Lance B
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 Re: Would the Nikon D850 & 500mm f4E FL be the best bird-photography combo..?? | |
Photozack81 wrote:
Lance B wrote:
The best birding lens is the one that suits you and your budget. That can be a 300, 400, 500, 600 or 800 and use TC's with any or all of them. There is not really a "one size fits all" approach. It depends on a number of factors:
1) The *range* of birds and animals you shoot. You may shoot primarily big birds or small birds or the whole gamut.
2) How close you can get to them. You may shoot small birds but can still get close to them and thus only need a shorter focal length. However, you may shoot big birds but have to shoot from a long way off and require a very long lens!
3) What you are able to carry and fit in your backpack - you may need to carry other lenses thus your primary bird lens may have to fit in a bag with other lenses and thus cannot be too big or heavy. Here a shorter lens with TC's is a help.
4) How big a lens you can easily handhold for any length of time if you primarily handhold.
5) You may want a f2.8 lens for great OOF rendering at that aperture, for low light ability and to be able to use all TC's for more versatility.
6) How much you can afford to get the best compromise of all of the above.
For me, it was the 400 f2.8E FL VR as it ticked all the boxes that were relevant to *my* requirements.
And I don't have that sort of a budget, so I opted for a used (and quite ugly) 400 f/2.8 G VR. Got it for basically half what a new one goes for. Still a big bag of money, but palatable in a buy once cry once sort of way.
😊 Number 6 is your compromise. However, the 400 f2.8G VR is not all that much of a compromise as it is a gem of a lens.
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