Discover the best used lenses for wildlife and nature photography. Explore affordable telephoto and wide-angle lens options for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Sigma, and Tamron that deliver stunning results on a budget.

The Best Used Lenses for Wildlife and Nature Photography

Wildlife and nature photography demand specialized gear to capture subjects that are often distant, elusive, and in constant motion. Telephoto reach, fast autofocus, and sharp optics are essential for bringing the beauty of the natural world into stunning focus. However, new professional-grade lenses can be prohibitively expensive, especially for hobbyists and aspiring photographers.

The good news is that the used lens market is filled with excellent options that deliver professional-level performance at a fraction of the original price. Whether you’re shooting birds, mammals, or scenic landscapes, investing in used lenses for wildlife and nature photography is a smart and budget-friendly approach.

In this article, we’ll explore the best used lenses across popular brands—Canon, Nikon, Sony, and more—that excel in capturing wildlife and nature in all their glory.

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What to Look for in a Wildlife/Nature Lens

Before diving into specific lens recommendations, it’s important to understand the key features that matter most in wildlife and nature photography:

1. Focal Length (Reach): A long focal length (300mm and above) is crucial for photographing distant subjects without disturbing them.
2. Aperture: Wide apertures (f/2.8–f/5.6) allow for faster shutter speeds and better low-light performance.
3. Autofocus Speed & Accuracy: Fast-moving subjects require lenses with reliable autofocus tracking.
4. Image Stabilization (IS/VR/OSS): Helps in reducing camera shake when shooting handheld, especially with long telephoto lenses.
5. Build Quality & Weather Sealing: Nature photographers often shoot in harsh environments, so robust construction is a plus.

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Best Used Canon Lenses for Wildlife Photography

1. Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (Version I)

• Focal Length: 100-400mm
• Why it’s great: A versatile telephoto zoom with excellent reach, solid image quality, and built like a tank.
• Image Stabilization: Yes (2-stop IS)
• Used Price Range: $600–$900
• Ideal For: Bird photography, safaris, and general wildlife shooting.

2. Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM

• Focal Length: 400mm prime
• Why it’s great: Lightweight, razor-sharp, and fast-focusing. While it lacks IS, its optical performance is outstanding for its price.
• Image Stabilization: No
• Used Price Range: $800–$1000
• Ideal For: Birds in flight, wildlife in good lighting conditions.

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Best Used Nikon Lenses for Wildlife Photography

3. Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED

• Focal Length: 300mm prime
• Why it’s great: A sharp and compact telephoto prime known for its excellent optical performance.
• Image Stabilization: No (but sharp enough to compensate)
• Used Price Range: $500–$700
• Ideal For: Wildlife in controlled or good light settings.

4. Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

• Focal Length: 200-500mm
• Why it’s great: A budget wildlife photography powerhouse, offering incredible reach and sharpness with VR.
• Image Stabilization: Yes (VR)
• Used Price Range: $900–$1200
• Ideal For: Bird photography, wildlife at a distance, safaris.

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Best Used Sony Lenses for Wildlife Photography

5. Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS

• Focal Length: 100-400mm
• Why it’s great: Professional-grade zoom with lightning-fast autofocus, optical excellence, and OSS stabilization.
• Image Stabilization: Yes (OSS)
• Used Price Range: $1600–$2000
• Ideal For: Wildlife, sports, nature photography with Sony mirrorless cameras.

6. Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS

• Focal Length: 70-300mm
• Why it’s great: A more budget-friendly zoom for Sony users, offering solid reach and stabilization.
• Image Stabilization: Yes (OSS)
• Used Price Range: $900–$1200
• Ideal For: Wildlife enthusiasts who need a versatile, lightweight telephoto option.

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Best Used Third-Party Lenses for Wildlife

7. Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary

• Mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F
• Focal Length: 150-600mm
• Why it’s great: Exceptional reach with reliable autofocus, lightweight compared to its “Sports” sibling, and excellent value.
• Image Stabilization: Yes (OS)
• Used Price Range: $800–$1000
• Ideal For: Birders and wildlife photographers needing extra focal length without breaking the bank.

8. Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD (G1)

• Mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F
• Focal Length: 150-600mm
• Why it’s great: Tamron’s first-generation ultra-telephoto zoom, offering solid sharpness and effective stabilization.
• Image Stabilization: Yes (VC)
• Used Price Range: $700–$900
• Ideal For: Beginners and hobbyists looking to get into wildlife photography.

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Great Used Lenses for Nature & Landscape Photography

While wildlife photographers often seek telephoto lenses, nature and landscape shooters benefit from wide-angle and mid-range zooms to capture vast scenic views.

9. Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

• Focal Length: 17-40mm
• Why it’s great: An affordable wide-angle L-series lens perfect for landscapes, with robust weather sealing.
• Used Price Range: $350–$500
• Ideal For: Nature landscapes, wide scenic shots, waterfalls.

10. Nikon AF-S 16-35mm f/4G ED VR

• Focal Length: 16-35mm
• Why it’s great: Sharp, stabilized wide-angle zoom ideal for landscape and nature photography.
• Used Price Range: $600–$800
• Ideal For: Handheld landscape shooting, wide nature scenes.

11. Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS Vario-Tessar T*

• Focal Length: 16-35mm
• Why it’s great: High-quality wide-angle zoom with OSS, perfect for landscape and nature photography.
• Used Price Range: $800–$1000
• Ideal For: Travel, landscapes, forest photography.

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Why Buy Used Lenses for Wildlife and Nature Photography?

1. Significant Cost Savings: Used lenses can save you 30–50% compared to new models, especially in the telephoto range where prices are steep.
2. High-Quality Optics Age Well: Lenses, especially professional-grade telephotos, are built to last and deliver consistent optical performance for years.
3. Access to Specialized Lenses: You can afford specialty lenses (like a 600mm zoom) that might be out of reach if bought new.
4. Expand Your Kit Faster: With the money saved, you can invest in accessories like sturdy tripods, gimbals, and camouflage covers.

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Tips for Buying Used Wildlife Lenses

• Inspect for Wear and Tear: Check the lens barrel, mount, and filter threads for signs of damage.
• Test Autofocus Performance: Ensure the lens locks focus quickly and accurately.
• Check Image Stabilization Functionality: For lenses with IS/VR/OSS, verify that stabilization is operational.
• Inspect Optics for Dust and Fungus: Shine a flashlight through the lens to spot any internal issues.
• Buy from Reputable Sellers: Opt for camera stores with return policies or warranty options when possible.

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Conclusion

Capturing breathtaking images of wildlife and nature doesn’t require the latest and most expensive gear. The used lens market is filled with exceptional telephoto and wide-angle lenses that can meet the demands of serious photographers while being gentle on your budget.

Whether you need the reach of a Sigma 150-600mm for bird photography or the wide, sweeping views of a Canon 17-40mm for landscapes, there are numerous used lenses that deliver professional results without the premium price tag.

With thoughtful research and careful inspection, you can build a wildlife and nature photography kit that allows you to explore the great outdoors and bring home images that do justice to its beauty.

When taking photos of structures one of the challenges that confronts professional photographers is that of Converging Verticals? Converging Verticals is a term utilized to describe the impact in images when 2 parallel lines in an image (such as the two sides of a building) appear to get closer (converge)- as if they are leaning in towards one another at the top (as in the picture to the left which is of the Rialto towers in Melbourne- towers that do not get narrower towards the top up until the last few floorings). The result is most obvious when you angle your camera up when taking a picture of a high structure in an effort to fit all of it in. It’s particularly obvious when utilizing a wide angle lens.

What should a photographer do about converging verticals?

Professional photographers have a number of alternatives available to them.

Improve it – as with all types of distortions in photography- one alternative is to improve it and utilize the Converging Verticals to attain a more remarkable image. You can enhance the assembling lines, however, getting closer to the structure, angling your video camera even more and by using wider angle lenses.

Reduce it – if you desire to avoid the converging verticals in electronic camera you will most likely need to move further back from the structure that you’re photographing. This will mean you will probably get more of the foreground in your end image- but you can always crop this later on. Another method to get more parallel to the building is to take the shot from higher up.

Correct it – if you are not able to alter the point of view that you are shooting from and just end up with assembling lines in your shots another option is to do some post production editing. Most image modifying software will have some way of doing this. For example, in Photoshop Elements there’s a ‘Transform- Viewpoint’ option in the ‘Image’ menu. This is how the image to the right had its converging verticals corrected.

Modification Lenses – finally, if you have a budget plan and will be taking a great deal of architectural images you may like to invest in a unique lens that has the capability to correct converging verticals. These Viewpoint Control/Tilt Shift lenses are able to move the lens axis (or optical centre) to make up for the distortion. Such lenses are not inexpensive – so unless you’re going to be getting seriously into the photography of buildings you may wish to utilize one of the other choices mentioned above to repair the problem of converging verticals.

What is a wide angle lens? All lenses with a very short focal length are called wide-angle . The focal length here is roughly between 10mm & 40mm. But what does that mean? Such a short focal length has a significantly larger angle of view than the human eye. We would have to turn our heads to capture the entire scene (or use both eyes 😉) The camera can capture all of this in one picture. So we can easily get a very large subject or a normal subject with little space in one picture.

What can I use a wide angle lens for?

Wide-angle lenses are very popular in landscape photography, but can be used in all areas. Whenever you have a large subject or there is not much space available, a wide angle is used. It can now be a gigantic landscape, a large building, or a small apartment that is to be rented out. Yes, it is also great to use a wide-angle lens in a small apartment, because it not only makes the apartment look bigger, but is also the only way to get the entire space in the picture.

In which areas is a wide angle still used?

Actually, whenever I want to show a lot of the surroundings. This can of course also be the case with a portrait. As you can see in this example, you can see the details in the picture as well as an incredible amount of the background. If I go more into the partial area and use a 35mm lens instead of a 17mm, we still have a lot of background in the picture, but significantly less than before.

Wide angle shot at 35mm

Wide angle shot at 17mm

The wide angle effect

Taking pictures with one has a certain effect on your pictures. First of all, everything seems bigger. The distance between the individual elements in your photo looks like there are several meters between them. The smaller the focal length, the stronger this effect is.

