best lens for bird photography nikon best lens for bird photography nikon

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If you love birdwatching, visit our best bird feeder camera (opens in new tab) guide! It is also quite lightweight for a lens, so you can easily take it with you into the wild. A special Phase Fresnel element (the glass is cut in concentric circles instead of a solid piece) in the lens significantly reduces the size and weight of this lens, so you can take it with you wherever you go to search for birds. very long. At 1,260g, its perfectly viable for long periods of handheld shooting, aided by a highly effective optical image stabilizer. It's one of the best 150-600mm lenses (opens in new tab) overall. Its also the sharper lens at 400mm, although the 100-400mm is no slouch. but the lens you're using will quite obviously play an important part of the equation as well. You will be able to capture all sorts of birds in the perfect frames with these cameras for sure. It renders the lens incompatible with older Nikon DSLRs. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. View at Amazon. There are two versions of this lens: VR and non-VR. It is a workhorse tool used by professionals for sports, wildlife and portrait photography. In fact, it is significantly lighter than the F-mount 300mm f/2.8G II lens, which is very impressive! The Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 is about the same size and weight as Sigmas competing Contemporary lens, but adds a more comprehensive set of weather seals, similar to those of Sigmas more exotic Sports edition while splitting the difference in terms of price. It has fully professional-grade build quality with comprehensive weather-seals and a dust-, freeze- and splash-proof construction. Coupled with the Nikon Z9 you can use the newly developed Silky Swift VCM (SSVCM), which enables fast, highly accurate, and quiet AF control. Our Top Picks Best Price: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Best Choice: Nikon 300mm f/4E PF VR AF-S ED-IF Telephoto Nikkor Lens Best Overall: Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 80-400mm f.4.5-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens Most Durable: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens The only downside of this lens is its eye-watering cost of $14000. Compatible Camera Mount: Canon EF Features Dust And Water Resistant Design Autofocus Is Both Smooth And Quiet Wide Focal Range Allows A Wide Variety Of Shots Thus, if you are still using a Nikon 200-500 on an F-mount camera and are looking to transition to Z-mount, I would wait for this lens to come out, instead of buying one of the other Nikon Z lenses above. Some of the features that one needs to keep track of for bird photography lenses are: The above lenses cover a variety of focal length ranges and lens features, covering both hobbyists, semi-professionals, and professionals along the way. A lens of a fixed focal length that cannot be zoomed. Bird photography is now much more accessible than it used to be, and that's because long telephoto lenses that were once almost impossible to use and carry around have been developed in much smaller designs. The lens is fully weather-sealed and features a fluorine coating on its front and rear elements. In fact, Nikon specifically released the TC-20E III together with this lens, which makes this lens almost like a reference lens for use with teleconverters (with the TC-20E III, the lens becomes a 600mm f/5.6 lens). Shell climb just about anything, from leading fun sport to projecting boulders to following multi-pitch trad (as long as its not slab). Hey Im Peter. The Nikon 500mm f/4E VR is sort of a sweet middle between the 400mm and 600mm lenses. For hobbyists, a zoom lens might be a better shot. Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR A good option zoom lens for bird photography and it comes at a reasonable cost. Since this lens offers a 1.4X TC with still excellent image quality and significant 850g weight savings over the Nikon 400mm f/2.8E, this new Z mount 400mm f/2.8 could indeed be the ultimate wildlife lens. But there are still good values to be found, and I hope that this article can point you in that direction, too, if thats what youre after. Theres no clear winner between the prime or telephoto debate. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It also helps reduce weight and is ideal for outdoor shooting. This lens has a fixed aperture of f/11, and many birders might consider that rather too narrow, while others might be unimpressed that you cant alter the aperture. Its built-in teleconverter means you can reach 560mm. With birding, you will likely be using the lens with its built-in teleconverter all the time. Among other notable features are a lag-free switch from automatic to manual focus. The Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary is half the weight of the larger 150-600mm Contemporary lens and just a third of the weight of the Sports edition. The Silent Wave Motor further boosts this ability, helping create stable and dramatic images in the wild. In fact, this lens is only 775g, which is almost twice as light as the Olympus 300mm f/4 lens for micro four thirds, and this is a full-frame lens! Nikon Lenses for Bird Photography Nikon 200-500 mm Telephoto. Neutral Color NC Filter and Circular Polarizing Filter II have been specially crafted for this lens. The VR II provides up to 3 stops of insurance, resulting in sharper images overall. On the other hand, if you like to shoot when the sun is almost down or even set, f/5.6 is a little slow even with todays amazing sensors. This lens is the real winner for use on any Nikon body: a 200-500 mm zoom with vibration reduction. A specially shaped lens hood with a thumb and finger groove helps with this. I believe this article might have been written before that lens, not sure but an update to this article is coming soon. This is the lens that will get you to 800mm at f/5.6 with a 2x teleconverter! 