the TC is bad idea but am also hearing that 300 mm is not going to be that much of an advantage. Correct?


Dec 01, 2011 at 08:14 PM
Two23
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Lens advice please


mitch fennell wrote:
I am getting that the TC is bad idea but am also hearing that 300 mm is not going to be that much of an advantage. Correct?



Yes, forget TC with any lens you can afford. Think of 200mm --> 300mm this way. You see a whale 200 yards away and it is a tiny dot with your 200mm. With a 300mm lens it's a 50% bigger dot.


Kent in SD



Dec 01, 2011 at 08:38 PM
mitch fennell
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Lens advice please


Lol. Got it!


Dec 01, 2011 at 08:51 PM
lukeb
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Lens advice please


Two23 wrote:
Buy a used 80-400mm VR, then sell it when you get home. Forget about the TC.

Kent in SD


+1



Dec 01, 2011 at 08:54 PM
monochrome
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Lens advice please


Go with Kent's suggestion or rent one.


Dec 01, 2011 at 09:15 PM
Celbrett
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Lens advice please


Some of this is luck of the draw in terms of distance to the wildlife. I think the difference between 300 or 400 is marginal when you really aren't that close to the action. Either way (70-300 or 80-400) being ready and not fumbling with lenses is more important. Oh, choose you side of the bus carefully


Dec 01, 2011 at 09:30 PM
mitch fennell
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Lens advice please


You guys are hilarious! Much more fun than dp review. So lets recalibrate the discussion. What I am talking about is the Distance (120mm vs 300mm) to Cost (?) to IQ ratio. Do any of you think the extra 180mm is worth the $400.00 for the 70-300 mm lens - assuming I am on the correct side of the bus/train/boat or helicopter

Thanks to all of you. This has been very informative for me - and fun - really it has!



Dec 01, 2011 at 10:03 PM
Baywing
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Lens advice please


If you don't need the extra 180mm, then any expense is wasted. You really won't know until you get there, that's the problem. To a degree, you can gain some insight thru the experience of those who have been there, but keep in mind shooting styles vary. A hardcore wildlife photog would likely say don't bother with anything under 600mm where a landscape guy would say anything over 20mm is to much. Depends a lot on what you want to do.
As said, forget the TC for your lens choices, even if it would physically fit the IQ would be horrid.
Don't worry about the overlap, it may save you from having to change lenses constantly. Another thing to consider is weight, do you want to travel light? If so, you might just bring the 18-200. For me, I like the option of going wide, if I were going to Alaska, I'd bring my 12-24 for sure.
I'd take the 18-200 and if you want more, I'd rent a 80-400 for the trip.



Dec 02, 2011 at 09:08 AM
Celbrett
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Lens advice please


By the way you describe the tour and assuming you want to capture some wildlife, I would say yes for two reasons:

1. For those opportunities when you can pull in the wildlife for a nice pic (this won't always be the case) and 2. Even for regular shooting, there are times on an organized tour where you don't have the luxury of time to reposition yourself for the shot you want.

I took a similar tour this year, one week on land around Denali and a week cruise down the inner passage. The price/iq/weight factor (left mine at home for 70-200 +tc) is a definite yes. If I were doing it again, it would be the 70-300 and something wide.

mitch fennell wrote:
You guys are hilarious! Much more fun than dp review. So lets recalibrate the discussion. What I am talking about is the Distance (120mm vs 300mm) to Cost (?) to IQ ratio. Do any of you think the extra 180mm is worth the $400.00 for the 70-300 mm lens - assuming I am on the correct side of the bus/train/boat or helicopter

Thanks to all of you. This has been very informative for me - and fun - really it has!




Dec 02, 2011 at 08:06 PM
mitch fennell
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Lens advice please


Just bought the 70-300 and sold the 18-200. I have a Tokina 12-24 f4 for the wide stuff, and a 24-85 3.5-5.6 G for anything in between just incase. Turned out to be a modest investment for increased options and IQ. I will also bring one low light prime either 50mm 1.4 or 35mm 1.8 just for grins.

Thanks again,
Mitch



Dec 03, 2011 at 04:45 PM
cohenfive
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Lens advice please


if you are worried about missing wildlife, another suggestion would be the sigma 150-500os...best reach for the buck out there...if you could find a good used one it really wouldn't cost you much (if anything) to own it for a short period of time if you decided to sell it afterwards. i've done that on occasion, but never really ended up selling afterwards...


Dec 05, 2011 at 01:05 PM





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