Originally posted by norwegianoutdoors Hey guys!
So I often see eagles and stuff that I want to photograph.
I am not full of cash.
How long focal length to I need to get for bird photos? I have a Tamron 70-300 which is a brilliant budget lens. But 300 is too short.
Give me your suggestions: which lens for bird photography for Pentax K1 for less than $500 (used)?
going beyond 300 mm moves the price point significantly, you could be looking at a minimum of about $2K new for any fast sub 300mm plus a good TC or a good 450-500mm maximum focal length zoom
going for fast 400-500 (or longer) primes, you are looking at probably $0.50 -$1.00 per mm
if you are looking to meet your price target, the best i got so far, was a manual focus 200-500/5.6 tamron SP zoom, but you will need to spend about the same amount on a tripod
the other potential approach to get out to 500mm is a pentax SMC-F 1.7 x AF adaptor and any food, manual focus 300F4 lens. i would opt for the A300/4 so you can use all the exposure modes of the camera. i personally use a K300/4 with this adaptor, and aside from a little lateral CA find it works quite well as a combo you can hand hold