But this aint your daddys 400mm f/2.8. If you're shooting on the Nikon Z-mount system, then the newly released 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 is a good choice. Tamron 150-600mm Review and how to use it for Wildlife Photography, 24 Tips for Fantastic Flower Photography (2022), Video Courses from Friends of Photography-RAW. However, the modest f/11 rating enables a relatively compact and lightweight build with smaller-diameter lens elements. 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. Its also not quite as sharp, but it comes very close and its overall image quality is pleasing. Surprisingly u didnt included Nikon 200-500 /f5.6 lens one of the best selling lens for wildlife photography. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This grouping covers just about every bird-photography situation, from birds at rest to the most challenging erratically flying raptors. Still, weighing just 1,725g without the tripod collar, the Tamron 150-500mm is perfectly useable hand-held. Re: And the penny drops: Sigma is making Z mount lenses: Nikon Z Best portrait lens: CANON EF 85MM F/1.2L II USM. I would say a much longer lens would be significantly harder to aim. Due to its slower f/4 aperture, it is a much lighter lens than the 400mm f/2.8E VR. Upgrades over the original Tamron lens include a revamped 4.5-stop optical stabilizer with three switchable options for static, panning and exposure-only modes, the last of which leaves the viewfinder image unadulterated, and makes it easier to track erratic movement. The optical path is top drawer too, featuring no less than five ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements plus a Super ED element. Id argue that the 400mm f/2.8 is actually more versatile, because sometimes youll really need that f/2.8 maximum aperture. Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM The Nikon 800mm f/5.6 is no doubt an astounding and absurdly expensive lens. The main problem with prime is that it requires a photographer to observe the birds behavior and spots. Bought it because it can be hand held. My 350 Nikon Wildlife Photography Kit D300 300mm F4 Af Lens In particular, its much easier to use a 1.4x teleconverter with this lens, turning it into a very reasonable 560mm f/6.3. The best cameras for bird photography in 2023 Then again, for maximum image quality at the longer focal lengths, the 600mm f/4 TC VR S would be the one to beat. For full compatibility with Canon EOS R and Nikon Z series mirrorless cameras, V2 or later firmware can be applied via Tamrons optional USB-linked TAP-in Console. Looking to turn pro? 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. The Best Lens for Bird Photography in 2023 (Updated) Nature & Wildlife Photography Lenses | Nikon Give your opinion for 80-400 G ED VR on D850 and D500. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Nikon Lenses for Bird Photography Nikon 200-500 mm Telephoto. Best lens for street photography: NIKON AF NIKKOR 35MM F/2D. Its my favorite because i can get it up and shooting anytime Im in a hurry, which is often. See my detailed Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II Review for more information on this lens. A camera that takes high-definition images and comes with a lens for up-close shots of subjects. Which Nikon Camera Is Best For Bird Photography? Guide To Nikon Cameras The 800mm focal length, while not easy to use, certainly shines when it is used properly. And I dont want to spend thousands more on new zooms. Birds are tricky subjects for even the most experienced wildlife photographers; they move quickly, don't stay still for long, and they generally won't let you get very close without flying off. You will be able to capture all sorts of birds in the perfect frames with these cameras for sure. Nikons 200-500mm f5.6E has carved a space of its own among hobbyist and semi-professional wildlife photographers. If youre looking for the longest reach without teleconverters, the Nikon 800mm f/6.3 is your lens! Camera body with a lens without zoom for shooting portraits. The VR II provides up to 3 stops of insurance, resulting in sharper images overall. That makes it easier to capture sharp, frame-filling images of birds. If you can find a way to deal with the weight, this lens with a D500 would still be a very capable wildlife setup. Being around for much longer than the Z-mount, the F-mount currently has more lenses suitable for wildlife. Works well with Nikon Z6 using FTZ lens adapter. Next comes getting closer to the birds. 