Budget lens for novice wildlife photography
Discussion
We have a couple of trips planned this summer to a few zoo's / wildlife parks and I'd like to dust off my D3500 and try and get some half decent photos.
I'm fairly new to photography and don't want to spend a fortune on something which I may not use more than a handful of times, so ideally would like to limit the budget to no more than about £200-300. Obviously at that price point I'll almost certainly be looking for something 2nd hand, although it's a bit of a struggle as there's not much around in the local area at the moment.
Any recommendations for what to look for? Brands to avoid? Or any reputable online sellers?
At what point does the law of diminishing returns really kick in? I guess once you get to a certain point at the higher end of the market, unless you are a serious professional you're unlikely to notice much difference by spending more. But at the very bottom end, for someone just starting out, would they really notice how bad a cheap Chinese non-brand lens is compared to the cheapest "known" brand?
TIA
I'm fairly new to photography and don't want to spend a fortune on something which I may not use more than a handful of times, so ideally would like to limit the budget to no more than about £200-300. Obviously at that price point I'll almost certainly be looking for something 2nd hand, although it's a bit of a struggle as there's not much around in the local area at the moment.
Any recommendations for what to look for? Brands to avoid? Or any reputable online sellers?
At what point does the law of diminishing returns really kick in? I guess once you get to a certain point at the higher end of the market, unless you are a serious professional you're unlikely to notice much difference by spending more. But at the very bottom end, for someone just starting out, would they really notice how bad a cheap Chinese non-brand lens is compared to the cheapest "known" brand?
TIA
Zetec-S said:
We have a couple of trips planned this summer to a few zoo's / wildlife parks and I'd like to dust off my D3500 and try and get some half decent photos.
I'm fairly new to photography and don't want to spend a fortune on something which I may not use more than a handful of times, so ideally would like to limit the budget to no more than about £200-300. Obviously at that price point I'll almost certainly be looking for something 2nd hand, although it's a bit of a struggle as there's not much around in the local area at the moment.
Any recommendations for what to look for? Brands to avoid? Or any reputable online sellers?
At what point does the law of diminishing returns really kick in? I guess once you get to a certain point at the higher end of the market, unless you are a serious professional you're unlikely to notice much difference by spending more. But at the very bottom end, for someone just starting out, would they really notice how bad a cheap Chinese non-brand lens is compared to the cheapest "known" brand?
TIA
That'll walk you into a 70-300 2nd hand from Wex. https://www.wexphotovideo.com/nikon-70-300mm-f4-5-...I'm fairly new to photography and don't want to spend a fortune on something which I may not use more than a handful of times, so ideally would like to limit the budget to no more than about £200-300. Obviously at that price point I'll almost certainly be looking for something 2nd hand, although it's a bit of a struggle as there's not much around in the local area at the moment.
Any recommendations for what to look for? Brands to avoid? Or any reputable online sellers?
At what point does the law of diminishing returns really kick in? I guess once you get to a certain point at the higher end of the market, unless you are a serious professional you're unlikely to notice much difference by spending more. But at the very bottom end, for someone just starting out, would they really notice how bad a cheap Chinese non-brand lens is compared to the cheapest "known" brand?
TIA
codenamecueball said:
That'll walk you into a 70-300 2nd hand from Wex. https://www.wexphotovideo.com/nikon-70-300mm-f4-5-...
Exactly my recommendation too. I have one, and use it in preference to my Sigma 70-200 f2.8.Make sure you get the VR version, as the previous D and ED are not as good.
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