Lens help please

TwistedJ

Okay I just bought a Nikon D40 and I'm on a budget. I saw these lenses. What I want is mainly macro and close range animal and bird shots. Will either of these work? I'm new to SLR so please go easy on me.

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000A7V2DC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

and this lens:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/423727-REG/Tamron_AF017N700_70_300mm_f_4_5_6_Di_LD.html

ifocus

First, the D40 does not have a focus motor on its body so you must make sure the lens has one. In general, nikkor lenses must be AF-S type. Both lenses you specified in your post from Sigma and Tamron are not compatible with the D40 if you want Auto focus to work.

Now, you will find 300mm very short for wild life unless you are very very patient and hide very well. This is even worse for birds. Also, it is very hard to get a real macro lens build into a tele zoom; most of them are not 1:1 marcro so there is a compromise there.

In my opnion, if your budget is limited, you should really sacrifice the macro and get the nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR. It sells for around $500 and you will get the best quality for this price range. The real advantage of DSLR is interchangeable lenses but it comes at a cost. Lenses are the true long term investment.

I hope this help,

JY

kyeezie

Here is some advice that I got from Raphy when I asked about lenses with my D40. There is also a link that helped me on any lenses that I thought about getting.
55mm 3.5 micro-nikkor (this is a non-Al lens but is one of the sharpest lenses ever)
Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/d40-performance.htm#lenses
I've been having trouble posting today so I hope this works. Good luck. If you find a god inexpensive lens, let me know!

Joves

I dont believe the Tamron has a motor so, it would be manual focus only. The Sigma has a motor from what I read on the B&H site. You might want to hit up the Tamron site and, look for compatiblity specs. I know they are making a few lenses specifically for the D40. http://www.tamron.com

eL eSs Vee

I don't know about the Tamron 70-300 lens in question here, but I have the Tamron AF 18-250mm F:3.5-6.3, and it now has a motor. I use it on my Nikon D40x. I've used it with and without a tripod, and I'm so far quite pleased with it. Next purchase will be a teleconverter, so I can get closer for macro.

TwistedJ

Thank you all. I have two lenses the standard Nikon 18-55 and the zoo, 55-200 which is great for everything but wildlife. I'm now hunting a wildlife lens.

ifocus

TwistedJ wrote:

Thank you all. I have two lenses the standard Nikon 18-55 and the zoo, 55-200 which is great for everything but wildlife. I'm now hunting a wildlife lens.

In this case, you will certainly find 70-300mm too short. You should get at least 400mm on the long end if not 500mm. The Sigma 50-500mm might be good for you.