Doing a safari next year. Most comments say this is a great budget wildlife lens. Will it work well on safari though at dusk and early morning light?
775020
It's a great lens as long as it's not too dark!! It's fabulous but you definitely need light-- I take beach shots of moving kids at sundown but it's definitely at it's best at the beginning of sundown -- make sure it's not too dark!! It should work really well otherwise. I really think this is a great lens.......especially for action shots!
775021
The answer is a complex maybe. This lens is weak in aperture maxing out at f5.6 at full zoom. This means it needs slow shutter speeds or high ISO in low light such as very early morning or late dusk. If you are shooting still targets, allowing slower shutter, or have a camera that handles higher ISO well, allowing faster shutter, then the lens is fine. In full day the lens is strong, for the money, in my opinion. I have used it to good effect stopping action in sports up to sunset. But I'm using a Canon 5D mk3 which offers strong ISO noise reduction to allow faster shutter. So for dusk and dawn work, the question becomes, will your camera be able to negotiate the aperture gap. Hope this helps. The answer is a complex maybe. This lens is weak in aperture maxing out at f5.6 at full zoom. This means it needs slow shutter speeds or high ISO in low light such as very early morning or late dusk. If you are shooting still targets, allowing slower shutter, or have a camera that handles higher ISO well, allowing faster shutter, then the lens is fine. In full day the lens is strong, for the money, in my opinion. I have used it to good effect stopping action in sports up to sunset. But I'm using a Canon 5D mk3 which offers strong ISO noise reduction to allow faster shutter. So for dusk and... » Read More The answer is a complex maybe. This lens is weak in aperture maxing out at f5.6 at full zoom. This means it needs slow shutter speeds or high ISO in low light such as very early morning or late dusk. If you are shooting still targets, allowing slower shutter, or have a camera that handles higher ISO well, allowing faster shutter, then the lens is fine. In full day the lens is strong, for the money, in my opinion. I have used it to good effect stopping action in sports up to sunset. But I'm using a Canon 5D mk3 which offers strong ISO noise reduction to allow faster shutter. So for dusk and dawn work, the question becomes, will your camera be able to negotiate the aperture gap. Hope this helps. « Show Less
775022
It worked very well for me in Africa. I was able to take great pictures of Lions without being up close.
1436030
I have taken pictures at sunset with no problem. You have to give it time to adjust to the lighting. The zoom is great however lighting levels do suffer because of it. I would not hesitate to take mine to Africa.
358312
I love it with my canon...image quality is great, wide focus ring is very easy to use for manual focus which I love to do. Short distance focus is fun to use along with the wide angle. Low light is very good...loved using it at dusk in Africa. Husband is a Nikon person and is jealous of the pictures. Take care.
1773175
I think this is the best option without going nuts on budget, not cheap not so expensive. Distortion for Architectural is acceptable, obviously the more closer you are you will notice some, its not the 24mm or the zoom but believe me is sharp as hell, even more at f2.5 and f8 ... careful with a lil shift focus at night mostly at f4, other than that im super happy with this lens and i take it to travel a lot
827133
It's a good lens for my needs. I have found the 18-300mm type lenses just don't do all that well, I think too much range to cover but this does well and being a f/2.8 it's better for darker shots. Heavier than a kit lens but worth it in my opinion.
2242944
It performs well in low light, sometimes throws a shadow, but I think that is my inexperience as a user. Wonderful lens!
1096860
it depends on your lens and how dark the environment is. If you have a 2.8 lens you should be fine. If you have a 5.6 lens and it is dark you may have a hard time focusing manually or automatically.
2075463
It works good at a macro but because it is a zoom with AF, it can be difficult to use it as a 'true' macro lens. I prefer to use this for wildlife and landscapes but I have used it for macro. Use the MF if going to use for macro. I hope this makes sense.
1580924
Katherine: We got this lens for my son who loves to take scenic pictures and pictures of the moon at night. He loves it especially for the moon shots. He also uses it during whale season here in Hawaii and has gotten actual pictures of the whales way out. It is a clumsy lens to work with but once you get use to it it works.
2187924
It all depends. The lens is slow and requires a lot of light if you are going to use it with high shutter speed to freeze lets say a hummingbird at a feeder. The autofocus is a little bit slow, if you want to use it for birds in flight such as ducks or seagulls, it can be frustrating. I live in a place with year-round plenty of sun. I use it with a monopod to do bird photography at feeders or the birds still in trees. The lens is big and a little bit heavy. I use the lens with an Oly OMD 5 and a EP2.
1629775
I love mine. I have caught birds in flight (Grand Canyon, Warwick Castle, England). I do not know how it would work at sporting events. I have taken evening shots w/o flash, indoors and outdoors. I had two lenses before and it was a pain. Now I can go from wide angle to zoom and I love it.
1434183
I try to not turn it on in bright light, I've heard it could damage them. I love the binocs, we use them to find hogs. Not as clear as more expensive ones but good for the price.
1125762
If taken outdoor pictures then this will be wonderful lens. I do most landscape and occasionally indoor portraits. It give you very sharp pictures and autofocus is so quick at dark environment. Remember this is a prime lens, not 24-70 nor 70-200 mm F2.8, you have to be very creative and zoom in/out by your foot. I sold mine Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 to get this one and no regret (I like the Sigma very well and was too heavy when hiking, nothing wrong with that lens, just to clarify)
246861
I have.never been on a safari. However,if I went on one I would not hesitate to take this along. It is light, easy to carry in your pack or even your shirt pocket. I would recommed it for any situation where you want a closeup view.
1052129
I got the Nikon 18-140 mm lens for a present along with the Nikon 5200 camera. What a great combination!!! I'm at Disneyworld this week and on the Safari I took a series of photo's of the lioness a hundred feet away at least, from a bumpy vehicle, and I could see each individual whisker on it's face. I am more than satisfied with this lens. I recommend it without any reservations. The focus was right on and
1491657
I have been very pleased...even seems to do well at dusk. It is my go to lens as well...still light enough to carry without a tripod, but not so darn heavy as the 500 lenses.
9878
The autofocus works very fast, accurate and it is easy to quickly select the focus point. To get the best results you should select the smallest focus point and change the release lag time to short. The auto-focus tracking is not as good as DSLR. I am not sure how it compares to comparably priced mirrorless like the sony a6000. It does 3.5 fps with continuous autofocus and 8 fps without continuous autofocus, its not bad, but not as fast as the EM-1 or A6000. The 75 - 300 is not fast on the long end f6.7mm. I think you will be fine, but the EM-1 or A6000 is probably a better choice for a Safari.