Nikon wide prime around $300

I have a D100 and I need a wide prime to go with the 50 1.4 I plan to purchase. I am a Canon user and I

don't know much about the Nikon world ( I need this for my work studio )

 

I also plan to get a Canon Flash SB 800 or 600.

 

So I guess I have a few questions

 

1. Which wide prime is a good choice that is no more then $300

2. Which Flash Sb800 or 600?

3. A good affordable way to get the flash off the camera

 

Thanks

Sorry my question better formatted

 

1. Which wide prime is a good choice that is no more then $300

 

2. Which Flash Sb800 or 600?

 

3. A good affordable way to get the flash off the camera

Tommy,

 

Try the Nikkor 24mm f2.8 AFD prime. It's around $300 and on your D100 (as well as my

D300) it's roughly equivalent to a 35mm lens on an SLR film camera. It's a great walk-

around lens, good depth-of-field and clarity (but allows shallow DoF, when desired, with

the fairly fast f2.8 aperture), it's light, and comes with it's own little metal hood. Makes

slinging your dSLR fast and light over your shoulder.

 

----David.

There is no truly wide prime that fits your description, since wide on a DX sensor is 18mm or

less. Go a little higher price and get the excellent Sigma 10-20 or Tokina 12-24 for truly

wide use. You can get an older flash used, I think, too, that will work on a D100 as well as

the SB600 or 800. Others will chime in with that.

24 or a 35 is fine. I just need something wide enough for a small group shot. Also, and sorry

if this is a dumb question. What is Nikkor? is Nikon and Nikkor 2 different things?

a used Nikon 20mm 2.8D is around that money.

 

other than that is going to be hard to get a Nikon wide prime for $300

 

the 18mm 2.8G sells for twice that and the 14mm 2.8D used sells for about 1G :/

*sorry, 18mm 2.8D, NOT "G"

Tommy,

 

A 35mm effective field of view lens would be fine for small groups. Just zoom with your feet if you need a

bit more or less. That would put you squarely in the 24mm 2.8 that I'm talking about. Nikkor is the name

for the Nikon-branded and produced lenses.

 

I have the Tokina 12-24 f4 wide zoom that Peter recommends, and I like it. It does show some chromatic

aberration in high-contrast scenarios, though, as well as being heavier. But, it's built like a tank and not as

expensive as the Nikkor glass. It's my only non-Nikon lens. It's too wide for general use, though, like

shooting people, unless you keep it at 24mm...but that zoom ring is mighty tempting, and then you start

getting distortions to your subjects (people start looking a bit unnatural). It adds wonderful drama to urban

landscapes, though.

 

Hope this helps.

 

David.

I have the 20mm that I use on my D300 but want to get an AFD prime 24mm (I have the manual focus). The 20mm is quite a bit more bulky and heavier than the 24mm. and the 24mm (35mm on digital) is perfect for groups.

The 24mm AF-D is quite a good lens and is in your budget. The 20mm is wider but has serious issues with the edges.

Thanks all, I think I am going with the following for the D100

 

1. Nikon Normal AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus

 

2. Nikon 24mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

 

3. Nikon SB-800 AF Speedlight Flash

 

4. Sto-Fen OM-SB5 Omni-Bounce for Nikon SB-800

 

I assume there is no compatibility issue with these items and my camera. How about something to get the flash off the

camera?

 

Again I appreciate all the advice I am lost trying to figure out Nikon products coming from canon.

When I was using 35mm film cameras, I really like the 35mm lens for small group shots. If you use something like a 24mm (again, on 35mm film/FX format), you tend to distort the people on the two ends.

 

For the D100's DX format (1.5x "crop factor"), a 24mm should work in the same fashion.

 

The D100 is an older DSLR that uses D-TTL flash. The corresponding flashes from that era are the SB-28DX and the later SB-80 DX. However, both the (current i-TTL flashes) SB-800 and SB-600 can drop back to the D-TTL mode to work with the D100. So you might as well get the SB-800/SB-600 for future compatibility. The SB-800 has more power, can accept a 5th battery and an external power pack for faster recycle time. If you can afford the extra $140 or so, you are better off getting the SB-800.

 

To get the flash off your camera, you can use an SC-28 or SC-29 flash cord; the older SC-17 also works. Since your D100 is not i-TTL compatible, you need to upgrade your camera to take advantage of that feature. See also:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008mhJ

For small groups, the 24 should be good (on a DX body). Go wider than that and you need to watch out for wideangle distortion at the corners.

What do you mean by 'Something to get the flash off the camera?"

 

Do you mean a way to control the flash when it is disconnected from the camera? Or do you mean a piece of hardware like a flash bracket that will hold the flash off of the camera?

You don't need the Omni-Bounce -- the SB-800 comes with an equivalent diffusion dome.

disconnected. I guess a pocketwizard?

You can set the SB-800 to slave mode and have it just fire in conjunction with the on-camera flash. Not a great solution but one. Or you can get the SU-800 and that will control the SB-800. Or pocket wizard or one of the cheap ebay variants.

I bought all of my primes used, each for less than $300. OK, the 85mm was just over. I have 20mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2.0, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, all AF-D.

I had the 60mm f/2.8 (yup, less than $300), but sold it to help fund the new 60mm.

You don't need Omni-Bounce or diffusion dome fot group shots. It will make no difference, on the other hand it shall reduce the flash power.

Diffusion dome makes difference only at very short distances or in a very tight rooms.

Regards,

Janez