Help needed for nikon lens

The cheapest big lens for your D40x is going to be the 70-300mm VR at about $450. Below that you have the 55-200mm VR at about $230. But you are asking for top quality at a consumer price, so I doubt you will ever be satisfied.

What is your actual budget on this lens?

I'm not sure you were given the right advice regarding a lens with a maximum focal length of 200mm (300mm DX). Bird photography ideally requires very long lenses with large maximum apertures. I suppose an economical but very big compromise would be the AF-S VR Zoom- NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED. Even so, for serious birding, I would save my money for the AF-S VR Zoom- NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED if not a long fixed focal length lens.

Photographing birds, particularly in flight, is very demanding on technique and equipment. In many cases good field technique will substitute for high-end equipment. Without the field technique you can expect to either pay the multiple thousands of dollars on a single lens as many aspiring bird photographers have done, or accept somewhat lower quality in your photos. If you have not already done so I suggest working on field technique as a means of getting better results with more affordable equipment.

He said "not too expensive", Robert. Kinda hard with "birds" in the same sentence.

Back to the OP. Your picture wasn't up yet when I posted.

It looks as though the water is sharper than the bird, so I'm going to guess it's poor technique and not a lens issue. Your 1/1000th shutter shoud have been enough to capture the bird much sharper, and since the water is sharper than the bird, I am guessing you did not pan (or you stopped the pan early). Work on your panning skills.

if you're just starting to learn the ropes, you probably would be pretty well served with the 70-300mm f:/4.5-5.6 VR. no, it doesn't have a large aperture, but can give you pretty decent reach while you work on your technique. as noted above, even lacking expensive, high-end equipment, that's your best bet for getting what you're after. i don't claim to be a great bird photographer, but i'm patient and working at it.

Well if VR is required, then 'not too expensive' cannot be met...

My suggestion is a 300mm manual lens... On your camera that is the equivalent of a 450mm lens... Then work on your focusing and panning technique... After all, this is the way is was done for generations with film cameras and they made great shots...

denny

Its just like buying a tripod. People will successively buy one inadequate tripod after another for the sake of what is eventually realized as false economy. In the end, they buy the tripod they should have purchased in the first place after spending a small fortune for all the wrong equipment.

Just save your money now and buy the right equipment the first time. You will also save yourself a lot of frustration and disappointment in the long run.

"Just save your money now and buy the right equipment the first time."

I disagree. I used eight different 300mm (or so) lenses before I understood what the right equipment for my needs was. Each of these lenses taught me more about what I wanted from a 300mm lens so that when I eventually spent the big bucks on the "right" lens it was the right lens for me, not the "right" lens for the typical user. Most of these lenses were either borrowed or purchased used so there was little if any money lost in buying and re-selling the "wrong" lenses, and the "right" lens would have been gross overkill until my technique was sufficiently developed to take advantage of its capabilities.

All three photos here were taken with a 70-300 VR. It's a good lens to start with BUT, as stated earlier it's not very good for birds in flight because it simply doesn't have the reach. The bird here is a VERY big bird!