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Looking to buy a DSLR for birding. Any opinions?

Hi all,

I'm thinking of stepping up from my Nikon P900 and getting a DSLR. Main reasons would be to get faster focus so I can take pictures of birds in flight and better low light performance.

I looked around and am gravitating towards a Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens.

I would be grateful for any opinions you might have on the topic. Specifically I am wondering:

- Is Nikon significantly different from Canon in terms of focus performance? Nikon does have more AF points and I remember it was a little better 5 years ago (when I last had a DSLR)

- what about Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 (vs the 200-500mm)? Would the increase in range be worth moving to a non-Nikon lens? I know there's no 'right answer' but I would like to hear some opinions

- what about Nikon 300mm f/4 VR (vs the 200-500mm)? Would f/4 at 300 be 'better' in practice over f/5.6 at 500? Again, i'm looking for opinions, i know there's no 'right answer'

- is the D500 vs D7200 worth the upgrade? I find them for 5k vs 3.3k AED?

thanks!

3 comments

3 Comments

Tim Lloyd

Jul 24, 2019

Hi Vlad

I think that your choice of D500 and 200-500mm lens is perfect. With the cropped sensor it should give you something like a 750mm equivalent. I have the same lens paired with a second-hand D800 and it has been terrific. The one thing that you’ll notice moving from the P900 is the weight. I think the lens is nearly three kgs so if you’re carrying it around all day you’ll feel it. Having said that it is much lighter than some of Huw’s lenses...

I also looked at the 300mm phase fresnel lens. Smaller, lighter, f4 ... I think it would make an excellent travel lens but for normal birding I feel that 300mm is too short. You’d probably be cropping heavily all the time. You could add a teleconverter but it would reduce your aperture. I got the 200-500 and have no regrets.

Actually Nikon have come out with a 500mm PF prime lens which looks good ... about a kilo lighter than the 200-500 and a bit more compact but unfortunately well over twice the price. If money was no object I would buy it because I find myself shooting almost exclusively at 500mm.

Regarding the other lens brands like Tamron or Sigma... l’m sure they would be fine too but I’ve not tried them so can’t comment. Regarding the Nikon/Canon debate: I don’t think that there’s any difference between them. Most birders seem to have Canon DSLR with the 100-400mm lens. I’ve seen a lot of photos taken with this lens (versions 1 and 2) and it seems to be ideal. So that would be another option to think about.

Anyway good luck and let us know what you go for. If you want to have a go with my 200-500 then don’t hesitate to get in touch, I will be in Abu Dhabi until the 9th Aug.

Tim

Vlad Sladariu Negulescu

Jul 25, 2019

Replying to

Thanks Tim! I got the D500 with the 200-500 mm lens and I'm very happy about it!

I still need some time to get used to it though and especially learn to deal with the metering - for the moment I am getting somehow confused by the viewfinder (vs the live view I was using on D900) and I constantly underexpose. So my recent pictures are still far away from what they should be with this setup.

the weight was a issue only for the first session, i got used to it quite fast.

i'm still thinking about the tele-converter - mainly hoping it could extend the range at which I can identify a bird. At 500mm, so far it feels like I have more or less the same very long range performance as I had with the P900. anyways, this is for latter, I need to learn to use the 500mm first :) I might be in Abu Dhabi anyway this weekend or the next - I'm trying to explore the birding sites outside Dubai as well. I don't know for sure yet because I still need to do some research on e-bird about what species I can try to look for and where. If I end up coming over I'll let you know in case you feel like joining and maybe sharing some tips about using the nikon kit more effectively :)

Tommy Pedersen

Jul 13, 2019

Huw Roberts is our Nikon man here, hopefully he have some insights. I’m using Canon and the 100-400 Mk II