Recommendations on a cheap telephoto lens for birds?

[masp]

Hmm, so as a Nikon shooter, which lenses in Nikon's have you found to have a great price/performance ratio?

I'm also curious about the 4/3 and micro 4/3 cameras. I'm still trying to decide between the three choices. The E-520 kit comes with in body IS and a 70-300mm lens for $700 right now, which is probably the best deal available in terms of price to telephoto range. The bundled 4/3 lenses do seem to be better built if slightly more expensive than their competition, which seems like a good place to get started. I'm just a bit concerned that four thirds will be abandoned as the manufacturers move to micro four thirds instead.

[F8&Bthere]

Hmm, so as a Nikon shooter, which lenses in Nikon's have you found to have a great price/performance ratio?

50/1.8, 18-70/3.5-4.5, 55-200/4-5.6VR, 85/1.8 are all lenses I own that are quite good for the price. They may be sharp, and compact, but all compromises either in that they are normal length primes or consumer grade speed and build quality. Like you said, there's no free lunch. So anything that is longer, faster, sturdier, especially any of those characteristics in combination with a zoom, is going to start getting quite pricey with Nikon.

[Wicked Dark]

Olympus is not abandoning 4/3rds. Why would they?

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk...ws_295946.html

Olympus still committed to Four Thirds DSLRs: Digital Photography Review

Olympus standard grade lenses are the best in class. Sharp, well built and quick. Their mid-grade lenses are the best overall value out there. No premium paid for the label or a special color. Their legacy glass shines as well. I wouldn't use any of it if it wasn't superb.

The 520 kit gets rave reviews from Olympus users all the time as does the 70-300 by itself. Search this group if you want opinions and image examples -

Flickr: Olympus E-System Community

In body IS has been great for me as I can use the technology with virtually any lens that will mount (with adapters you can use Nikon, Olympus and Leica legacy glass, even Minolta and some others). I've had Oly digitals for years and have yet to have dust on my sensor - that technology really works. Price points for all gear are fair and excellent in value. Even entry level cameras feature new technology and improvements - they don't just put them on the high end bodies. There are lots of body choices for different ergonomics and styling. There's a lot for a vanguard to choose from here.

[Fortytwo]

The whole fuss about the 4/3 system began when an Olympus official announced that they were going mirrorless within two years. That fired up the gossip about them abbandoning the 4/3 system to focus on micro 4/3. Olympus now denies this off course.

But it isn't that bad, when you really think about it. Without the mirror, a lot is possible.

The mirror is what's keeping the flagship Canon 1D mkIV from reaching more than 10fps. If Olympus made a mirrorless professional camera, they could easily go to 60fps. How about that for fast shooting!
Shutterlife has no meaning if you don't have a mirror etc. Your camera could last for 100.000.000 frames easily! No moving parts equals reliable camera.
So, even if Olympus does go mirrorless, I would fear to much. Unless I was working for Canon, or Nikon etc...

[Wicked Dark]

I've heard speculation that the reason they don't and/or can't is because they can't get the focus mechanism to work right without a mirror. But Olympus is widely known for engineering first; bringing innovation to their sectors so who knows...they just might figure it out.

[Wicked Dark]

A new 70-300 appreciation thread has started with plenty of photos (even birds!) -

Flickr: Discussing An updated 70-300mm favourite shots thread for me... in Olympus E-System Community

[masp]

Oooh shiny. The shots from that flickr group are excellent. Particularly the horseback rider, the boat, and the squirrel... amazing shots for consumer priced gear. This linked shot at 600mm equiv. and this one are quite impressive. Not sure how if it looks good when pixel peeping, but it's pretty darn good for it's price and size class. How sharp would you rate such shots compared to the competition? Granted, the shutter seems a little slow considering the focal length, so maybe it's not entirely the lens.

Only downside I have read about is the rotating front element on the Olympus 70-300mm, which unscrews your filters when you focus. Do you find that a problem with your lens, or have you found a workaround? I think I would like to use a polarizer on on the 70-300mm if I get it, which might be particularly difficult. There's speculation about a 100-300mm, but it's hard to know how much it will eventually sell for or it's size or weight. Probably more of all three though.

The 70-300mm does seem like the best deal going as far as a beginning telephoto setup though. A 600mm reach and it is so light compared to the other options. Canon seems to come in second with it's 70-200mm which is probably sharper, but only reaches out to 300mm. I guess it's possible to nitpick about the quality of bokeh and stuff, but if you get the right distance and angle, maybe it doesn't really matter that much. I guess you've mostly got me sold on the 4/3 system. It does seem like a great value for photographing birds and it seems like I can use older Pentax and Nikon lenses and perhaps other lenses with the right adapter too. What's interesting is that when I was considering an entry level Nikon, I would have to manually focus if using an older 50mm f/1.8 the same way a 4/3 camera would.

[Hillbillygirl]

One point that no-one seems to be pointing out is the fact that your Tc will also take away light gathering abilities also, and no matter what, it will degrade the image slightly.Try taking a shot of small birds under canopy of trees in shade with such slow lenses and you will be very disappointed.
On your 4-5.6 lens a 1.4X Tc will make it a 5.6-7.84 aperature and you will only have manual focus on most bodies on any aperature over 5.6 with a TC attached.
I would only recommend using a Tc with the highest quality glass. (speaking from experience here).We use both 1.4x and 2x Tc on both our super-telephoto lenses but they are the 300 f2.8L, and the 500 f4L glass which are at the top of the heap in IQ.
I would recommend you take a look here, http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/index.php, real reviews from owners of all lenses.
Hope this helps.

[Wicked Dark]

very true hbg, use of a teleconverter will degrade image quality. I wonder what the person went with in the end.

[ArtTwisted]

for Canon, the 70-200 F4, for nikon the 70-300 VR.