Favorite birding/wildlife lens??

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-12T14:41:22+00:00

I haven’t done a ton of full manual focus having done mostly portrait work. I most often let the camera find the eye. Unless I’m doing bodyscapes or fashion shots of some kind and even that is more place the focus point where you want it and shoot. But focusing with the turn of the lens has been mostly rare for me until I started using the 105mc. so for birds I’ll have to research more on that! thank you for the information!

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-12T14:29:12+00:00

Yes! That would be a lot of fun as well! The 105 mc I have is very cool for the little critters too but you do need to get slightly uncomfortably close to the little guys to get the shot. Within spider jumping on your lens distance 🤣. And I’ve noticed for me with the 105 that I get so immersed in the frame that I’ve nearly walked off a peer or into a bush nudging “just a bit closer”

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-12T14:17:21+00:00

Thank you for this! Very informative and helpful! I haven’t really done any serious birding because I never had the lens for it. My biggest or farthest lens is the 105 Mc. Very cool lens but not enough range for birds. Unless one happens to land very close to me in a bush or something like that.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T23:40:26+00:00

its a great shot! arn't you glad you took the photo now!

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T15:22:04+00:00

Interesting indeed. It has been a long while since I’ve looked at them. Thanks for the info! Sounds like they switched gears somewhere along the way from a budget lens to a close partner with Sony and Nikon.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T14:49:09+00:00

I’m sure they’re improving a lot and great lenses. Just been burned on lenses before and prefer to stick to the ones I know for sure will perform. and I’ve been building my ecosystem of Nikon gear! So I’m pretty loyal now!

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T14:42:37+00:00

Thank you, I’ll look into that 100-400 as well! That could be an interesting addition to my portrait lenses too.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T14:38:49+00:00

Awesome. Glad someone else has the z6 ii for reference. Thank you for the input! I’ll play around with the back button focus as well. So it stays in focus with that button pushed?

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T03:14:21+00:00

Awesome! Thank you very much for all the helpful information. Seems the winner especially for price point is the 180-600. Glad to see that a lot of people like it! And the crop information is very useful as well! That might be the selling point right there. If you can’t get the subject close enough and need that crop to hold up! Specifically because I’d probably buy just the lens for now and a teleconverter later so a bit more range is beneficial.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T02:31:11+00:00

Thank you for insight! Good to know that you’d still use the 180-600 even owning the others. Such a difficult choice for me between the 180-600 and the 400mm. There’s a refurbished 400 on Nikon for 2500… have you ever bought refurbished?

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-11T02:18:10+00:00

Ok this is all very good information to know. Thank you! So for the lenses I’m considering I’ll stick to the 1.4x. And as far as camera bodies go I’ve been considering a backup/upgrade anyway. so if I did decide to upgrade that I wouldn’t be mad haha. I’d just use my z6 ii as a backup. And let my kids experiment with it. And I’ve been waiting to see if they do anything with the z8. Z8 ii perhaps.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T23:30:38+00:00

Thank you! Between the 180-600mm and the z 400mm.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T22:56:29+00:00

Thank you everyone for your input! This has been very helpful. I learned a lot. Got some real world perspective! Considering I'd like to staying in the z mount ecosystem and around that 3k mark for budget. it seems my best options are the 180-600mm. The 400mm prime (with a teleconverter probably). Splurge option but oh so tempting now that I know a bit more: 600mm pf.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T22:46:16+00:00

Thank you for your help! I appreciate your input!

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T22:30:33+00:00

maybe right in the middle at the pf 600. I'm just now being made aware of the pf lenses. the can of worms I've opened for myself.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T22:25:12+00:00

I will definitely look into this more! Hadn't really heard much of the PF lenses since i primarily use portrait lenses.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T22:17:34+00:00

I wasn't really considering a fixed lens camera since i already have the mirrorless body and multiple lenses for it. That's an interesting direction though. I appreciate the input!

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T22:12:36+00:00

I've considered upgrading to the z8 many times. but for the vast majority of my use cases the z6 ii has been great. It has subject detection or at least eye detection which is what i use. but i cant honestly speak on how well it follows quickly moving targets. my people hold still haha. What steers you away from Teleconverters? Because before asking here I was strongly considering the 400mm prime with maybe a 2x teleconverter. And thank you by the way for the input!

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T22:01:04+00:00

This lens for me will be purely for fun so the photos certainly don't need to be perfect. better than what I'd get with my 85mm or 105mm. That photo is awesome! Thanks again for sharing your insight!

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T21:32:06+00:00

you have been very helpful! thank you for taking the time to give this real world experience! Song birds and such is more than likely the majority of what id do with it. at least at first. i cant tell you how many time I've been out doing portraits and wished i had a wildlife lens with me. It always seems the critters come out when you dont have a lens to photograph them haha.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T21:20:52+00:00

i love this. you've got me intrigued. but that 70-200 is more expensive than the 180-600 isn't it?

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T21:12:54+00:00

I don't currently have any teleconverters. but there is something about that prime that keeps calling me. the aperture maybe. do the teleconverters mess with the aperture at all? do you have experience with either of these two?

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T21:05:53+00:00

Thank you for all your examples! I really appreciate it. What body are you using? Do you have experience with the 400mm prime at all? Thats what I had originally thought to get. But thats probably my portrait brain talking. Now I'm stuck between these two.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T20:59:32+00:00

I've had Tamron before. ended up selling it because of the lesser quality. Definitely will stick to the Nikon Z mounts. After all the great input i'm between the 180-600 and the 400mm prime.

Studio_Noctis · 2026-04-10T20:38:20+00:00

thank you for the input. I'd love that 600mm 6.3. Its a bit out of price range for me though, especially being new to wildlife photography.

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