 Teri Duff |
Trying to choose a lens I am doing sports photography and have been using a Nikon N60 for a couple of years...I recently advanced to a Nikon F100 after doing a ton of research. I love it!!!! I started out with a Quantaray 70-300mm F4-F5.6. It has been good to me but the kids are getting bigger, the fields are getting bigger, etc, etc...I really want to go to a 400mm and cannot afford a Nikkor lens. I have been researching Quantaray and Sigma...Obviously the price is the difference. Any suggestions on either brand and/or a 400mm lens?
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Piper Lehman |
Have you thought of using a teleconverter instead? Since you can't afford a Nikon lens, you are probably better off using a TC on the lens you already have. TC's work best when attached to a quality prime lens, so if you can swing it, you might look at eBay for a nice used and semi-fast 200mm lens to use with a good x2 TC. It's sort of a trade off either way. Nikon's TC's are just as expensive as some of their lenses. I use a Tamron x1.4 TC on a Nikon 180mm f2.8 but I would not use a x2 before buying a better 300mm lens since the quality of light/sharpness, etc. diminishes with the added magnification of x2 TC's--especially the third-party brands. Get yourself over to eBay and do a little shopping. You might be surprised at the deals you can find on quality used Nikon lenses. Also check out KenRockwell.com for a lot of great Nikon equipment info. Ken's a hoot, and if he likes you, he might just invite you to go on his trip to Hawaii he just won through a photo contest! :)
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Teri Duff |
Thanks for the advise...I actually did try that with a Quantaray 2x AF. I was shooting 5-7 yr olds from the sidelines playing flag football. For some reason I couldn't focus with it on. Do you think I was too close with a 2x? Still looking for some advise on the difference between Quantaray & Sigma compared to Nikkor lenses...how do they compare other than price?
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Piper Lehman |
You might be too close, but you should know it's a lot harder to focus with a TC since you're working with a smaller area of sharp focus. It takes practice just like anything else. You just have to find what you feel most comfortable using and what works best for you and your type of shooting. As for third-party lenses, there are good ones and there are really crappy ones. I'm a Nikon user--I think Nikon makes the best glass and I know I'm not getting the better lens when I buy the comparable Sigma, but it's a trade off. You have to decide what's more important. What are you going to be using this lens for? Will you use it for most of your shooting or just occasionally? Do you really need the speed or could you go with a slower lens? Ask yourself what you want out of the lens most of all. I don't know Jack S. about Quantarray lenses. I use Nikon all but for one Sigma, and it's a prime macro I paid $300 for, and it was used! I couldn't justify spending $700 on the comparable Nikon since I will only use this lens for macro shooting. For portraits, I have a Nikon 100 f/2.8 manual focus I paid about $75 for. And the list goes on... see KenRockwell.com for everything you ever wanted to know about Nikon lenses and then some...
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