Nikon 500mm f/4.0 P ED-IF Nikkor AI-S

This will be a short one: I can endorse almost all the preceding reviewer said, being in a very similar situation. Haven't found any issues yet with the tripod collar and I find the frontward located focusing ring very practical. With a 1.4 Kenko TC the results are still good but the decline in quality is visible (D70 and RAW data), for me reason enough not to try the stronger Kenko TC's. Get one if you feel the need for a really "big gun" and can do without AF.

Useable with all recent Nikon camera bodies Very sharp(as one would expect) Faithful colour rendition Relatively lightweight and fairly easy to carry

Noticeable vignetting up to f/6.7 even on APS-C format sensors, that's why I cannot give it a 5/5 rating

2.8/300 AF (not AFS)

Flawless up to now

The 500mm F4 P lens is a great way to get the advantages of a long lens without excessive cost or weight. The manual focus version is relatively light and quite sharp. Since the lens has a matrix chip, all metering modes are usable. The only thing you really give up with this lens is the autofocus. If I made my living as a bird photographer, this compromise would not be acceptable, but for occasional use spending $5000 on an AF-S lens is not practical. The only real drawback with this lens is the wimpy tripod foot, which prevents a 5-star rating. The lens works fairly well with modified Nikon TC-14E/20E converters. I shot the recent lunar eclipse with the TC-20E, giving me a 1000mm F8 lens.

* Very sharp * Relatively light for hikers * Great price/performance ratio

* Focus ring at far end of lens barrel * Wimpy tripod mounting foot

Sigma 300mm F2.8 APO HSM

Not used