Nikon D7100 with 2 kit Zoom Lens

[EisMann]

G'Afternoon!

Like to hear from Nikon users.

Saw D7100 kit with 18~105mm & AF70~300mm zoom lenses together with a TTL flash at $2025.
I am interested in the 300mm zoom lens. I assume it is a AF F4~5.6 70~300mm ( I can't find in Nikon Singapore web site)

The question I have, can Nikon teleconverter (TC) works with this 300mm zoom lens?
When I google on matching TC with this lens no positive feedback.

My primary interest is birdie shoot. I want to upgrade from a bridge camera.

Thank You
EisMann

 

[catchlights]

Even it works, you will lose two stops of aperture value, what kind of subjects can you shoot with f11, with shutter speed of 1/500s during a hot sunny day?

 

[catchlights]

BTW, this lens don't have lens collar, can it produces vibration free images with tele convertor on tripod?

 

[daredevil123]

G'Afternoon!

Like to hear from Nikon users.

Saw D7100 kit with 18~105mm & AF70~300mm zoom lenses together with a TTL flash at $2025.
I am interested in the 300mm zoom lens. I assume it is a AF F4~5.6 70~300mm ( I can't find in Nikon Singapore web site)

The question I have, can Nikon teleconverter (TC) works with this 300mm zoom lens?
When I google on matching TC with this lens no positive feedback.

My primary interest is birdie shoot. I want to upgrade from a bridge camera.

Thank You
EisMann

D7100 I sold a 2 week old copy for $1080 early this year. 18-105 you can get almost new in BnS for around 200+. 70-300 really depends if it is the VR version. and which flash are they bundling together with the cam? After finding out the details, then decide if $2025 is a good price for the bundle.

If the 70-300 is F4-5.6, then it is the non VR version, which is actually dirt cheap in the range of 200+ new IIRC. And if the flash is a 3rd party (non-nikon), I would dare say the package is not worth it at all.

Anyway, the D7100 can only focus down to max aperture of F5.6. If you lens start at F4, with a 1.4x TC, your max aperture already drops to F5.6 at the bare minimum. If it gets a little darker, the cam will not be able to focus. If using 1.7x or 2x, the camera will not able to focus most of the time.

 

[EisMann]

Catchlight, DD123,

Thanks for the sharing the products' details.

Never know D7100 can focus at the max F5.6.

Will check all bodies' limitation.

Generally I like to look for one able to focus fast (eg moving or flying bird) can focus in a reasonable gloomy, shaded forest to upgrade my bridge camera.

Thank You
EisMann

 

[Light Machinery]

If your primary use is for birding get the
the AFS 300mm f/4 & TC 14 ii. Its very sharp wide open & is still very good with TC14 ii.

The AFS 70-300 mm VR is not that sharp at 300mm.

 

[daredevil123]

Catchlight, DD123,

Thanks for the sharing the products' details.

Never know D7100 can focus at the max F5.6.

Will check all bodies' limitation.

Generally I like to look for one able to focus fast (eg moving or flying bird) can focus in a reasonable gloomy, shaded forest to upgrade my bridge camera.

Thank You
EisMann

D800/e/810 and D4/s can focus at F8 max aperture.

 

[enenyi]

Hi TS, I can confirm that the 70-300mm lens is non-VR, coz its maximum aperture is f4 at 70mm while the VR version has max aperture of f4.5 at 70mm. I own this non-VR version, and I would say that it sux so much that I'm waiting to trade it in when I saved enough for a 70-200mm f4 or 85mm f1.8. The only usable range is 70-135mm. 200-300mm is super soft, even at ISO 100. By soft, I mean u will get a hazy hue to your pics. The lens is only good under bright sunlight. Under low light, at max aperture and at ISO 1600, shutter speed is still unusable at 1/2 sec. I bought this lens 3 years ago at $200 from Bally Photo coz i wanted something cheap at that focal length. But now I start to regret my decision coz it is so soft that I leave it in my dry cabinet 98% of the time. So i hope you wont make the same mistake as me, buying cheap lenses only to find that the lenses are optically poor.

 

[EisMann]

enenyi,

Do you mean soft like this?

[/IMG]

If yes, I carry on with my bridge camera.

 

[EisMann]

In case some of you guys have the wrong idea, I am not bashing the the 70~300mm zoom lens or D7100.

I don't think I can afford to buy lenses to find out whether they are ok for me.

Even for renting to try, I will like to be 90% sure what the hardware can meet my expectation after reading reviews and checking with those who has used, before I spend the money to check the balance 10%.

Thank You
EisMann

 

[jeezuinn]

enenyi,

Do you mean soft like this?

[/IMG]

If yes, I carry on with my bridge camera.

In case some of you guys have the wrong idea, I am not bashing the the 70~300mm zoom lens or D7100.

I don't think I can afford to buy lenses to find out whether they are ok for me.

Even for renting to try, I will like to be 90% sure what the hardware can meet my expectation after reading reviews and checking with those who has used, before I spend the money to check the balance 10%.

