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I am looking for a good Nikon lens for my D7000 to shoot both sports & wildlife. I want to get really sharp images. I've been working with the 18-200mm & really disappointed by some of the shots as it can't get the distances I need.
I have heard that the Nikon 300m f/4 AF-S is very good especially with a teleconverter TC-14E11 1.4x, are these both able to fit the above camera? I have allocated about £1100 and looking for new rather than second-hand.
Have you any other ideas?
Wildlife and sports have very similar requirements. They both need long lenses. Sports also really needs a fast lens and so does wildlife except when at rest. That is one reason to avoid an 18-200mm or even 18-300mm, it gets so slow at the long end.
The 300mm F/4 should be much better. If you add the teleconverter though, the aperture drops to F/5.6 which is not good enough. So if you think you need the long reach better start with a Nikkor 300mm F/2.8. Actually if the wildlife you shoot includes birds or small animals, you will most likely need the longer reach. The Nikkor 200-400mm F/4 is always popular to for both these applications. Unfortunately this big heavy glass is outside of your budget. If you do not plan on doing this type of shooting too often, renting is a great option.
Unfortunately I do not see any other suitable choice even from 3rd party vendors. Sigma used to sell a superb 100-300mm F/4 for Nikon mount but I have not seen it for a long time.
I have a D7000 and recently bought a 300mmf4. I do have the 18-200VR as well which is probably the best all round lens, but you are correct, for wildlife and sport it just won't work. So far I have achieve some amazing results with the 300, it is super clear and fast enough for most of what I have been shooting. Depending on what wildlife you hope to shoot, getting closer to the subject is always better than getting a bigger, heavier lens. So buy a ghilllie suit, a comfy chair and wait for the wildlife subject to come to you. Even without VR I can achieve very crisp results until the light becomes too poor to shoot at higher shutter speeds. I haven't found the need to add the TC1.4 yet, but I will probably invest in this soon. Like others have said, for the price, you cannot get anything else. I found a second hand one online (which was pracitcally new) for $A400. Best money I have spent in a while. For your budget, get one.
Before actually buying any lens, I would like to suggest you to rent/borrow a lens first, test a lens for a few hours and it will help you to decide how long is long enough for your needs.
You know your budget and your needs, you also know that you need a fast/bright lens, if you know your desired focal length then you can take a look at online shops such as B&H and Adorama to find some lenses within your budget. I usually use B&H website, their filters are really helpful, even if you don't want to buy from them. for example check this search result, I rounded the price to $1800 and selected Nikon and few other good third-party brands, all you have to do is to check your desired focal lengths.
Now take a note of the lenses that you like and check photozone.de for lens reviews! also don't forget to look up the lenses on Flickr, just search for the lens name plus the type of photography (bird, sport, portrait...)
Also FYI, all current Nikon lenses are compatible with the D7000.
I see this is an old post BUT here is my 2 cents worth of wisdom. I have a d7000 and I'm goi.g to get this lens and probably a 1.4 tc. I can't afford the bigger lenses or the 2.8 versions. After reading as many reviews on this lens and weighing all the other options this is what in left with. I bow hunt and have taken alot of deer and squirrels with a long bow at very close range so getting close is not a problem. Now for birds of prey it can be tough. Most other birds should be ok.
Adding to a very old post. I recently acquired a D800 + this 300mm AF-S f4 + TC 14II combination and i am using it for birds in flight and the results are very good. I have so much of details through D800 which enables me to crop to make a descent image. This lens without a TC is even more wonderful.
Swami
While the 300mm f/4 AF-S will give you big aperture and superior image quality, you can also go for a zoom lens with smaller aperture but Focal length-freedom.
For example : Nikon-80-400mm-4-5-5-6D-Autofocus-Nikkor
It is up to you to choose out of the two. It depends on how & where you shoot.
