Which budget telephoto lens is better for photographing the moon on a Nikon D3100: 55-200mm or 55-300mm?
Asked 6/15/2014
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I’m a hobbyist using a Nikon D3100 with the 18-55mm kit lens, and I’d like to photograph the moon. I’m choosing between a 55-200mm lens and a 55-300mm lens, and I’m on a tight budget for personal use. Which focal length would be the better choice for moon photography?
Originally by user29629. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user29629
12y ago
2 Answers
2
If you want to come anywhere close to filling the frame when photographing the moon focal length is everything. Get the longest focal length lens you can afford. Unless you can afford a 1000mm+ lens, you will still need to crop your images for the moon to fill most of the frame.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For moon photography, the 55-300mm is the better choice. The moon is small in the frame, so focal length matters a lot—the longer the lens, the larger the moon will appear.
Even at 300mm on a Nikon D3100, the moon still won’t fill the frame, so you should expect to crop your images. A 200mm lens will make that even harder. In general, unless you move into very long super-telephoto territory, you’ll still be cropping for a close-up moon shot.
So if your main goal is photographing the moon and you’re deciding only between those two lenses, choose the longest focal length you can afford: 55-300mm.
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