RailRoadFan.com

I'm in the market for a new lens for railfanning. I've found that I generally prefer the way telephoto shots come out compositionally, and as such have been shooting with a Nikkor 55-200 F4-5.6 G ED lens on my D7000 a lot lately. Unfortunately I'm not too happy with how this lens takes pictures; the shots seem to come out pretty soft overall (both in focus and color). I also shoot with a Sigma 18-50 F2.8 EX Macro HSM and a Nikkor 50 F1.8 D, both of which I am very happy with the picture quality (especially the prime lens), but again I do prefer the telephoto shots.

Any suggestions from the Nikon shooters on here for a better telephoto lens to add to my collection that won't break the bank (college student - no money!)? I've been looking on KEH and have found a few lenses that sound promising and are very reasonably priced, but I don't want to waste time and money on something that won't boost my image quality. I try to only buy bodies that have a built in AF motor to keep options wide for lenses and I don't mind if a lens isn't very well suited to video since I usually use my 50 for that, but if its suited well for video that's a nice plus.

This is an example of the kind of lenses I've been looking at, but I'm concerned it is just the same quality as the 55-200 I already have but just with a different zoom range:
https://www.keh.com/shop/nikon-nikkor-7 ... -55-1.html

Thanks for any advice you folks can give!

Well, Telephoto lenses are more expensive overall, What Focal Length are you hoping for?

(Please get a lens hood...)

The 55-200 is a kit lens so that explains why it isn't the sharpest. The 70-300 AF-P lens from KEH will not auto focus on your D7000.

I used a 70-300 AFS type G VR DX lens when I shot with Nikon's. It's a good lens & it will work on a D7000. Best read up on few lens reviews.

I have bought used from KEH & MPB.com. Both are good, but MPB usually gets my money.

Hope this helps.

Edit.... As Talk says, get a lens hood & use it.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/449 ... 56EALw_wcB

https://www.mpb.com/en-us/used-equipmen ... -if-ed-vr/

Thanks for the feedback on that lens! I'm looking for a little longer on the zoon range for cheaper lenses; up to 200 or 300 mm. I unfortunately don't currently use a lens hood because my 55-200 is very well used and the hood doesn't snap into place anymore so it just works it's way off.

I did buy my body from KEH and had a great experience, I'll check out MBP too.

Found this nice Nikon lens compatibility chart. You may find it useful.

https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compa ... y-lens.htm

The only longer zoom I've shot is Nikon's 80-200 f2.8. It's a great lens optically. It's over shadowed by the 70-200 and the "one touch" version can be found fairly inexpensively. The two downsides to this lens are, 1) headlight and ditch lights ghost as you get close to shooting nose on to the locomotive. 2) It's heavy. Maybe 2lbs. I pretty much settled in on a 24-105 as my everyday lens and haven't felt the need to go longer than 200mm.

One of the difficulties reading lens reviews is sharpness heavily weighted by perception and it's described with unmeasurable terms. What does "tack sharp" really mean? Different subjects and style have different needs as well. The 70-300mm reviews fairly well. If I were in your shoes and wanted the reach I'd probably give it a go when I found a decent used copy.

I've bought from MPB and would again.

Check your technique with the 55-200. Longer lenses are more susceptible to movement. I find support makes a difference and prefer to pre-focus if it's a shot I'm setting up ahead of time.