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Any good/sharp inexpensive vintage lenses for bird photography?

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I have a Viltrox 85mm that I use on my fuji xt20 and almost all of my images are cropped 3x so I'm now planning to buy a vintage telephoto lens (like the Nikon 300mm f/4.5 AIS, for example).

Does anyone know any sharp telephoto lenses that are around the 300mm? Do they all have to be stopped down? And how do these perform with teleconverters?
Since I'm in nyc theres not much wildlife and also I don't have a job yet so I cant really spend money on an af lens like the xf 70-300 or 100-400. So are there any under 200$?

Also would the lens be impractical handheld without IBIS?



3.8x crop, f/2.8
3.8x crop, f/2.8



3.8x crop, f/1.8
3.8x crop, f/1.8



3.9x crop, f/1.8
3.9x crop, f/1.8
 
I found my APS-C Sony DT 55-300 SAM zoom sharper than fairly modern 300mm F4 APO primes.
 
I agree that the Tokina 100-300mm f4 AT-X is a good choice. Available in MF and AF versions.

If memory serves me, I believe the MF version received “EXCELLENT” at every aperture and focal length in Modern Photography magazine’s lens test. I had never seen a lens that tested that well in that magazine.
 
Foggy8 said:
I agree that the Tokina 100-300mm f4 AT-X is a good choice. Available in MF and AF versions.

If memory serves me, I believe the MF version received “EXCELLENT” at every aperture and focal length in Modern Photography magazine’s lens test. I had never seen a lens that tested that well in that magazine.
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my copy at least does get a little soft fully zoomed wide open, but it you pull it back just a little or stop it down a notch or two it recovers mostly. and even a little softer is decent.

I also found like the push-pull zoom on this lens. I've had a few with that zoom format, but this would be my favorite of that style that I've tried so far.
 
Just take a look:

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flickr.com

You will need:

about $100 for fz200,

usually less than 50 for tc e15ed

*tc e17ed is very rare and you will need to hunt for.

Then your time and willing.
 
Novoflex still makes adapters for their 60years old equipment to fit modern cameras with stabilization . I recently bought an adapter to Nikon Z for my Pigriff.

And the old Fraunhofer-style achromatic doublets (long forcus, not tele) are reasonably sharp while having some field curvature. THe flat field 400T was also made for them (by Staeble) and if yuou feel rich, the Leitz 560mm lenshead can also be fitted.

If you do not live in one of the worlds more weaponized coutries the focussing method can be safely used. It is fast and unlike autolenses does not focus on twigs in front of the subject. The lens heaads available range from 280 to 600mm according to how much weight and bulk you will put up with.

p.
 
QuietOC said:
Dennis Bayer said:
QuietOC said:
I found my APS-C Sony DT 55-300 SAM zoom sharper than fairly modern 300mm F4 APO primes.
Click to expand...
Which one is vintage?
Click to expand...
All of them?
Click to expand...
Not by my definition of vintage!

There were no APS lenses till 1996 & Sony didn't do any A mount APSC lenses till 2004...

They might meet the OP's requirements however :)

My own stalking skills are such that I'd need a longer lens than 300mm to get most birds at a reasonable size, indeed my 1000mm lens doesn't get me close enough for many smaller birds!
 
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I vote for the Vivitar Series 1 line. The 70-210 is known to be one of the best lenses you can get, so long as you are mindful of the year and series of the lens.

It is easy to find one that is a good manufacturer.

If you did not know, Vivitar (the same company selling trash in Walmart and chain pharmacies) at a time created borderline excellent lenses.

They did this by rebranding lenses made in Japan and importing them mainly to North America.

Use this page and the image at the top, when you look at the lens use the serial number to learn who made it.

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www.pentaxforums.com

I am sure there are people that will say otherwise, but these are actually quite great, and I have taken some very sharp photos, plus having a lens that can go from 70-210 and stay 3.5 is very nice.

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www.pentaxforums.com
 
Depends how cheap. If go above the very basic level IMO you’ll struggle to get a better cost/value deal than the Tamron SP 80-200 f/2.8 LD for Adaptall-2 mounts which should be gettable for £100-ish and is a very high grade 80’s zoom that seems a bit forgotten these days. Maybe it’s the size and weight but that’s the trade-off for being an f/2.8.

Tamron’s tele-converters are very good quality too. Add a 140F and its reach goes to 280mm at f/4.

There are 2 different 2x converters the common 01F and a rarer 200F which is matched for the SP LD lenses (80-200/2.8, 180/2.5, 300/2.8 & 400/4). Take care with the 01F as they often have a coating issue in an internal element which will be easily visible and will kill contrast in the image.
 
I can't imagine trying to hold a 200mm lens steady on a body without Ibis. I use the old Fuji X-E1 and I am about at my limit hand holding my FD 100mm 2.8. I might be able to get goid shots with a 135mm, but 200?

Now another question what about the Fuji 50-230? That has image stabilization and auto focus and is cheap, probably under 200 dollars if you get lucky.
 
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