1. These large animals often need much wider focal lengths around 200mm and it would be difficult to capture them with a fixed prime in all situations. For sensors smaller than full-frame, there is a trade-off in terms of image quality but you'll get the advantage of a crop factor that amplifies the telephoto reach of the lens. No matter the focal length of the lens, the closer you are, the bigger the subject. The main problem with prime is that it requires a photographer to observe the birds behavior and spots. It really depends on the types of subjects that you shoot. The second is that 400mm isnt always long enough for smaller or more distant birds. The Nikon 300mm f/4E PF is the smallest 300mm f/4 lens because of its phase-fresnel (PF) technology that has subsequently been used in the F-mount 500mm f/5.6 PF and the Z-mount 800mm f/6.3. The Nikon 500mm f/4G VR works well with the TC-14E III teleconverter, giving an effective focal length of 700mm at f/5.6. Important command dials for wildlife and bird photography are located on the camera body itself. That's why, in my opinion, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR is the best bird photography lens for the money at a touch over $2000 (or significantly cheaper pre-owned). Bird photography is a tough job. 11 Best Lenses for Macro Photography (2023) Sigma Announces Three Lenses for Nikon Z-Mount Cameras 10 Best Travel Tripods You Can Buy (in 2023) Upcoming E-Mount Lenses: . The Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM (and the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM (opens in new tab)) is designed for EOS R-series mirrorless cameras and offers a very different experience to a typical prime telephoto lens. Unlike landscape and portrait photography, where you could get away with a cheap lens and still get great results, wildlife photography pretty much requires high-quality, fast-aperture telephoto optics. At F2.8, it is the fastest lens for bird photography. The NIKKOR 300mm is not a zoom lens with a varied focal length. Forget about trying to hand-hold it, even if you have arms as big as Schwarzeneggers. Nikon budget: Nikon Z50. Add 4.5 stops of vibration reduction, and this lens qualifies as a mini beast for bird photography. Auto White Balance requires zero input from you, the photographer. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR At a glance: 95mm filter thread 2.2m minimum focus 268mm length x 108mm diameter Weighs 2300g Nikon F mount Price: 1,399 / $1396 Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to look at some lightly used F-mount lenses, the E-versions of which are still optically outstanding. Pros We check out the best cameras for professionals (opens in new tab). Instead, you need to decide which camera is perfect for YOU. Impeccably turned out, the XF100-400mm looks and feels a high-quality item Looks arent deceiving either, as the internals include a super-fast autofocus system based on dual linear stepping motors, and a high-performance 5-stop optical stabilizer. Its autofocus is pretty good in daylight and its versatile zoom range of 70-300mm is great for large animals and perched birds. Sony budget: Sony 6400. Both DSLR and mirrorless full-frames should be considered. This Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM super-telephoto lens for Canon EOS R-series full-frame mirrorless cameras gives phenomenal reach but is much smaller and more lightweight than competing lenses for DSLRs. The Nikkor 70-300 f4.5-5.6G VR must be on the list of bird photography lenses purely to provide an entry. When you need to nail the definitive moment in wildlife photography, this is a lens you can surely count on. As of January 2022, Nikon just released their latest addition to the Z mirrorless system lens line-up. Costing $6500, this lens is the cheapest way to reach this focal length. On your Nikon, the 300mm is 450mm equivalent (35mm), i.e. But, since you have a crop sensor camera, a lens zooming to 400mm, 500mm or even 600mm would be an option. A cheap APS-C macro lens is coming, for almost all mounts, Shots fired! One of the newest Nikon telephoto lenses at the moment is the 600mm f/4 TC VR S. Just like the 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S, this 600mm lens has a built-in 1.4x teleconverter. It brought everyone into action with this insane zoom range of 150-600mm. Landscape vs Portrait Orientation in Photography. Instead, the Nikon 180-400 f/4E lens is for those shooters who shoot larger mammals and landscapes, and wider shots of animals in their habitat. It is still just possible to handhold, and it offers a lot of versatility with its zoom and very decent image quality. It is the professional photographers who strive to go that extra mile and look for perfect pictures. It offers bird photographers an opportunity to capture almost anything in the wild. Buy Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens: $2,696.95 at Amazon, B&H, Adorama. Handling highlights include a customizable Lens-function button, a four-stop image stabilizer that gives up to a six-stop benefit when combined with in-camera stabilization, and an autofocus range limiter that can lock out either short or long focus distances. The lens has 11 elements (3ED) in 8 groups. Other features include an OLED display, plus a customisable function button. However, its weight and size are its biggest enemy. In particular, its much easier to use a 1.4x teleconverter with this lens, turning it into a very reasonable 560mm f/6.3. I have a personal sweet spot for the 200-500 mm for its versatility as well as sharpness as also for the 500 mm PF for its lightweight as well as sharpness. The linear stepping motoris blisteringly speedy and practically silent in other words, exactly what you want for birding. It all depends on the budget, the shooting style, prime or telephoto choice, and brand preference. As we've touched on, Canon's EF 100-400mm zoom has been an incredibly popular lens for Canon DSLR shooters, so it's no surprize to see something arrive for the brand's EOS R range of full-frame mirrorless cameras. