Tele Lens That Focuses FAST

I bought a D500 last Spring. I have been using it mostly with a Sigma 100-400. I can get very sharp photos of perched birds, and larger birds in flight, from herons and eagles down to ducks and cormorants. Songbirds like red-winged blackbirds and tree swallows are another story when it comes to getting sharp BIF shots. I have a bit of luck from time to time with red-winged blackbirds, but very rarely with tree swallows.

I was thinking of getting one of the AF-P 70-300mm lenses in hopes that their AF motors might be able to keep up with smaller birds that fly fast and erratically. I already have the DX AF-P Nikkor 10-20mm and 18-55mm VR lenses. The DX AF-P 70-300 would complete the DX AF-P trio. Does anyone have any other suggestions regarding a fast-focusing lens? Or am I expecting too much?

I use an AF-P FX 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 on my D500, instead of the AF-P DX 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3, a lens which I also own. That said, my experience with small, fast, erratically moving birds is that successful BIF captures with my D500, even with its 10 fps burst rate and deep buffer, are more a function of technique (i.e., practice) than the speed with which the lens can AF. YMMV

I agree bluzman, technique and practice are at the forefront of BIF. A lens that allows more of the bird to fill the frame helps, 300mm or even 400mm may not be enough.

I tend to agree that good technique is paramount to getting good photos. I keep working on technique to improve whatever type of photography that I do. But sometimes it feels like I have done all that I can do to get the photos I am trying to get. I have the focus sensors on the bird in flight, using AF-C, using BBAF, and using a fast-enough shutter speed (1/3200 to 1/4000 sec.) I still routinely get blurry shots due to the lens being out of focus, when I feel strongly that those shots should be sharp. It is as if the lens is not keeping up.

Bear in mind that the birds I am having trouble with getting in focus are moving fast and erratically. The focal length can only be so long before tracking becomes exceedingly difficult. Back in the 35mm-film era Art Morris once stated that 400mm was the ideal focal length for birds-in-flight photography. 300mm on a DX body is equivalent to 450mm. I tend to find longer focal lengths make tracking too difficult once birds start moving fast and frequently changing direction at the same time.

I have no interest in buying gear that I don’t need. I will continue to work on technique. But I will also be looking out for good deals on AF-P lenses, should I conclude that technique can only get me so far.

Thanks for your responses.

Pick up a good, pre-owned, 500mm PF. It and the D500 fit like a hand in a glove. Recommended for both perching and BIF.

This article by nzmacro (also a member at this board) might be of some interest, written a long time back allready and with the focus on manual focussing long telelenses but containing many useful (technique) advice and examples given any long lens, be it MF or AF.

Interesting article. I have pondered using a similar technique. I will have to try it out sometime.

As you know I also use the Sigma 100-400 C which became much better after I fine-adjusted the AF (it was good already, but much better now).

Have you adjusted yours?!

My Sigma 150-600 S is a better lens, but weighs almost three times as much! Its focusing speed and accuracy (on a camera with a hefty battery!) are totally amazing, as good, or better than my best primes! But the weight and the inertia make it a challenge to use!

If you can afford it, a 500 PF (or similar) would be even better, of course, not least due to the lower weight!

Tord - I wound up picking up a used AF-P 70-300mm VR DX lens at a very good price. I am liking the results I am getting with it, although it doesn’t have the Sigma 100-400’s reach. The focus does seem to be a bit snappier, and I feel like I am getting more in-focus shots out of a typical burst of shots featuring a BIF.

I am hoping to be able to alternate between the two during a shoot to see if there is a true comparative difference between the AF speeds and AF lock-on qualities of the two lenses.