Re: Nikon D40 with 300mm lens AND teleconverter (Nikkor AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E II)



greg@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I'm very close to purchasing a Nikon D40 - my first SLR. My interest
is birds and wildlife so a high zoom is essential.

My questions are:

1. Will a 300mm lens and a 1.7x teleconverter give me 510mm zoom?

Precisely which 300mm lens?

A 300mm (optical) lens on its own is already 450mm (35mm equivalent) on
the D40.

2. What "optical zoom" number is this equiv. to? (I'm used to a
generous 15x on my Fuji bridge camera)

That depends on what wide-angle lens you have. 18mm is typical, so you
get 510:18 or 28.3 "optical zoom" from the pair of lenes.

3. Will autofocus still work?

It depends on which 300mm lens.

4. Would I be better off getting a super zoom lens in the first place
(though this option looks VERY expensive)?

Be gentle with me - I'm new to photography.

Many thanks

Greg

I think the 300mm lens will be just fine on its own. If you need a little
more detail get the 10MP D40X instead of the 6MP D40. I have the D40 and
the 70-300mm VR zoom, and I do rather like it.

Cheers,
David


.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: European trip ?s
    ... This is not some new-fangled specialty camera sporting ... gives you the benefit of both a wide-angle and a 5X zoom lens in one ... Kodak says the camera has a 5X optical zoom ... We tested the distortion of both the 23mm wide-angle and the 39- to ...
    (rec.travel.europe)
  • Re: Stepping Up to DSLR - Canon 350D
    ... you know it is a zoom lens, because it is giving you the low-high focal ... lengths that the lens is capable of achieving. ... still all figured out by the camera, but you can override it when you ... you composed your shot, pressed the shutter, then accidentally moved ...
    (rec.photo.digital.slr-systems)
  • Re: D200
    ... But four paragraphs later he says of the 18-70, "This is a serious lens, not ... One is that the zoom increments are spaced evenly, ... with the 18-70 lense. ... I think his review of those four ultrawide zooms is honest and fair. ...
    (rec.photo.digital.slr-systems)
  • Re: Wild M420
    ... probably because I'm usually trying to get images from a stereo stand! ... the superb M420 zoom is nice to have.... ... the relay optics between the Makro zoom module and the camera ... your camera, relay lens, or imager. ...
    (sci.techniques.microscopy)
  • Re: First DSLR feedback sought
    ... 28/80mm zoom lenses (but now it's just another piece of obsolete film ... The reason I mention the Pentax is that it's my only real ... Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 zoom ... What am I giving up with a non-USM lens? ...
    (rec.photo.digital)