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. PL provides various digital photography news, reviews, articles, tips, tutorials and guides to photographers of all levels, By Nasim Mansurov 305 CommentsLast Updated On January 13, 2023. Instead, it has one telephoto length, so it is best for searching the skies and the trees, rather than capturing birds right in front of you. Best Nikon Lenses for Wildlife Photography (2023) With advancement, the quality has come quite close to prime. Then there's the full frame pro or serious enthusiast DSLR body with a Canon or Nikon 400mm, 500mm, 600mm, or even an 800mm prime lens. Many hobbyists are foraying into this field who start with a crop frame body. So you conclude with what you have- The article is intended for ALL.. judging and justifying availability with a Brand? It is optimized to deliver results quickly and perfectly. The lens is under $600 and is among the cheapest lenses to achieve any bird photography. After falling head over heel hooks for climbing in a gym in Boston, she moved to Golden, Colorado because the mountains were calling. Now Kate spends as much time as possible exploring the crags of the Front Range and beyond, usually with her camera in hand. Its tripod-compatible VR offers up to 4 stops of Vibration Reduction. I get 10 times more keepers with this lens than with my 500mm, and 20 times more keepers than with my 80-400. Similar to the Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II, it also works exceptionally well with all teleconverters, including the Nikon TC-20E III. We check out the best cameras for professionals (opens in new tab). But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Fujifilm XF150-600mm F5.6-8 R LM OIS WR, 12. I would suggest that for most people, this lens is a little bit short for wildlife, especially at $9500. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook. Your prices on the three lenses are off by over $2000.! 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. Pros Scouting for birds in national parks and bird sanctuaries is accessible with this range. The best lenses for bird photography in 2023 - digitalcameraworld Costing $6500, this lens is the cheapest way to reach this focal length. The Sports model is a superior lens for photographing birds. A lens that can vary between focal lengths. The Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM is a lens that works really well in birds and wildlife photography, a great tele-zoom of choice, and whose weight, although very unbalanced, we do not believe to be excessive even for carrying out wandering photographic hunting activities. How to Photograph Birds Canon EF 100-400mm IS II. This is the lens that will get you to 800mm at f/5.6 with a 2x teleconverter! The Best Nikon Cameras for Wildlife Photography (2023) 2. This makes it easier to track the erratic movement of birds in flight. This lens is the real winner for use on any Nikon body: a 200-500 mm zoom with vibration reduction. Best macro lens: TAMRON 90MM F/2.8 Di VC USD. Is This the Best Bird Photography Lens? | Fstoppers 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. New York, I have the 80-400, never use it. The Best Canon Lens For Bird Photography Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L is II USM Lens, Lens Only Compact, high performance L-series super-telephoto zoom makes it ideal for sports and wildlife photography Rotation-type zoom ring allows for more precise composition and excellent balance when handholding You need a pretty good reason to trade up from Panasonics 100-400mm zoom lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras and it might just be this Olympus prime. Im the owner and editor of Photography-RAW. As in the Sigma and Tamron lenses, this enables more consistency in rapid-fire exposures but, with older Nikon bodies, youll only be able to shoot at the widest aperture. Nikons Silent Wave Motor AF system allows for super fast autofocusing, but with just a turn of the manual focus ring, you can take control yourself. It is easy to get carried away by the camera body. When done well, you can get some truly magnificent photographs. Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM. 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). The price is quite hefty though, at close to $14,000. The Ultimate Nikon Telephoto Lens Guide - Schubert Photography It is possible due to the diaphragm blade unit with a drive mechanism. very long. Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 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! I make sure that you get the best articles about photography. 2. The 8 Best Lenses For Birds And Wildlife Photography 2023 - Avibirds.com The Essential Guide to Photographing Birds in Flight When you need to nail the definitive moment in wildlife photography, this is a lens you can surely count on. This lens gives you telephoto superpowers in a relatively lightweight package. Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens Deputy Director of Audubon North Carolina Walker Golder uses the discontinued Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR lens on his Nikon DSLR to capture images of birds. Learn more about the Panasonic Lumix S5 at Adorama, Amazon, and B&H. FUJIFILM's X-T4 is the only APS-C sensor type in our round-up. The best lenses for bird photography provide you with enough magnification to fill the frame with a feathery subject and have a fast enough autofocus to track it as it moves. The sheer range provided by Tamrons 150-600, especially when clubbed with a crop frame, is enough to enchant the buyers. A tack-sharp AF precision allows panning shots to be perfectly sharp. Its a very good lens but rather expensive for a 100-400mm, and lacks the outright telephoto reach of more recent 150-600mm independent designs. These include a refined optical path with fluorite and Super UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) elements and high-tech Air Sphere coating. The optical image stabilizer is effective on its own and even better when coupled with in-body stabilization, featured in later Sony Alpha A7 and A9 mirrorless cameras. If well-cared for, such F-mount lenses can still last many years. No also f/1.4. You are a bit mixed up. For most wildlife, the move from f/4 to f/5.6 will not impact image quality, and it is a fair trade for the increased versatility of never needing a tripod. The autofocus takes a little setting up, and isn't quite as fast as that of rival lenses from Sony and Tamron, but this is still an impressive lens for birding. 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. 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. Best Canon: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens Best Canon premium: Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens Best Nikon: Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED Best Nikon premium: Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED 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. Capturing stunning images of birds is not easy, and you definitely need the right lens to be able to do it. Sharpness is very good at or near 600mm but less impressive towards the short end of the zoom range. A fast aperture of a constant f/5.6 works well in low light conditions such as sunset and provides the effect of a blurred background to highlight the birds. Fortunately, your camera offers a neat solution: Auto White Balance, also known as AWB. The Best Lens for Bird Photography: What To Look For When Shopping for Using DO (Diffractive Optics) and a relatively narrow f/11 fixed aperture rating, it's also pretty light at 930g. Seeing a gorgeous bird in flight is awe-inspiring, but it can be difficult to translate that beauty into a photo. This is 1.4 stops faster than the Nikon 400mm f/4.5 and thus will perform much better than slower lenses, both in terms of light-gathering and autofocus. It is a workhorse tool used by professionals for sports, wildlife and portrait 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. Theres a more effective, triple-mode image stabilizer and the Mark II also gains weather-seals and fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements. What is the best one you would suggest for wild life (perched birds) with Z6 and FTZ adapter ? Additionally, 2 ED glass elements work towards eliminating chromatic aberration. The NIKKOR 200-500mm also features an autofocus system that you can override by turning the manual focus ring. Even so, thats rarely a disadvantage for birding, as youre likely to use a zoom lens at its longest available focal length anyway. Takes continuous shots at 8 frames per second. 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. Usually, hobbyist photographers are happy with a good bird in natural surroundings. Theres no other difference between the two versions. Nikons 300mm F2.8 is fondly called a super-telephoto lens. You can only shoot at the widest aperture possible on older Nikon bodies. Best camera lenses of 2023 | Popular Photography It's pretty much the same weight as the Sigma and Tamron 100-400mm lenses for full-frame cameras. Aperture: A faster lens like f/2.8 or f/4 allows you to use faster shutter speed, which is essential for bird photography. 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. The older model was bulky and heavy and needed a tripod for support at all times. 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C for Canon, DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f/4-6.3 ASPH Power OIS, Massive telephoto reach in a compact, affordable package, The latest premium super-telephoto zoom for EOS R mirrorless cameras, This shouldn't be ignored for bird photography, Best own-brand Nikon lens for bird photographers, Nikon's mighty 600mm prime is a beast of a lens, A monster performer, if you don't mind the modest aperture and weight, Sonys biggest and best super-telephoto zoom for birding, Tamron's affordable tele-zoom for Sony boasts fearsome autofocus, Best Fujifilm lens for bird photographers, The longest X-mount lens is also lightweight and affordable, Sony E-mount and Leica L get a Sports lens to call their own, Best lens for bird photography