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); document.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); I have kept my Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E VR AF-P as I moved from DSLR to Nikon Z5 and Z7-II. Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM View at Amazon. Im the owner and editor of Photography-RAW. Its main advantage over the 600mm f/4 is its weight and its length. With its MFT mount, it will work on Olympus mirrorless cameras, as well as compatible Panasonic Lumix models. Its wide range and 0.38x magnification (minimum focus distance of 75cm) make this lens well-suited to larger wildlife and pseudo-macro shots of insects. This makes it easier to track the erratic movement of birds in flight. If you want the ultimate versatility in a single lens, it would be hard to go wrong with the Nikon 180-400mm f/4E lens. I make sure that you get the best articles about photography. Camera body with a lens without zoom for shooting portraits. It is an upgraded version of the earlier lens. The cost difference between the two is significant. The sheer range provided by Tamrons 150-600, especially when clubbed with a crop frame, is enough to enchant the buyers. The construction is uncompromised with the new magnesium alloy barrel and fluorite elements. Theres no other difference between the two versions. I have in fact met some people using this lens on a monopod. However, neither of them seems to have impressed you. If youre looking for the longest reach without teleconverters, the Nikon 800mm f/6.3 is your lens! Due to its massive size, this lens requires a good tripod setup. Bird photography is unimaginable without the use of a quality telephoto lens. In many cases, it still does. A system that automatically focuses on the subject to keep it crisp and clear. Corner-to-corner sharpness and vivid colors are essential for bird photography. Personally, I prefer to shoot landscape, nature and macro photography. It is capable of producing relatively good bokeh, especially on its longest end, although its sharpness performance also drops quite a bit at 300mm. There will barely be anything you cant catch that you cant see with the iconic Nikkor 500mm F4G ED R. It is rugged, having a magnesium die-cast barrel which makes it highly resistant to dust and moisture. Performs well at broad daylight with quick auto focus. He is also an encyclopedia when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. So, this is a great lens for bigger or closer wildlife, but its not the right choice for all wildlife photographers. If you dont have your lens with you, it cant help you capture stunning bird images, so youll want to factor in the weight of lens you choose. The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C (opens in new tab) is more manageable for long periods of handheld shooting, without the aid of a monopod or tripod, and easier to carrier around. They have some great F-mount lenses that have been supplemented in the past few years with some amazing new Z-mount lenses. Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency (eBAND) coating and Broad-Band Anti-Reflection (BBAR) coating make the optics even more refined. This translates to a high price tag, with the lowest end of the spectrum averaging between $500 to $1,500, and the highest-quality / best reach lenses costing as much as $10,000+. Although it is an F-mount lens, it is still used by many Z-mount users with an FTZ adapter. Or do you want a high-quality prime lens with a set focal length? You can only shoot at the widest aperture possible on older Nikon bodies. Many hobbyists are foraying into this field who start with a crop frame body. It goes without saying that you need a good support system for this lensa very sturdy Gitzo Systematic series tripod with a Wimberley Gimbal head is what I would get to hold this monster. Id love to hear in the comments! However, the modest f/11 rating enables a relatively compact and lightweight build with smaller-diameter lens elements. Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Sport, 14. Nikon 200-500mm f5.6E redraws creative boundaries with a constant-aperture telephoto zoom. It is good. Seeing a gorgeous bird in flight is awe-inspiring, but it can be difficult to translate that beauty into a photo. Reviews - The Best Wildlife Photography Budget Lens Sigma 60 - 600mm f/4.5 - 6.3 Specs Type: Zoom Aperture: f/4.5 - 6.3 Dimensions: 4.7 x 12.7 x 10.6 in Focal Length: 60 - 600mm Weight: 4 lbs. The XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR covers the focal length of 229mm 914mm in equivalent 35mm film terms and also supports Fujifilm's 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. Overall performance and image quality are excellent, although outright sharpness drops off a bit at the long end of the zoom range. Using DO (Diffractive Optics) and a relatively narrow f/11 fixed aperture rating, it's also pretty light at 930g. Hand-held shooting is possible with the newer model. The second edition of the lens has a more typical twist-action zoom ring and a host of upgrades. longer. This has seen a weight saving of some 25%, though it still tips the scales at an arm-wobbling 3,810g.