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cnycharles said:
Ditto to all! And advice Clark's given me concerning buying canon equipment (if you want new lenses), 'buy refurbished'- less expensive but still a good warranty
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Thanks Charles, good to know. Are Canon cameras and accessories cheaper than Nikon equipment?

JeanLux said:
Very cool pics!!!! (ain't there some black dog missing? ok, not a bird, nore a critter) Jean
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Sorry Jean, I did not get the reference

NYEric said:
So, you were in Cuba!?
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I thought you were kidding on the Saskatchewan comment. Yes I saw a few orchids insitu but very few on the trail. Lots of bromeliads and tillandsia though.
 
> is canon cheaper than Nikon?<
I've never purchased Nikon equipment, but the canon equipment I've purchased was a lot of money and the few things I'd wanted and waited to get of canon (like their macro ring flash) the price barely would come down even after years... I still won't pay what's asked for the ring flash. Mostly great equipment but they must be expecting that pros can write off the expense of their purchases
 
eggshells said:
I thought you were kidding on the Saskatchewan comment. Yes I saw a few orchids insitu but very few on the trail. Lots of bromeliads and tillandsia though.
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Yes I was kidding. When did you mention you were going to Cuba. As you know, it is still restricted for USA citizens.
 
cnycharles said:
> is canon cheaper than Nikon?<
I've never purchased Nikon equipment, but the canon equipment I've purchased was a lot of money and the few things I'd wanted and waited to get of canon (like their macro ring flash) the price barely would come down even after years... I still won't pay what's asked for the ring flash. Mostly great equipment but they must be expecting that pros can write off the expense of their purchases
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Okay, I will stick with Nikon. Perhaps I can use my dx lenses on a full frame body.
 
NYEric said:
Yes I was kidding. When did you mention you were going to Cuba. As you know, it is still restricted for USA citizens.
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I thought I told you I was going. Anyhow, its a beautiful place. You can always fly to Canada and get a connecting flight there. I thought the US are mending ties with Cuba. Perhaps it's coming soon and US citizens may finally be able to go there.

Here are some photos



















 
eggshells said:
I thought the US are mending ties with Cuba. Perhaps it's coming soon and US citizens may finally be able to go there.
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That wont happen for years. Americans are very restricted in their travels still.
I don't think the community that left when Castro took over, who lost their land and businesses, would agree with you.
Thanks for the photos.
 
With Canon, all lenses fit on a crop sensor body.
It is the full frame body that is limited.
So the D3100 is a crop sensor body, and I see no problem with function.

That being said, I have never heard of Opteka brand.
Sigma on the other hand, has been building a good name for themselves the last five years or so.

I think Joanne/YOYO Jo from the forum bought this lens a few years ago.
Maybe contact her and see how she likes it?

If possible, I would rent it for a week before purchasing it.
Or buy it before trip and be able to return it after 10 days if your not happy.

Ken Rockwell believes it will work on Nikon.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/sigma/150-500mm.htm

Looks like the price is right.
Eggshells, my last purchases have been through Canon refurb.
Got 5Diii(body), 17-40mm(lens), and 100-400mm(lens). All work perfect and were in mint condition upon arrival.
All have one year warranty, just like new products.
Perhaps Nikon has a refurb dept.?
 
I have vaguely heard of opteka but no idea of reputation. I have a 105mm macro sigma and I think a ?40mm digital macro sigma. When I wanted to get lenses and I looked at reviews, sigma was supposed to be 'pretty good and really good compared to value; all of my pics I've taken of native orchids and others/landscapes where I didn't state was from camera phone were with a sigma lens
I would say they are pretty good, but I can see that they aren't the sharpest quality, the images that is. I've seen a number of images where they are clear as a bell and it has to be the quality of the glass, or it could be my receiver plate just isn't as good, and is only an 8 mp.
 
