3 replies to this topic

[MZPLCG]

Hi all,

just a quick intro. Getting back into using my Nikon gear after a few years off. 
Used a D750 for a while, then kind of lost interest for a while, but now back on it due to planning a safari holiday where a phone cam won’t cut it. 
Just bought a D850 as well, mainly due to the sale price being attractive.

Got a couple of lenses, nothing too spectacular, just a 60mm F1.8 which is the portrait lens and a 28-300, both Nikkor. Just started doing some research on this subject to see what will be best for safari.

Joined up here as it looks reasonably busy and I dislike the social sites.

All the best for now.

Dom.

[g4aaw pete]

Hello Dom, pleased to have you with us.

That safari sounds exciting.
I suppose some kind of wide range zoom is likely to be most suitable.

We are social here, but not like the well known platforms!

[MZPLCG]

Thanks for the welcome.

 

Yes, I am considering either the 200-400 or the 200-500. Just about to hire both for a week to have a play before I commit but I might well end up with both. I’m planning on keeping the 750 body so will have both with me. Just couldn’t bring myself to PX it at the price offered.

 

Also doing a load of reading about editing. I have some photos from a previous holiday where I want to remove some people. My lovely wife is in it and she had no clue I was taking the picture so I got her true smile for once. Her posing smile is not great but the candid ones are lovely.

 

Will be posting up some past stuff in the relevant areas. 
 

Dom.

[Merco_61]

Getting a supertelezoom is difficult. 
 

The best optically is the 180-400,

second is the 200-400,

third is the AF-S 80-400

fourth, IMO is the Sigma 150-600 Sports and

fifth is the 200-500.

 

The 180-400 is the only one that is good enough in the corners for stitched panoramas with multiple rows and the built-in TC is a big bonus on safari. 
 

The 200-400 plays well with both 1.4X and 1.7X Nikon teleconverters on a D850. On a D750, the AF gets sluggish and hunts in soft light with the 1.7X.

 

The 80-400 works well with a 1.4X on either body, but forget about the 1.7X as the bite just isn’t there.

 

The Sigma is a heavy beast, but its slightly polarizing front element makes it cut through heat haze better than the others. It is not even close to matching the pro zooms in optical quality, but that is not to be expected at that price point.

 

For me, the sample variation I have seen in the different 200-500 lenses I have used is too large. A good one can give the 200-400 a match but a bad one is worse than an old bigma at the long end.

 

Don’t forget to factor in a sturdy but lightweight monopod for any of these heavy long lenses.

 

When I was considering what to get to go above 400 mm, I held a two-day workshop with my fellow aircraft photographers  out at the local airfield so we could get first-hand experience with as many lenses and teleconverters as possible. 
 

I ended up with a Sigma Sports that seldom lets me down…

Here are some samples:

Swedish Armed Forces Airshow 2022 - Cars and Machinery - NikonForums.com

Swedish Armed Forces Air Show 2018 - Cars and Machinery - NikonForums.com

 

All handheld.

When it comes to editing, our old editing exercises in the mini-challenges section can be worth a study. I remember quite a few examples of both cloning out and compositing to remove unwanted elements from the shot.