Which Lens Please

I have a new Nikon D7100 and already own a 70-300mm zoom,

In your experience which lens do you all prefer to use for airshows/Airport landing shots

Contenders are

Nikon 80-400G .....expensive but is it worth the extra ££££

Tamron 150-600....New kid on the block and mixed reviews regarding AF and soft 500-600mm

I'm wondering that as I already own a 300mmm zoom is it worth getting just a 400mm as I am only gaining 100mm

Or should I go for the Tamron.

Ive seen the threads on internet already but still not sure

I like taking sharp pictures and think it must be a zoom for me rather than prime for easier handling.

And do you guys tend to use monopods these days at airshows.

I also heard on here that the VR can't be used on the Tamron whilst panning....that would be a showstopper for me I think.

I would be very interested and appreciate your feedback on this guys,

Cheers

Steve

Steve,

If you are seriously considering the Tamron I would strongly suggest renting one and see for yourself how you get on with it. Personally I won't go anywhere without my Tamron, but there are many people who have had a completely different experience to mine with the Tamron, hence my suggestion to try before you buy for your own peace of mind, if possible.

As far as image quality goes, my £900 Tamron at 600mm is easily as good as my 300mm 2.8L on a Mkiii 2x extender ( £5,800 for that combo ! ), plus, it is far more flexible than a prime.

VR on the Tamron does not work for panning shots. If you have been shooting static subjects with VR on, and then started shooting moving subjects, forgetting to turn VR off, the resulting shots will be unusable.

Re monopods / tripods, I use a monopod for slow shutter static shots ( 1/40th for 360 degree prop blur of an aircraft with idling engine, for example ), all panning shots are handheld, regardless of shutter speed.

Hope this helps you in some way.

Cheers

Nigel

Hi Nigel,

Many thanks for your reply.

I was thinking with me already having the Nikon 70-300 VR II lens then the Nikon 80-400 was only really offering me 100mm for an awful lot of money.

Were you suggesting I try the Tamron before I buy purely due to its weight.

If so I am used to the Bigma which I used with my old Canon EOS 50D setup, and coped ok.

I have looked at and admired your photos on this site and in terms of focal length My photography would be similar.

Were these pictures taken with the Tamron ?

Many thanks again I much appreciate your help

Steve

Steve

You've used the Bigma, so the so you'll have no problems with the Tamron. I was thinking more along the lines of renting for some actual hands-on experience of the lens to see if you're happy with the autofocus lock / tracking etc, and seeing if you can improve things ( if needs be ) with camera settings. For example, on my Canon bodies, selecting center point focus and then expanding it in custom functions, and adjusting tracking sensitivity made a huge difference to my hit rate.

If you click on the website link on my profile page nearly all the photos on the first 12 pages were taken with the Tamron (exif is available on them all).

There's also a Flickr group for the Tamron at https://www.flickr.com/groups/2470447@N21/

Cheers

Nigel

Thanks Nigel

I went for the new version of the Nikon 80-400G

Loving it today on some tests

Thanks for the helpful info....and your pictures are outstanding by the way

Hope to buy you a beer if I see you around at any airshows this year

Cheers

Steve