It is a good time for bird photographers at the moment with Tamron and Sigma both recently releasing 150-600 mm lens that are high in quality but not ridiculously expensive. I've never got into bird photography despite being a keen bird watcher because I could never afford the high quality zoom lens. Sigma and Tamron have now changed all that. Sigma have two 150-600 lens - Sports and Contemporary. The Sport is more expensive and heavier (3 kgs v's 2 kgs) and more solidly built. I just bought the Sports last week and shot with it for the first time yesterday. A pretty amazing lens for the price. Sharp photos and it focuses fast and accurate. It is very heavy though. I couldn't shoot with it handheld. I was using a monopod. I walked around with it for an hour or two and my arms are pretty sore now. Just tossing up whether I should return it and wait for the release of the lighter and cheaper 'Contemporary' model which should be available very shortly. After seeing the photos on my computer I will probably just put up with the weight. It is not a lens you can walk with for long distances.
 
Wow! 2 kilos. Thanks guys, I will take your suggestions and consider it. I currently have two options right now. Get a full frame body or lens. I can only afford one or the other at the moment. So tough decisions ahead.

Thanks!
 
For me, if comes down to either a full frame camera or a large zoom lens I’d go with the lens. If you need more reach, a full frame camera will have the opposite effect. It will give you less reach. If you put a 600mm lens on a full frame it shoots at 600mm. If you put a 600 mm on a DX (crop) camera it will shoot at 900 mm (1.5 x 600). So if you put your DX lens on a full frame camera you will find you will get less reach than what you currently can on your DX camera. Having said that a full frame camera is preferable and the new Sigma and Tamron 150-600 mm lens have been designed for full frame cameras but they will still work well with crop cameras. I was thinking of buying a DX camera just for cases where 600mm isn’t long enough. And I can tell you unless you’re photographing swans or pelicans, 600 mm never seems enough. I will have to purchase the Sigma 1.4 x teleconvertor which will convert my 600 mm lens to 840 mm when I need more reach.

For bird photography the lens are critical, the camera not so. It doesn’t matter how good your camera is, if you don’t have a quality super zoom lens then you will struggle to get the photo. As they say, “lens are for life, cameras are for Christmas”.

If money is tight I would choose between the Tamron 150-600mm and the Sigma 150-600 mm “Contemporary”. They will sell for about $1,100 US. The Sigma “Contemporary” is just about to be released, so I would hold off until the reviews are in. If it is anywhere near as good as the “Sports” model, I would choose it over the Tamron which I have read is a little soft at 600mm (but still a very good lens for the price).
 
Thanks David. I think I'm gonna go with your suggestion. I will purchase the lens for now and purchase an fx body later down the road. I will wait for the 150-600 contemporary and. Is the 100mm worth the extra $300 dollars? The 150-600 is about $900 usd right now.
 
eggshells said:
Thanks David. I think I'm gonna go with your suggestion. I will purchase the lens for now and purchase an fx body later down the road. I will wait for the 150-600 contemporary and. Is the 100mm worth the extra $300 dollars? The 150-600 is about $900 usd right now.
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Are you talking about the Sigma 150-500? I haven't used this lens but what I have read the new Sigma 150-600 and Tamron 150-600 lens are better quality than the older Sigma 150-500. The photos are sharper, the auto focus is quicker and more accurate, and the bokeh nicer. So not only are you getting an extra 100mm (you can never have too much zoom for bird photography), you are also getting a much better lens. I was speaking to a guy yesterday who was using the Sigma 150-500. He said it was pretty soft at 500 so he didn't tend to go past 450. Personally I think it is worth the extra money to go with the new lens. They offer image quality that was once unaffordable to us amateurs.
 
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Thanks David, yes I meant the 150-500 on my previous post. You sold me on Sigma 15-600. I will wait for the contemporary version and see the reviews about it. Perhaps I will wait for it to become available on Amazon. I guess this is where my federal tax refund will go.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
FYI here are a couple of photos taken with my new Sigma 150-600 Sports. The camera is the Nikon D800. These were shot at 600mm and f = 6.3. First time I have ever photographed with a lens more than 200mm so I'm still getting the hang of the techniques involved with using such a heavy and highly magnified piece of glass. But these are still pretty sharp I think.


cormorant%20com.jpg



kangaroo%20com.jpg
 

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