There's a bunch of manual focus 300 2.8's around for under $1000. Add a TC-16A and you get a autofocus 1.6 TC for another 100-200.
Not too bad...I'm thinking about it for a 400mm 2.8 manual focus which can be had for under 2G's
squeaky_clean wrote:
What about the Sigma 300/2.8 HSM? KEH lists it at $1500 in EX condition (canon mount), so I'm sure you could pick one up for less...
That's not a bad idea...for the same price I can get a 120-300 f/2.8 used. Man ... I'm tempted to pull the trigger but my wife will KILL me . I already spent $3500 this year on a D300 + 17-55 + accesories... that was fun!
Andre Labonte wrote:
Well, I talked to the wife about the 120-300 f/2.8 for $1500 and she gave me the middle finger .... I guess that means "NO".
Funny, because she had no issue with the $3500 for the other stuff I got this year, but I guess all things have a limit.
She meant "Only buy one" So you can have either the 120-300 or the 300 not both. I rented the 120-300 from lensrentals.com and it worked great. Only 130ish dollars for a week SHIPPED!
rustyfingers wrote:
She meant "Only buy one" So you can have either the 120-300 or the 300 not both. I rented the 120-300 from lensrentals.com and it worked great. Only 130ish dollars for a week SHIPPED!
See Ya
Dennis
Dennis,
I like your thinking ... it may get me killed ... but then again, even she appreciated your reply!
She softened a little ... she said, not right now!
Cheers,
Andre
P.S. I have to agree with her, we moved recently and spend a lot of $$$ on the new house AND a new computer AND a new camera. Time to be reasonable ... it's just hard to pass up such a good deal on a lens I would love to have.
Andre,
I have the Tokina 300 2.8. I am sure the Tokina is no where near the focusing speed and IQ of the Nikkor counterpart. However, I am quite pleased with the shots from it thus far, nice color and contrast, sharp and with decent bokeh. Considering that I only used this lens every once in a while - ball games, zoo trips, occasional hikes, it has been a good investment for me.
Give it a try on your D300, it might surprise you.
Regards,
MLN
Andre Labonte wrote:
P.S. I have to agree with her, we moved recently and spend a lot of $$$ on the new house AND a new computer AND a new camera. Time to be reasonable ... it's just hard to pass up such a good deal on a lens I would love to have.
Put it at the top of next year's wishlist and this year's Christmas list (if she gets it for you). Only 7 months till Christmas
Andre Labonte wrote:
Well, I talked to the wife about the 120-300 f/2.8 for $1500 and she gave me the middle finger .... I guess that means "NO".
Funny, because she had no issue with the $3500 for the other stuff I got this year, but I guess all things have a limit.
I hear this story all the time on these forums and from my friends in photography.
I've said before on these forums that how people manage their family budgets is critical for a serious hobby, and for general marital happiness.
My wife and I use a "yours, mine, and ours" budget scheme. We pool our incomes (but this works just as well on one income) and every month a chunk goes into the "Peter" account , a chunk goes into the "Esther" (my wife) account, and the biggest chunk goes into the family account. The family account is also organized into specific categories for retirement savings, vacations, charity, rainy-day, cars, etc. BTW, all these accounts are virtual - we do it all in software.
Because my wife and I get our own pools of money out of this we NEVER have to ask permission of the other one to buy an expensive toy. My wife is a classical (amateur) pianist and her Steinway is probably worth 5 times what my entire photo kit (3 DSLR's, 10 lenses, a complete pro studio) is worth.
Having to ask permission of a spouse to buy photo gear means that the lens is presumably coming out of the same common pool of money that - what? - the family car, vacations, rainy-day, charitable contributions/church tithes, a new couch or new windows comes from? Budgeting stuff that way just seems like it's ASKING for trouble and anxiety.
PS - We've been married for 23 years and have always done it this way so I guarantee it's time-tested and it works!
plnelson wrote:
I hear this story all the time on these forums and from my friends in photography.
