Originally posted by UncleVanya I have the 60-250 mentioned above and have used it with the HD Teleconverter it works great with or without it. The IQ is fantastic. The DA* designation means it is dust sealed like the DA* 300. The 300+ lens club guys who include a lot of bird shooters say the 60-250 suffers from focus breathing and is not nearly long enough in terms of FOV and magnification for most people for birds due to the loss of effective focal length at short ranges. I have minimal experience with bird shooting and cannot compare.
It is a heavy lens and bulky but not compared to other camera systems (FF). The image quality is amazing.
I dunno the 300+ lens guys are talking about. Side by side comparisson, both this lenses (DA*300 and DA*60-250) are about the same size, being the 300 about 1/2 inch longer. About the same weight and in practical terms, produce about the same magnification (9x vs 7.6x using fl or 33 mm as base "0" magnification). Of course the 300+ guys will always demand the last bit of magnification "juice" available, completely forgetting other advantages over "reach" even if those advantages are invaluables under the shooting situations.
The 60-250 will save you not only lots of lens changes in the middle of nowhere, risking dust in your sensor. It will also save you at least the hazzle of carrying at least another two lenses to cover the short and mid tele focal lengths. It will let you shoot closer too (110 cms vs 140 cms). Besides, remember that when shooting wildlife not even a turtle will wait for you to change a lens. Also, not all wildlife is composed by bird sitting on high branches or flying low 200 ft. away. It means coatis, wild hogs, deer, jaguars, monkeys, gators, sloths, racoons, iguanas, snakes, huge insects, tarantulas, nests, crabs, lizards, otters, and so on... that make wonderful frame filling subjects at close distance. But one thing they all have in common: they are very elusive! Not even a sloth will wait for you to change lenses....
Just as a fast reference:
Wildlife of Costa Rica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Costa Rica Biodiversity, Flora and Fuana - Anywhere Costa Rica Photographing The Biodiversity of Costa Rica
Don't forget to bring a good macro... you can expect around 300 THOUSAND insect species!
No wonder there are next to no zoos here in Costa Rica. Want some wildlife close by? Just leave your door open!