Best nikon TC with zoom lens?

[myjohnson]

Hey guys,

Most of my current work is with macro lens to take pictures of corals in a reef tank, fish in fish tanks, flowers, plants, bugs, etc.

The next "project" I have in mind is taking pictures of birds. Both in flight and standing still. I did some research and 400mm or the 500mm is really something I can't accord. My budget is 1K on the lens and 300 on the TC....both will be purchase used.

So, I'm looking for a nikkor TC to go with a nikkor zoom or prime lens to take pictures of birds during the day....so I should have high lighting. I prefer my nikkor TC to be x2 or x1.7. Also, I have a d90. I don't plan to upgrade to FX. I would like the max zoom with TC to be 400-500mm.

What nikkor TC and nikkor lens would y'all more exp. folks thinks would meet my requirements?

Thanks in advance!

-Thai

[Gene D]

I am not sure what the best combo for you is. However I can loan you my "sports" lens it is an older Nikon 300mm 2.8 AF. I also have a Tamron 1.4 tele converter that I used for shooting in Minute Maid park for night games. I chose the lower focal length TC so I wouldn't loose as much in the lower F stop range. If I recall correctly the 1.4 TC cost me about about a stop and a half effectively making my 2.8 a 3.8 or maybe a 4 wide open. With the 1.4 TC it effectively makes the 300mm a 420mm. When you factor the multiplication factor of the CCD you effectively have a focal length of 630mm. You can try both and figure out what direction you want to go. Below is sample I took with the lens and TC a few years back in Arlington.

[soymilk]

My opinion is the nifty Nikon 300mm f4, and the 1.4tc. That or just the 70-300mm. There's also the 28-300mm that everyone raves about.

a 1.4 usually only causes 1 full f stop loss of light so f2.8 would be f4.

birding sucks haha

[photogdude]

+1 on the 300mm F4 unless you get a screaming deal on a 2.8(not likely), also might as well buy an off brand teleconverter. try keh.com for some guidance on used lens prices. And yes, unless you get some type of 2.8 lens just use a 1.4 TC.

[HERM]

I would like to buy a camera , I don't know much about cameras and need some advice . I can tell you guys know a great deal on this subject . What would be a good one to start with ? I don't want to buy something cheap just to upgrade later . Thanks

[myjohnson]

@ Gene, thanks for the offer bro! I might have to take you up on that. Currently I'm thinking 300/4 with tc14. I'm a nikon fan boy so you know how it is.....lol.

Maybe I can borrow the lens and TC the next time we go to a fish meeting.

@Trung, I like your idea! I'm not getting the 70-300.....even with crop I don't think it can do what I'm looking for. Plus I have the 70-210 to hold me over for normal zoom stuff.

@PD, thanks for the feed back. Why do you recommend an off brand TC? Have you used the nikkor TCs to compare? I'm looking to buy nikkor only stuff b/c they hold value better. Does off brand TC hold value well?

@Herm, not trying to be an a$$ but if you start a new thread, I think you will get a lot more feed. Or even try using the search engine. In short, I recommend a D90.

[ddaquaria]

Love the 1.4 Nikon, don't recommend for anything smaller than ƒ 4 since with it a 4 -> 5.6 and 2.8 -> 4. I use it with my 70-200 2.8 for evening or early morning sports.

Sounds like you are looking for the closeup shot with out being ultra close to the tank...

[myjohnson]

Hey Donald!

It's always good to see you post man! Hope all is well with the family. :)

Im not going to be doing any tank shots with this combo. My goal is to get close up shots of wildlife without have to spend 8k on a 500mm.

[semper]

Gene, great shot of Oswalt

[ddaquaria]

You have a few options...

Go with something like the Bigma - I think it is a 50 to 500. Never used it so I cant say much about IQ and handling

Save up for a 200-400 ƒ4 Nikon - I rented it. Difficult to handle in sports since it's such a long lense, but doable. For wildlife, this would be nice.

Go with the 300 2.8 or 300 4. I've read the 300 4 is soft with a 1.4 and a 300 2.8 with TC puts you about $600 short of the 200 - 400. I know - I've been looking at the numbers and almost took out a loan to pull the trigger.

You also have the sigma 120-300 2.8 which will take a TC but I haven't tried that one either - I'm a Nikon glass snob and didnt get my first non-Nikon glass till I bought the Tokina Fisheye for underwater photos.

Thanks for asking about the fam - been really busy with work and the latest sports season with my son. Finally redoing a tank to change over to Tropheus. You gotta tell me more about your new tank - dimension? I've been trying to follow your threads.