Subjects that are very close to the camera appear very large and puffed up and the further you are away from the camera, the smaller everything looks. I have the following example for you.

The arm in the picture looks huge, but the head is almost normal

Wide angle distortion

The extreme angle of view that a wide-angle lens brings with it not only results in the wide-angle effect, but also other distortions that cannot be avoided.

Here one speaks of a perspective distortion. The shorter the focal length , the closer the subject and the greater the angle of inclination, the stronger this effect becomes.

A perfect example of this is supportive lines. If you photograph lines (for example of high-rise buildings) from below or from above, it looks as if the lines are falling over. This can also happen if the lines are on the edge of the image.

This effect can be avoided by photographing the building from the front on the same level as possible. However, this is not always necessary, because it sometimes looks great when you integrate the effect of the “falling lines” in your subject and intensify it even further with a deep perspective.

The lanterns on the side lean slightly towards the centre as the picture was photographed from a deep perspective

No crashing lines as the picture was just photographed from a higher perspective

Focus range with the wide-angle lens

If you want to work a lot with a low focus range, it is difficult with a wide angle. Because the shorter the focal length , the larger the focus area. A diaphragm 4 on a wide angle therefore has a significantly larger field of focus than on a telephoto lens. You should definitely keep this in mind when buying a wide-angle lens. If you like to take photos with blurring, you should either pay attention to a large revelation when buying or use the normal lens. Because an aperture 1.8 on a 50mm, for example, cannot be compared with a 1.8 on a wide-angle lens e.g. B. 18mm.

Naturally, the terrific strides forward in digital SLR innovation (and digital photography in general) aren’t restricted to sensor advancements. Other elements of the electronic cameras, including lenses and devices, have seen significant enhancements, too. Here are some of the most important:

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chips

As sensors get more and much better information, advanced signal processing chips have actually to be developed to transform the analogue information caught to digital format, while enhancing it to produce much better images. Some cams have two DSP chips to improve throughput even more.

Built-in High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography

Among the limitations of digital sensors is their inability to tape-record details in both the brightest highlights and darkest shadows at the same time. Some suppliers, consisting of Sony, are pioneering electronic cameras with the capability to snap off several exposures in a row, and after that integrate them to produce an optimized, “HDR” image. Within a few years, I expect that either sensing units will improve to the point where built-in HDR isn’t needed or, if not, this will end up being a basic feature in all DSLRs.

Global positioning system (GPS) tagging

Almost any DSLR can be fitted with some sort of GPS tagging device. There are a lot of reasons marking each picture with information on where and when it was taken is useful that GPS tagging need to be a basic feature within five years, also.

More common WiFi assistance

Anticipate to see more cameras with assistance for WiFi, either constructed right into the electronic camera, or, as is now the case, in the form of menu setup options (discovered in numerous Canon and Nikon DSLRs) readily available to anyone who inserts an Eye-Fi card in their video camera (The Eye-Fi company ceased business in 2016, yet, there are other alternatives). Today, you can upload your images immediately to any social media, immediately, as you shoot, if you lie near a WiFi hotspot. When “tethering” becomes more prevalent, your camera will piggyback onto the instant WiFi hotspots that will be offered by your iPad/tablet computer system, smart device, MiFi gizmo, or other gadget no matter where you are.

Storage innovations

More cams have double memory card slots, enabling you to shoot longer (utilizing “overflow” mode); replicate your images onto two cards for security or instant sharing (in “backup” mode); or do even more effective backup by saving RAW files on one card, and a JPEG variation on the other. Some electronic cameras allow you to choose which of your 2 cards will be utilized for, state, movies, which benefit from storage on “faster” memory cards (if the pair in your cam are unequal in speed). Naturally, capacities and speeds of the cards themselves are enhancing: 64GB Compact Flash and Secure Digital cards have actually lastly become budget-friendly, and new requirements with higher capacities and faster speeds, like SDXC have promise when more video cameras (and other gadgets) support them. Nikon, SanDisk, and Sony have unveiled specifications for a much faster type of Compact Flash sd card, too, with transfer rates of as much as 500MB/s, instead of the 167MB/s limit of the most current Compact Flash 6.0 requirement.

3D photography

Now we’re seeing 3D tv sets, and cameras from vendors like Sony that can produce 3D images using a single optical system (although you may have to view them in the electronic camera, doing not have an easy alternative playback system). My opinion is that 3D imaging will peak as soon as again really soon and then die away up until the next hardware innovation comes along that makes it slightly less impractical than today.

Other Bits and Pieces

Digital SLRs are ending up being smaller in size, particularly in the area of Four Thirds format cameras. More cameras have rotating LCDs that let you adjust your angle of view for Live View shooting or image evaluation.

Rise of the anti-DSLR

So-called electronic-viewfinder/interchangeable lens (EVIL) video cameras are changing DSLRs for some applications where compact size is valued. These cams do not have a mirror. Sony has already introduced slightly bulkier cameras that do have a mirror, but which use the non-moving, semi-transparent mirror to bounce part of the light to an auto-focusing part instead of to a watching system.