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Hello! I would be so grateful for some advice for a beginner. I would like to buy a zoom lens for my Nikon 1 v1 to get started with photographing birds in my yard. I am starting to educate myself about photography terms, but the manufacturer descriptions and photographer's reviews seem to be so far apart to determine what I need. Will I be wasting my time purchasing a 10-100mm/27-270mm (equivalent in 35mm) lens that my current budget allows? And is that lens considered a telephoto?

I will be shooting subjects that are 10-40 feet away in my suburban yard, likely from a tripod. I don't need a close up of the bird's eyeball, just want to be able to see the bird clearly to identify and enjoy.

Or should I wait, save up and get longer (?) focal length lens? 3/400+?

Current budget points me toward this Nikon 1 Nikkor VR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 PD-Zoom Lens: 

$350 Used From B&H: https://bhpho.to/32KLXnf

$390 (with some extras) New from Walmart: https://bit.ly/2pV4EG3

If this 10-100mm lens is a good start, are these two offerings comparable? I'm happy to spend $40 more to get the new lens (my guess is I will not use the extras) but I know B&H is reputable. I am guessing Walmart has this lens sitting around for awhile since the camera is discontinued.

Thank you for any advice,

Katie

The 10-100mm lens would be considered a slightly wide to medium telephoto zoom lens. The telephoto end is a little short for most bird photography, but at 10-20 feet it wouldn't be bad. The extra $40 would get you a longer warranty. The other thing to consider is that the Nikon 1 system is somewhat of a dead end. You might consider saving up for a DX body, like the Nikon D3500, and a 70-300mm which would give you the equivalent of a 105-450mm telephoto.

Alan,

Thank you so much for your thoughts! That is exactly what I needed to know.

Katie

Check out the Nikon coolpix 900. It takes jpegs only, but a new new costs about $600. The zoom lens on it exceeds 1000mm in 35mm equivalent terms. Many birders use it for the same purpose you have identified. If you want Raw and jpeg, look at the coolpix P 1000.

Check out the different camera available at dpreview. It is a great place to search and do comparisons.

Joe

I should have posted Nikon coolpix P900. Zoom range goes to 2000mm.

Joe