I've said before on these forums that how people manage their family budgets is critical for a serious hobby, and for general marital happiness.
My wife and I use a "yours, mine, and ours" budget scheme. We pool our incomes (but this works just as well on one income) and every month a chunk goes into the "Peter" account , a chunk goes into the "Esther" (my wife) account, and the biggest chunk goes into the family account. The family account is also organized into specific categories for retirement savings, vacations, charity, rainy-day, cars, etc. BTW, all these accounts are virtual - we do it all in software.
Because my wife and I get our own pools of money out of this we NEVER have to ask permission of the other one to buy an expensive toy. My wife is a classical (amateur) pianist and her Steinway is probably worth 5 times what my entire photo kit (3 DSLR's, 10 lenses, a complete pro studio) is worth.
Having to ask permission of a spouse to buy photo gear means that the lens is presumably coming out of the same common pool of money that - what? - the family car, vacations, rainy-day, charitable contributions/church tithes, a new couch or new windows comes from? Budgeting stuff that way just seems like it's ASKING for trouble and anxiety.
PS - We've been married for 23 years and have always done it this way so I guarantee it's time-tested and it works!
Very good advice. My wife and I never argue about money. We set a budget for all expenditures for the year which includes my photography habbit ...er... I mean hobby. The budget is based upon current needs first, future needs second, our extra wants third.
I knew the answer before I asked because I had already spent the agreed upon photography budget for 2008. Come January 1, 2009, I could drop 1.5K on anything I want and she won't say "boo". I'm just bemoaning the fact that such a good deal exists and I can't take advantage of it. She's just keeping me honest.
Andre Labonte wrote:
I knew the answer before I asked because I had already spent the agreed upon photography budget for 2008. Come January 1, 2009, I could drop 1.5K on anything I want and she won't say "boo". I'm just bemoaning the fact that such a good deal exists and I can't take advantage of it. She's just keeping me honest.
I just had an idea. We all must have good gear we don't use very often. I've got a superb 60 f/2.8 Micro, a 105 f/2.5, a 180 f/2.8 all of which I've probably used about I day each in the last year. Too bad there's not some way to "time share" gear so if Andre needed a 300 f/2.8 for a special sports event with his kids or something he could draw that out of the pool, and someday if someone needed some kind of lens that HE had, they could borrow his. Or something like that, I dunno.
Thats a great idea but it'd have to be local & a tight bunch of guys that are solid. There's always some tard that wants just a tad more than the rest.
K.P.K. wrote:
Thats a great idea but it'd have to be local & a tight bunch of guys that are solid. There's always some tard that wants just a tad more than the rest.
I'll 2nd that ... I'm not too keen on lending out my expensive lenses to people. Interesting idea and one that would be easily solved if there was a lens rental place nearby.
My wife has another method other than the finger. She just says to me "wanna do the budget"....my response remains as it always has been....NO. That's a pretty painless way for her to shut me down. I gave her the VISA after my run in December and January. I dropped just short of 10k on camera and lenses. I'm done...put a fork in me......until I come across some extraneous cash.....yeah....that will happen
traveler wrote:
My wife has another method other than the finger. She just says to me "wanna do the budget"....my response remains as it always has been....NO. That's a pretty painless way for her to shut me down. I gave her the VISA after my run in December and January. I dropped just short of 10k on camera and lenses. I'm done...put a fork in me......until I come across some extraneous cash.....yeah....that will happen
Yea, but look at the bright side, you now have 10K of gear to takes pictures with!
Another way to think (talk) about it is that photo gear, if taken care off, will hold 75%+ of it's value. Even though you are buying a $5K lens, if you sell it after a couple of years, you essentially are just renting the lens for ~$50 per month. However, you do have the initial deposit of $5K.
. I already spent $3500 this year on a D300 + 17-55 + accesories... that was fun! 
