Distance lens for the D90

Hi. Near to where i live there are a few whales this time of year and as ive only lived in oz for 8 months i wanted to get a pic or 2. If you have good eyes you can just make out a whale (to the right) spouting water, i used my 55-200VR lens but obviously its not long enough. So what sort of lens would i need, at the moment as a newbie im not to worried about perfect quality etc just a photo where the subject is a bit nearer lol. I dont really want to spend a fortune as im new to this. Any suggestions please

You're going to spend a fortune. For something like that, i'd just imagine you'd have to be patient.

I don't know what amount of money will be too large for you, but the cheapest option would be the nikon 70-300mm, but that wouldn't have helped you a lot here. Have a look at the sigma 50-500 or 150-500, or even some mirror-lenses.

Good luck and tell us what you finally chose! (And show some examples).
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'The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.' Friedrich Nietzsche

best budget lens would be the Nikon 70-300vr

Not as good in image quality, but a lot longer is the Sigma 150-500 os (needs good light to shine).

Slightly closer to the 70-300vr and a really good lens for the money (but a lot of money) is the Sigma 50-500os (also needs decent light to look its best).

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See my plan (in my profile) for what I shoot with. See my gallery for images I find amusing.

pez2010 said:

Hi. Near to where i live there are a few whales this time of year and as ive only lived in oz for 8 months i wanted to get a pic or 2. If you have good eyes you can just make out a whale (to the right) spouting water, i used my 55-200VR lens but obviously its not long enough. So what sort of lens would i need, at the moment as a newbie im not to worried about perfect quality etc just a photo where the subject is a bit nearer lol. I dont really want to spend a fortune as im new to this. Any suggestions please

Click to expand...

Based on the photo you provided, the whale detail occupies let's say about 10% of the width of the frame. I'll assume - though you didn't say - that the photo was taken on the D90 with the 70mm-200mm lens at its longest focal length. On a crop camera that lens has a field of view of about 8 degrees. The whale occupies about 0.8 degrees. Using the calculator at http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/technology/fov.html?f=500&fov=3.304409714325341 we see that to more or less fill the frame with the whale at this distance needs a lens with a focal length of 1800mm.

The longer the focal length of a lens, the more expensive it is going to be to make (at the same maximum aperture). Lenses this long actually are available (see http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_tele.html and http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/reflex/index.htm and http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/telephotos/1200mm.htm ) but you won't be able to use them for this purpose. This is because lenses of this length can only be used on a tripod if you want a usable image. I suspect that a whale breaching is a brief enough event that you won't be able to swing the lens around and lock it before the moment you want to capture is gone.

I think that if you want to do whale photography, you really only have two options:
1. Accept the kinds of images you are getting right now
2. Get closer.

Other than what the others have said (either the Sigmas or very expensive glass) you could get a canoe or a decent raft for less and that could get you closer.
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Regards Craig - D90
WSSA #381

cdrross said:

you could get a canoe or a decent raft for less and that could get you closer.

Click to expand...

--

See my plan (in my profile) for what I shoot with. See my gallery for images I find amusing.

Hi

I think that all you need is reach.

I am assuming you will be shooting in good light and not needing rapid auto focus.

With the D90 you can pretty much crop in half and still have a useable pic if not printing huge....so...find the longest lens you can afford and use a tripod if necessary.

.

If you could afford it maybe something like a 300 2.8 manual focus lens (still pricey though) and a couple of extenders...1.4x, 1.7x and 2x maybe even a 3x one though IQ would be degraded it should still be "ok".

Maybe get something like a 300mm f4.5 and a 2x converter to match.

Lesser but maybe still ok would be a 500mm mirror lens ....you can buy "1000mm " kits on ebay...mostly a 500mm mirror lens and 2x converter...will not be the greatest but might be what you want.

Maybe have a look at the likes of ebay or pawn shops or Photographic trader magazine($4.75 at most newsagents)....get a cheap mirror lens second hand and have a play....it will get expensive if you want auto focus, speed and IQ and reach....take away the ones you do not NEED first (from what you have posted that would be auto focus first to go reach the last)....your compromises will be for lens speed and IQ.... though generally the two go up and down together sometimes they do not...

How much you are prepared to pay will determine those things.

You can get some 500mm auto focus slow super zooms as stated and they will be good IF 500mm is enough.....I suspect it will be enough SOMETIMES but others will still not be long enough for you.

IF it is not long enough a lot of the time , then a 300 2.8 manual focus or slower if needed budget wise 300mm prime with extenders would be the way to go. (Tamron adaptall 300 2.8 can be had for under $1000 AU ...well under if lucky and often comes with 1.4 and 2x matching converters for 420mm f4 and 600 5.6). It is a lens better suited to cameras that are stabilized..........I use mine on my Pentax K-x but not on my Nikon d50 but for YOUR uses it would be fine (and hold its value if not suited to what you want BECAUSE it works so well on Pentax stabilized so you could get your money back...maybe even make a profit).

Good luck

neil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26884588@N00/