Lens recommendation?

[cocosmom]

Hi everyone - I have a Nikon d50 with 18-55mm and 55-200MM lenses - I would love to be able to take some really good shots of the moon and wildlife etc - what lense would you recommend?
Just an amateur looking to improve...
Jean

[djwixx]

A good cheap option to start with would be the 70-300VR F4.5-F5.6. As cheap lenses go it's pretty good, but anyone with quality lenses would say otherwise. Given your specs it seems like you may want something longer so the 80-400VR might be a consideration, but it's twice the price. You haven't mentioned a budget, so another alternative might be a 70-200 F2.8 with a 1.7TC to get the extra reach, but you're looking at $2,000 for that setup and a very heavy camera!

If price really is an issue you wouldn't do badly with a Tamron 70-300 with a Tamron 1.4TC or 1.7TC and a good tripod. The Tamron 28-300VC might also be a consideration for range and length, but it won't be very sharp and will be slow at long end at F6.3

All in all, it mostly depends on your budget.

P.S. If you want to extend the capability of your 55-200 (hopefully VR) you might want to consider getting the Nikon 3T and 4T closeup filters to give you close to macro options.
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