Decision finally.. Lenses.

[Nocturnus]

Ok, so I now have a good idea of what my refund will be, i'm really looking at this combo. Tokina 28-70 f/2.8 AT-X and the Tokina 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AT-X. I know im def going to need to get a monopod to help woth that 80-400. Both lenses have a rebate (I'd get back $70). Total before rebate is like $740. Not to bad and would cover the range I used to shoot, and give me some extra for wildlife.

[JamesB]

I HAD the Tokina 80-400 and I just sold it on ebay to fund getting the Sigma 50-500.

for the money its an ok lens. not great by any means. the AF is slow and it will hunt some and I have missed many shots due to this.

however when this lens hits its subject with proper exposure it can be awesome. I have some really great shots with that lens, but the conditions have to be spot on or you are not going to be happy.

James

[Nocturnus]

there's not much else in my price range that I can get other then that. I don't shoot many moving objects

I could try for like canon 70-200 f/4 L, but that would be pushing the upper end of my budget. I looked at that 50-500 also, but way outta range. Other then that, the Sigma 135-400 and the Canon 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 are in my range.

It just all boils down to what all I can really afford. I like having up to 400mm..

[JamesB]

oh I understand your needs to get out to 400mm. I got that lens cause I had just enough money to get it when i did. it did ok, but I was never really 100% happy with it. like i said, I got some great shots from it, but I had even more bad ones from it.

if you can, save for a few more months to get something better than the tokina 80-400

James

[Nocturnus]

Originally Posted by JamesB

oh I understand your needs to get out to 400mm. I got that lens cause I had just enough money to get it when i did. it did ok, but I was never really 100% happy with it. like i said, I got some great shots from it, but I had even more bad ones from it.

if you can, save for a few more months to get something better than the tokina 80-400

James

Tax time is my one time a year to spend any amount of money. so if i dont do that now, it'll be next year. AF being slow wont be a big deal for me, I take my time setting up shots. You have any iamges online you took with the camera?

I could get the Sigma 135-400 f/4.5-5.6 (only prob there is the gap between 70 and 135mm) and I see a refurbed 70-200 F/4 L for ~$500 range for both.

I have ~$500 to spend on my 70mm+ lens.

[JamesB]

yes I have some samples from my 80-400.

Im not trying to steer you away from this lens, just wanting to make sure you know its down falls. I have hand held this lens with great results. its fairly light for something with 400mm of reach.

on this page the focal length is below the thumbnail, just look for anything 80mm and over for images from the Tokina 80-400
http://www.nightshooter.com/D60/Acti...004/index.html

the last 5 images on this page (the hawk). these suffer from resizing so they dont look too crips on the web, but look good full size. I printed one of them out in 5x7 and it looks great
http://www.james-benton.com/adventur...ay5/index.html

James

[Nocturnus]

Yeah, I know it all boils down to what I can afford. But from what i've been reading on review sites, everything has downfalls.

Also thinking about it, 80-400 is a big lens to have on the camera most of the time to. So a under 200mm might be my better choice.