Thank You
EisMann

I think the pic you posted is quite an extreme case. Looks like it was taken from afar and heavily cropped? I'm a D7100 user, and I do birding too. I only used that lens once, and personally the performance is ok for the price, but nothing to wow about, and definitely not a lens I would use for birding. From my limited birding experience thus far, if I'm in your shoes, I would go for D7100+18-105(probably second hand) kit, then use the remaining money to save for a longer lens. I find that often 300mm isnt enough, even on crop. Perhaps if we know your overall budget we could give better suggestions

 

[EisMann]

Morning Jeezuinn,

This chap was about 40m away hidding in the bush. This photo is optical zoom. I cut away the branches to show Enenyi if that what he meant by softness.

This threaded started becos I am looking to upgrade my bridge cam & using EM1 $2.5k as a ref.

Thank You
EisMann

 

[enenyi]

enenyi,

Do you mean soft like this?

[/IMG]

If yes, I carry on with my bridge camera.

The following pic was taken with my D600 (at that time), 300mm focal length (450mm equivalent coz I was using DX mode), uncropped, focus point on the truck on fire. ISO was prob 200 or 400, lighting condition was daylight with a bit of cloud cover.

This was the better photo in a continuous shot of 30 photos. As you can see, contrast was bad at longest focal length. Colours have a hazy tint, no matter the lighting conditions, which I suspect due to the poor light transmission of the glass elements in the lens. Noisy AF (screw type) and slow AF focusing. AF was so bad that the pic above was shot with AF turned off and me wasting a bit of time trying to adjust focus to the truck before snapping.

Tried the 70-200 f4 lens on the D750 during the recent Nikon event at Funan, AF was spot-on, image quality was superb. $1600 for this expensive of lens or $200 for my cheapo lens, it can be reflected in the resultant image every time I need to shoot telephoto. You get what you pay for, at least in the arena of lenses.

 

[jeezuinn]

Morning Jeezuinn,

This chap was about 40m away hidding in the bush. This photo is optical zoom. I cut away the branches to show Enenyi if that what he meant by softness.

This threaded started becos I am looking to upgrade my bridge cam & using EM1 $2.5k as a ref.

Thank You
EisMann

With a budget of 2.5k, a D7100+18-105 kit in the used market would probably set you back 1300 or so. with the remaining 1.2k, you can get a sigma 150-500 used at 800~, or top up a little for a tamron 150-600. As I mentioned, in birding often the reach is the limiting factor, which is why I would suggest to go for a longer lens. You may also want to note that with the D7100, you will need a very fast sd card in order to take more shots at optimum speed, like the sandisk extreme pro(32gb will set you back $65), so do include these in your budget

 

[Blur Shadow]

My first foray into the world of telephoto was with the Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4-f/5.6. It amused me for the first few shots, since I finally had 300mm capability for the first time. Nonetheless, its shortcomings were stark and were apparent quite immediately. Poor contrast, low sharpness, general difficulty to use at f/5.6 at times were quite problematic. I should switched it in favor of a 55-200mm VR.

If I were you, I would skip this setup and get a 55-300mm VR if you require the telephoto capability. Of course, if you have the cash, 300mm f/2.8 is pretty ideal!

 

[daredevil123]

In my experience, you get what you pay for. If want to spend minimal money then don't complain iq is bad. You want good iq, then pony up the money. No 2 ways around it.

If really want to do birding, then consider selling stuff you seldom use and get a proper setup. Entry level for birding is at least the lenses mentioned by jeezuin. Even those lenses will be challenging in poorer light.

 

[EisMann]

Jeeziunn,

Thanks for the pointer on the type of SD card for D7100.

EisMann

 

[jeezuinn]

Jeeziunn,

Thanks for the pointer on the type of SD card for D7100.

EisMann

No problem! Hopefully you'll have a better insight on birding needs. Looking forward to seeing your birding shots soon!

 

[enenyi]

Hi TS,

I know this might sound crazy to you, but may I know what's the reason to even upgrade to a DSLR like the D7100 for birding shoots? Is it for the weight (which wont matter, since you are on a tripod or monopod anyway), better functions, or having optical viewfinder?

For low budget birding, how about a Nikon 1 setup? How about a Nikon 1 J4 with native 70-300 f4.5/5.6 VR (CX mount)? That would already give you the equivalent of 189mm-810mm on 35mm full-frame and equivalent of 126mm-540mm on DX format. The 2.7x crop factor of the CX format comes in handy at this juncture since you need the focal length for birding. And you wouldnt need to spend a ton of money trying to buy expensive super telephoto lenses for birding. Moreover, the Nikon 1 cameras allow for interchangeable lenses, which means you can use the cameras for things other than birding by buying other CX-mount lenses.

 

[EisMann]

Hi TS,

I know this might sound crazy to you, but may I know what's the reason to even upgrade to a DSLR like the D7100 for birding shoots? ................... other than birding by buying other CX-mount lenses.

Enenyi,

I have tried a DSLR, M4/3 body, 2 months ago. 8 out 10 times the images were sharp with good contrast. On the contrary, when using the bridgecamera, 2 out of 10 times, the images were good (http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1459589

When I met 2 birdie shooters in Bidadari, they suggested me to switch to full frame (FF) instead. With my present standard, I don't think I am in the league to buy FF. (But I don't mind to receive it as a birthday present).

I will take a look at Nikon 1 J4.

Thank You
EisMann