Long lens dilemma

Apologies as I am sure this one has been asked before.....however a search didn't seem to answer my dilemma.

I want to get a lens of 300mm or above, but can't decide which. Zoom or prime? I like the idea of a fast(er) and probably better performing prime, but I also like zooms for their practicality (and generally cheaper price). I was considering a Bigma but now I am veering towards a DA* 300mm. However, I am worried if I will then want something a bit longer. I still have connections in Africa and will be doing some game and bird photography at some point. How well would this lens work with a 1.7 or 2x converter?

I would welcome any recommendations from forum members based on their experience with longer lenses before I decide what to buy.

Thanks,
Jon.

The most reasonable lens that you're likely to find, on the used market, is the Tokina 80-400mm.

It's pretty good, very compact but quite heavy.

For all out quality .. DA* 300mm f4 (or F*/FA* 300mm f4.5) and Pentax 1.7x teleconverter.

For convenience .. Sigma 50-500mm

Also consider the Sigma 100-300mm f4 and Sigma 1.4x teleconverter

Not having used the Tokina I can't comment on that one.

I'd definitely recommend the DA*300/4 with rear converters 1.4 and 1.7x if it's a prime you're after. Also on the used market F* or FA*300/4.5 and the Sigma 300/4 APO, Sigma 400/5.6 APO. There's also the Sigma zooms, newly released 120-400/5,6 OS HSM and the 150-500 OS HSM plus the Sigma 50-500 as mentioned above.

Regards,

John

My personal experience, which has led to my offering for sale the SMCP-K 500mm 1:4.5, is that for situations where I could have made good use of the long focal length, I didn't have the lens with me.

Instead, I now carry the DA* 300mm and the SMCP-F 1.7x T/C which is much more compact, though not as fast a combination as the f4.5 of the 500mm prime.

If I were out in the Australian bush or the plains of Africa, I'd most definitely choose the 500mm for pre-sunrise/post-sunset opportunities.

Thanks for youe input everyone...still undecided. I could probably stretch to the DA* 300mm so may go for that, but I will read up a bit more on the Tokina, which I had to confess I had not heard of until John mentioned it in a previous post.

Aliengrove - in my experience, a single lens will be a big limitation.

Depending on where you go and the season, you will get limited/good views of game away from the track/road. If you want the quality and reach of the DA*300 (with or without a tele con), you'll need a second body/lens combo - and I'd suggest the DA*60-250 as a good starter candidate. Changing lens takes time and you don't have a lot of room to work in, so using 2 bodies with complementy lenses ensures you don't miss much.

At lot of the game isn't phased by the presence of safari vehicles, so if you have a good driver/guide, he/she will position the vehicle close to the path of moving game and you'll find youself reaching fot the DA*16-50 .


Steve

Jon - I recently bought a Tokina 80-400 and think that unless you want to spend a fortune, it is a pretty decent performer. Build quality is great, it's surprisngly compact (but quite heavy) and has surprised me by how well it keeps things sharp towards the edges. That said, its centre performance is not significantly better than the 55-300 DA lens, (in fact at some focal lengths, the 55-300 is superior) and it does have some mild fringing. If you can pick one up at a decent price, I'd say go for it. But I wouldn't get sucked into a bidding war!

By the way, my cost-effective 500mm option is an old Tamron SP mirror lens. See the other related thread on this site over the past few days. In terms of sharpness, it blows the Tokina out of the field.

Thanks Steve. I spent 20 years in northern Botswana, and had the luxury there of having three film SLR bodies, a Zenit-5, a Spotmatic and a Ricoh KR10.. The main problem changing lenses in Botswana was dust, so I kept different length lenses on the Ricoh and Spotmatic and used the Zenit for B+W.

I don't think I can justify the expense of another digital body at the moment, but I might keep my eye open for a K10d or similar. A lens like the DA* 60-250 would have some advantages, but I don't think it's long enough, and I already have the Pentax 50-200 WR which covers most of that range.

A friend of mine is over in the UK for a month at the moment, so I will see what is available there second hand and get him to bring me a lens over if I find one (or finally make up my mind what to get!) Failing that, I may wait until I get to Hong kong and buy a new one.

The 50-200's a good all rounder - used the earlier version on an ist D in the Kruger and an FA 80-320 on the K10D back in late Jan 08.

The only occasions when I would like to have had a bit more reach was when trying to capture smallish birds - annoying habit of perching just too far away to get a decent shot. Didn't happen that often that I can recall - but then again I wasn't looking for birds particularly.

The Sigma 50/150-500 need a monopod and are too big to use unless their are spare seats (unlikely), not to mention rather bulky to get into the country with! A second hand Sigma 135-400 worth thinking about - not overly heavy, fits a Lowepro Lens Case 3 and has a reasonable IQ.


Steve

I have the 135-400mm sigma - it is an excellent lens. Image quality superb and the lens is light enough to handhold. I also have the 50-500mm sigma but this is just too heavy to handhold and effectively i can only use it with a monopod so i tend to leave the bigma at home and take the 135-400 when i'm out. The extra 100mm is usually just not worth the effort, although the 50-500mm is weather sealed. I have also used the pentax 80-320 which i was unimpressed with both in terms of image quality and autofocus speed.

For somewhere like Botswana, I think the range and compactness of the Tokina 80-400 would take some beating.

On a trip to the Okovango Delta and Linyanti, the lenses I am glad I took with me were 55-300 (the only telezoom I had at the time), Tamron 500 (used more than I ever expected to), 70mm DA Ltd (great for smaller creatures and in poor light as it's good even wide open) and Voigtlander Nokton (as well as being a stunning lens for general landscape and sundown etc in Botswana, f1.4 really helped at night time - I got usable shots of wild dogs in the evening with this when all the Canon crowd with me gave up despite all their long white lenses!)

i would go for a 150-500mm or a 50-500mm or even a 170-500mm if you can find one it gives more range for bigger game and closer subjects and also birds and other smaller objects.

I had the 135-400mm before buying the 50-500mm and imo there is no contest IQ wise, the Bigma is light enough to be used hand held if that is the direction you are heading. The newer 120-400mm may be better than the 135-400mm but not having tried one I couldn't say.

I have no problems hand holding the big Sigmas either.