D40, new lens, user tips please :o)

Hi guys, apologies once again for not being around, being unable to use my camera was getting me very down and I did`nt want to have it casting over anything I might have posted so a break felt like a wise option.

So now, tonight after being cheesed off long enough I spent my food money [ well most of it ], on a new lens

No it`s not expensive compared to the kit many of you have but hey I can only get what I can afford and nope its not a Nikkor, [ way too soon to part with cash for their own stuff given the crap quality of the duff kit kens which came with my camera ], so I went for .... drumroll.....

The Tamron AF 70-300, F/4-5.6

The specs are :
Min focus distance 1.5m
Max Mag Ratio 1:2 at Macro 300mm

[ which means not a lot to me yet ]

Compared to the 18-55 it`s huge so will take a bit of getting used to, typically the camera battery needs charging so I have`nt been able to do anything yet other than attach the lens and take a couple of `nothing` shots just to make sure it worked so I thought now would be a good time to ask for tips and hints and if possible any examples of what I can expect for close up and long distance with this lens [ don`t have to be from a Tamron but just some shots showing how far I can hope to get decent shots at ie distance for birds/wabbits etc ], it has a lens hood but I don`t know much about them other than the blurb which came with the lens.

I am planning on getting a tripod and a remote/cord button thingy to take shots with once it`s set up to a target so I don`t have to be holding it the whole time or losing a good spot because of me moving [ ie between dogs at training ].

If anyone thinks it`s a bad choice of lens please just let me know the limitations rather than `if you`d got this or that other one` cos I just could`nt afford this or that other one with the range this once should have, as far as my limited understanding goes anyway. [ The Nikkor 70-300 was £499 - er no chance ]

*I did look up various lenses and made many comparisons, made a short list, then ended up letting instinct decide which to go for between the shortlisted ones so that`s that, got it now, just need to know how to get the best out of it pretty please

This is a decent lens but requires some care to get the best from it. The effective focal length in 35mm terms is 105-450mm so you may be struggling to get sharp handheld shots at longer focal lengths. Also longer focal lengths mean shallower depth of field so you will need to set up your focussing very carefully for action shots. I think you will get a bit frustrated until you get the hang of it trying to pre-focus on a spot dogs will jump into if you are intending to do stuff similar to that you have done before.

You will need a fast-ish shutter speed, approx equivelant to focal length i.e. 100mm =1/125th 450mm = 1/500th to prevent camera shake let alone freezing movement so this combined with stopping down a couple of stops to get the best quality out of the lens plus reasonable depth of field will mean you may have to up your ISO in camera to 400 or possibly more.

If you use a tripod then obviously you won't have so much flexibility of movement but you may be able to set up shots beforehand. A monopod may be a better option.

Hope that helps a little.

Nice one - look forward to your pics Patch

Congrats! I look forward to seeing what you can do with it - it must have cheered you up no end to get your hands on another lens.

xx

Thanks guys, first photos with this lens now being posted in Beginners section *gulp*