for Canon & Nikon DSLRs, Best budget lens for birding for Canon and Nikon DSLRs, This Tamron lens combines the attractions of both Sigma lenses, A great lightweight, budget super-telephoto zoom, Best MFT zoom lens for birding, thanks to the 2x crop factor, Best prime lens for Olympus and Panasonic MFT cameras, We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices. It's the NIKKOR VR 70-300mm /4.5-5.6 for the Nikon 1 system. I have been shooting with the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR lens for the last 4-5 years and I can assure you that the Nikon 300mm f/2.8G VR II is overall a better lens to buy (unless you shoot large animals from a close distance, like bears in Alaska). Astrophotography in March 2023: what to shoot in the night sky this month, "Thats the beauty of photography, it is a democratic medium", AI portraits are hard work, says deceitful Instagrammer with 28K followers, The Lumix S5 II is a serious tool for content creators here's why, GuruShots: Winning photos from the Beautiful Nights competition, Sony's new camera is a "baby A7S III for vloggers", Motorola's mini $99 widget turns any phone into a satellite communicator, Good news! If one plans to use the camera hand-held, it is better to look for lighter lenses while compromising slightly on the range. But if you have the budget, then the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR II is the best option for image clarity. The lens needs to be ready for the same. Sharpness is really impressive throughout the zoom range, so you can push it to 600mm with confidence that you're still going to get some great images. The Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm is a great introductory telephoto lens for bird photography at a very good price point. Autofocus is fast and image quality is impressive in all respects, making this lens great value for an own-brand Nikon. The Nikon 600mm f/4E FL ED VR is one of the company's longest focal length lenses available, and with a price tag that's nudging five figures, it's squarely aimed at the professional sports and wildlife photographer. They help cut down on any reflection, including the reflection of the camera sensor. The narrower aperture range of f/5-6.7 is going to restrict you a little in terms of how much light you need, which is simply something to be aware of and factor in. We've tested the best lenses for bird photography to bring you options for a range of prices, from budget telephoto lenses to professional lenses. In daylight conditions the Nikon 70-300mm VR can overall produce great results, but its performance does suffer in low-light situations something to be expected from a slow variable aperture zoom lens. Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 VR. 3 Best Nikon DSLR Cameras - Mar. 2023 - BestReviews The upgraded VR II provides three stops of image stabilization. For Nikon, a good choice is the Nikon 200-500mm lens for DSLR cameras. If you like the idea of a 300mm f/2.8G II but in a zoom, this is your lens. Small and light for such a long zoom, the lens retails for about $1,000. An eliminated ghosting and flare while shooting backlit or semi-back-lit subjects results from this improved optics capability. Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G VR The Nikkor 70-300 f4.5-5.6G VR must be on the list of bird photography lenses purely to provide an entry. The Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm is a great introductory telephoto lens for bird photography at a very good price point. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). This large lens, when coupled with the DX-format sensor, gives him the optical equivalent of an 18x binocular. Best Nikon Lenses for Bird Photography - Photography-Raw.com First, it is 0.63 stops faster, which although small, does make a difference in challenging wildlife conditions. The NIKKOR 300mm is not a zoom lens with a varied focal length. 17. A decent lens is an essential piece of camera equipment for capturing beautiful bird photos. It also helps reduce weight and is ideal for outdoor shooting. Diaphragm control via electric signals from the camera body provides reliable AE control. Undoubtedly, the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 is the most popular budget lens for bird shooters. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Traditionally, 400mm f/2.8 lenses were much more specialized tools, being very heavy and a bit short for smaller wildlife. This lens is somewhat on the heavy side, although it still can be used handheld, and the vibration reduction reduces camera shake whether you have it on a tripod or are holding it. Sold all other FX lenses to get a full set of Z lenses. I added this lens to the list because it is so good, but it is also questionable whether it is still worth its price, given that you can get a Nikon Z9 and a Z 800mm f/6.3 and still have over $4000 to spare.