Need some lens advice

[Grandpaw]

I have a Nikon 18-200vr and and was thinking about getting the Nikon 70-300VR to add some reach. I am selling my sigma 135-400 APO lens and I am looking for a sharp lens that I can afford. Looking for suggestions. I know this is similar to what I ask in an earlier post but I am interested in any ideas now that the I won't have the Sigma 135-400 lens. This will be used on a Nikon D80 and possibly a D90, Jeff

[Singletracklovr]

I Hope I don't get slapped by John for suggesting another review site but here is the best review I have found on the 70-300VR lens.

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Ni...VR/index.shtml

I own this lens and my novice review is. I wish I would have bought the 80-400VR.
In Colorado the 300mm is just not enough reach. If you check my user gallery you will see many photos using the 70-300VR lens. Your results may vary.

hth

[another view]

No problem to link to another review site. Frankly, I've used the 80-400VR and you'd probably wish you bought something else if you had it. It's a very sharp lens and IIRC it was Nikon's first VR. It's unusually sharp for an 80-400, but very expensive and the focus is painfully slow. And 300 to 400 is a noticable difference of course, but probably not enough if 300 doesn't get you "close" to what you're looking for.

Jeff, you've had the 135-400 for awhile - do you need the 400, or do you rarely go past 300? I may have mentioned it before, but take a look at Nikon's 300 f4 prime lens if you can live with that focal length. A good used AF lens (not the newest AF-S) will be incredibly sharp for the money in that focal length. Add a 1.4x TC for a 420mm f5.6 and you still can use autofocus. However, I have used the Nikon 70-300VR and was pretty impressed with it.

There are a lot of 70-300 and 80-400 lenses, but the Nikon VR versions seem really good - best I've used although I haven't tried too many. However, they're still slow (aperture-wise) and not perfect for every situation.

[deckcadet]

I'll second the suggestion to consider the 300/4.0. If you're willing to go that far in terms of size and price, though, take a hard look at the Sigma 100-300 f/4.0 EX HSM. Fast focusing, reasonable size, and I really like it. I rented one for the football season opener and liked what I saw. Add a (kenko or sigma) 1.4x TC and you have a 140-420mm f/5.6.

[Grandpaw]

Thanks very much for all of you taking the time to help me make a decision. After considering what my budget will probably be and reading a lot of reviews on the many choices, I have pretty much decided on the Nikon D90, 70-300VR and the Sigma 10-20 lenses. I take pictures of yachts and the wide angle will be very helpful in the tight places I need to get pictures. As far as the zoom, I believe that for me the Nikon 70-300VR will be my best option. This will give me a noticable increase in reach over my Nikon 18-200VR does now. Each additional 100mm's added gives me a smaller additional % in zoom power and a significant increase in cost.

Some of the reasons for me choosing this zoom are VR, weight, size and sharpness. I have read many reviews on how heavy some of the other lenses are, the slower focusing and lack of VR or equivalent in some of the other lenses.

200mm field of view 12 degrees
300mm field of view 8.15 degrees
400mm field of view 6.10 degrees

As I said above the amount of % of increase in zoom goes down with each 100mm added so I will be getting the most bang for the buck with this lens. Yes it would be nice to have a stronger zoom but with all things considered I think this is the best choice for me

Thanks again for helping me with my choices. It is great to have a place to get helpful information before making a purchase, Jeff

[Singletracklovr]

I am very interested in your review and seeing some picts of the 70-300VR lens once you start shooting with it. It would help me decide if mine is broke or not.