Please, Newbie help needed!

All the best guys are taking good care of you, Jim
… I'll have a coffee!

Amazing!  I got it to work by re-setting the wifi in the phone so it sees the camera.  Wow, some technology!

Now I have another challenge.  My older Nikkor 24-120D lens is working fine, but I need a longer lense. 

I've asked this question on a D750 facebook group, and recommendations seem to be either the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR Lens or the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR.

Sttupid question:  Do these lenses have internal AF motor?  And does the D750 need this?  It focuses the older 24-120 lens, which I think doesn't have an internal focusing motor.  I simply don't understand the labels and I wonder if there is a suitable long lens that works on the D750's internal focusing motor?

I know I'm really dumb here, but any help would be appreciated!!

 

Thanks!

The D750 has the built-in AF motor needed for early AF lenses. The screw-drive transmission doesn't handle heavy focusing elements and long linkages too well, so the AF speed is slow with longer lenses. The AF-i and AF-S lenses overcome this by using a beefier motor in the lens.

 

The D750 is fully compatible with the manual focus Ai and Ais lenses, the AF and AF with distance chip screw-drive lenses and AF-i and AF-S lenses. Compatibility with AF-P lenses is limited.

 

The AF-S 80-400 is a very good lens, but expensive! The 200-500 is a bit kinder on the wallet. Don't dismiss the third-party 150-600 lenses, the Tamron G2 and the Sigma S are lots of lens for the money.

 

I have a thread shot with the 80-400 here. Admittedly on a DX body, but the lens is impressive on FX as well.

 

In this thread, I mostly used the Sigma S handheld

I started out with Sigma 150-600 Contemporary. Sport version has better optics but is heavier. The reason I chose Contemporary was because of weight and price. It still is a very good lens. An advantage with the third party lenses is possibility to use an USB dock to fine tune AF for all focal lengths and to install new firmware.

A couple of months ago I couldn't resist the Nikon 200-500. It has a couple of advantages. Quite a bit better AF (at least better than the Sigma Contemporary), better shake reduction (VR) and last but not least, Nikon has the best tele-converter (Nikon TC-14E III). The drawback is weight. It's heavier than booth Sigma Contemporary and Tamron G2 but not as heavy as Sigma Sport.

This was shot with a D810, Nikon 200-500 + Nikon TC-14E III:  Unexpected guest in my backyard - Nature and Animals - NikonForums.com

I know folks who shoot frequently with the Nikon 200-500 and also the Tamron 150-600.  Both of the lenses give quality images and the folks in both camps are happy with their choices.  I had an 80-400 many years ago and enjoyed it.  Nice images but I needed a lower fixed aperture which is why I ended up changing to the 200-400 eventually.  I would say that the 80-400 is probably the easiest to carry and hand hold for any period of time.  With any of the lenses mentioned above, you might find you want a tripod or monopod for any extended shooting.

Thanks again folks for all the advice.  Just ordered a 200-500 from B&H.  Can't wait!

 

Jim

Hi @Hultman Great to know that an experienced person is here.I hope you are feeling well.i am personally interested to learn old Nikon L35 TW AF Camera and others like this.so hoping to get tips form you

Hultman enjoyed your post how are things progressing with the attempts to connect phone and laptop? After moving from point and shoot digital to a d600( steep learning curve for someone not coming from a filmSLR) and then putting it away for a year after becoming frustrated I am bringing it out again in these times of social distancing and self isolation I was considering the 750 myself and hope you are happy with it

Hultman and Merco_61 maybe a stupid question from a newbie .... to get the longer length you require without the expense Of a new lens would a 2X-3x teleconverter fill the gap?? I realize there are limitations with using this and if you can afford it certainly a new lens has advantages

Hultman and Merco_61 maybe a stupid question from a newbie .... to get the longer length you require without the expense Of a new lens would a 2X-3x teleconverter fill the gap?? I realize there are limitations with using this and if you can afford it certainly a new lens has advantages

The problems with using teleconverters are that the extension costs light. A 2X steals 2 stops of light so an f/5.6 lens is now f/11, stopping the AF from working and making it difficult to see to focus manually. A 3X steals 3 stops, making it an f/16.

 

Add to that the fact that they degrade contrast and sharpness and the idea doesn't seem so good anymore.

 

Another problem is that the cheap ones aren't good and the Nikon TC-s have a protruding front element making them impossible to mount on consumer lenses.

Thanks for that I wasn't aware of those other issues while using teleconverters!

I have a Nikon 1.4 TC that I have used a few times with my Nikon lenses (70-200 f2.8, 200-400 f4).  I did some testing on a nice bright day and I don't see too much difference in the image with the TC or a cropped image.  Neither option is perfect of course, but you many find it easier to select a focus point with the TC.  The last time I used the TC was on my 200-400 to photograph a sailboat race (small, 2 person boat).  Here are links to images of a lacrosse goal - one with and one without the TC.  These were both taken with the same 70-200 and D600 that I had at that time.

 

TL TC14E 6647 - Sportz2Pix Photos - Gallery - NikonForums.com

TL TC14E 6651 - Sportz2Pix Photos - Gallery - NikonForums.com

 

Hope that helps...

Hultman and Merco_61 maybe a stupid question from a newbie .... to get the longer length you require without the expense Of a new lens would a 2X-3x teleconverter fill the gap?? I realize there are limitations with using this and if you can afford it certainly a new lens has advantages

Might also want to consider the full frame Sigma 100-400mm Contemporary. I bought one for use on my D7500 (DX). It's reasonably priced IMO (IIRC, about 1/3 less than their 150-600mm), can be updated and tweaked via Sigma's USB dock, and is significantly lighter allowing me to comfortably shoot handheld.