In article <49givg$m9s@www.bconnex.net>, allang@bconnex.net says...
>Can someone tell me what would be a good zoom lens for filming >wildlife, mostly birds. I own a Nikon camera model FE, and (...)
>What is the best deal for a good quality 400 or 500mm zoom lens and >which of these would you recommend (the 400 or 500mm).

If it weren't for the very slow maximum aperture, I would recommend
trying to find a used Cosina 100-500mm f5.6-f8 - the one I have is
quite sharp from 100-400mm, and decent at 500mm. The two Series I
100-500mm's that I tried were poor. Word has it that the 200-400mm
Tamron isn't great, though I have not tried it. For birds, you
probably want a 400mm f3.5 or f2.8, a 500mm f4, or a 600mm f4 -
but those are BIG bucks! If you are good with blinds, you can maybe
get away with a 300mm f4 or f4.5. I have done a little bird shooting
with the Nikkor 500mm f8 and 1000mm f11, but those slow mirrors
limit you to very fast films in good light (and some people hate the doughnuts - what can you do....?). On a tight budget, I am not sure
there is much to choose from except the Cosina 100-500mm or the
Nikkor 500mm mirror (used). Some people like the 400mm f5.6 APO
Sigma, but of the two I tried (neither was the new macro version),
one performed barely adequately, the other was decent, not great.
Hope this helps.