I need a new 300+mm lens but still in high school so still on budget under $300?

At the moment I shoot with my Nikon d7100 but i'm using an very old tamron af 70-300mm f 4-5.6 ld tele-macro and I get a purple haze over whites sometimes and the lens is not very sharp at all. I have been doing some wildlife photography lately mainly a kingshisher, but I'm just not happy with the quality of the images. I would like something over 300mm or just a prime 300mm but the cash starts to raze with those big tele-photo lenes. Any suggestions?

I don't know

Use second hand shops and eBay.

The Nikon 70-300 4.5-5.6 VR is a fine lens and not that expensive (as lenses go, of course). New it's around 500 USD, but used you can find them significantly cheaper. I'd bet that it's more optically impressive than the Tamron.

http://www.nikonusa.com/...if-ed.html

Lack of sharpness isn't just down to the lens though. Too slow a shutter speed and always shooting wide open (cheaper lenses are rarely at their sharpest wide open) are other possibilities. Make sure you've ruled out the other possibilities before you start thinking about a new lens.

Check out used camera equipment sites, like KEH.com and B&H Photo (in NYC). Stick with the Nikon brand rather than those 3rd party lenses; you'd be better off with a USED Nikon lens than a new generic brand lens. I've owned a 70-300mm lens I bought used well over a decade ago and I have never had an issue or complaint.

Suggestion: Make do with what you have. Buy a better lens when you have the money from a good paying job already.

With that budget, you have really only 2 choices… The Nikon 70-300 ED and the Nikon 70-300 VR. The ED isn't made anymore, it was replaced with the VR model. Both can be found within your budget in the used market.

I have the Tamron 70-300, I don't have the issues you do with that lens. It is slow and noisy, but other than that image quality has not been as issue.

You might find something like the Tamron 200-400 within your budget, but image quality is mediocre at best with that one. Another option would be an old Sigma 135-400, decent enough but not stellar, in the used market.

That seems not going to happen

I think you can't find a camera lens 300mm but $300