What lenses to upgrade to for Nikon D5000?

<p>So - I recently purchased Nikon 35mm f/1.8 in addition to my Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm that I already have and I gotta say I was loving it the first time around I was using it, until I took it out one day for a mother & daughter photo session outdoors and it appeared to be very noisy! I'm thinking it's due to glare since these lenses works GREAT in low lights and at night, which is why I am gonna hang onto to them. However, my 55-200mm is SHARP and I LOVE it...so I really want a lenses to upgrade to that I can just keep it on my camera 90% of the time without having to switch between lenses cos I do hate doing that. I want something very sharp because I do edit a lot of my pictures and I love bright, clear pictures. I don't want to be TOO close to people but not too far either when I don't have room to back up in several occasions. What I usually do is Engagement photos, family photos, portraits, mostly outdoor shooting and sometimes newborn photos indoors. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated ... I'd love to try to keep budget under 1,000. This is a long term investment that I really want to make because I really want the right and perfect lenses for my new business which is currently developing. </p>

<p>You currently have lenses that range from 18mm to 200mm, which means you have exactly the tools you need (and probably already a lot of shots, with data) to tell you what focal lengths are the most useful to you. So, look at the EXIF data on your existing shots so you can get a sense of how you've already been shooting. <br /><br />But more to the point: when you say the 35/1.8 was "noisy," are you referring to mechanical noise from the lens (something audible, as you were shooting), or digital noise in the resulting images? Or are you talking about some other artifact, like lens flare, or very shallow depth of field? A little more to go on will help, so that you're not chasing other lenses for the wrong reasons.</p>

<p>The Nikkor 17-55 /2.8 is very sharp, much sharper than your 18-55 kt lens. It is a very nice all around lens for your D5000. Expensive, but worth the money.</p>

<p>Since she said "appeared" I'm assuming she's referring to digital noise...However, without an example, it would be kinda hard to pinpoint what she means. IMHO, most digital noise is due to too high of an ISO or underexposure...I wonder if she inadvertently dialed in extra exposure compensation or whether she has an auto ISO setting turned on (more likely the former)</p>

<p>If you don't often shoot longer than 85mm, then the Nikon 16-85 VR would be a good choice for outdoors and indoors with flash. You have the 35mm f/1.8 for shooting indoors without flash. I would also pick up an inexpensive Nikon 50mm f/1.8 for portraits. If you don't have an accessory flash, the Nikon SB-600 is a good choice. You could get all three items for around $1000.</p>

<p>The Nikon 18-200 VR, Sigma 18-250 OS, and Tamron 18-270 VC cover a lot of focal lengths, but they are all a little soft at the long end. If you make prints larger than 8x10, you may object to the softness.</p>

<p>The problem with the 35mm f/1.8 outdoors is probably flare. There is a lens shade made for that lens that may help. Also, if you have a filter on the lens, take it off outside as it could make the flare worse.</p>

<p>Please keep in mind that there is no Nikon 50mm/f1.8 lens that can AF with the D5000. If you don't mind manual focusing, you can use the 50mm/f1.8 AF-D on the D5000.</p>

<p>Yes, I meant that the pictures came out noisy, I was upset that happened during a photo session because while the surroundings were clear and looking great, on people it looked noisy - I don't mind my lenses to be noisy (as in actual noise) at all! It does not bother me since Im hard of hearing...I actually think it's pretty cool, lol.<br>

You know, I was actually looking at the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 The reviews are fantastic too - it seems a lot like what I was looking for. I also was looking at wide angle lenses but I wasn't sure if wide angle is what I'm really looking for in the type of photography I do, so I figured either that or the telephoto zoom would be my best bet.<br>

Also - even tho I have the 35mm lenses and the 55-200mm, my point is I want one lenses that can give me everything I want and what I'm looking for so I don't have to switch out lenses all the time. Like I said, I want lenses that can stay on my camera for at least 90% of the time.</p>

<p>Pamela,<br>

In my xperience, "Noise" in pictures is not caused by a lens, but mostly to either High ISO, long exposure times, a sensor that has heated up, or by the development software to "convert" (RAW) pictures into Jpegs. So you might want to try and produce some "noisy" pictures with your 35mm , and maybe post an example of such a "noisy" picture ?<br>

Otherwise I support a suggestion like the 17-55 f2.8 , ( don't own one but borrowed and tried one recently, and also tempted to go that way now) , which will allw you to shoort indoors and outdoors with neat results. It is a bit heavy though....<br>

Something like a tack sharp, all you need lens isn't there i'm afraid ( like 14-500mm F2.8 lightweight, small fit in your pocket, no CA etc.) , if it was available, it would be the only selling lens in the world i guess... :-)</p>

<p>Yeah sorry - I had it on auto...don't fully know the manual settings as I'm really learning a lot the more I practice and the more I learn from others. <br>

I don't care about weight or how loud lenses are, or how small, I want an amazing lenses that can zoom in (doesn't have to be extremely far), give me amazing quality photos, a great peice of glass, and something that won't require me to do so much editing. I want bright and clear pictures. You get my idea basically.</p>

<p>The <em>photographer</em> is the one who takes great images, not the lens.</p>

<p>You need to look at how you used that 35mm f1.8, because it is very sharp, and since you can shoot at much wider apertures than the kit lens, it does low light great. Full auto for a session like that is a recipe for noisy images, so learn the manual settings, imho, before you buy another lens.</p>

<p>Then, I think you're a prime candidate for a standard f2.8 zoom to replace the kit lens. Nikon, Tamron, and Sigma all make lenses in the 17/18-50/55 range. Check out one of those.</p>

<p><em>".so I really want a lenses to upgrade to that I can just keep it on my camera 90% of the time without having to switch between lenses cos I do hate doing that" </em>A one lens solution would be Nikon's 18-200mm lens.</p>

<p><em>" I love bright, clear pictures"</em> Good lighting is the key to bright, clear pictures.</p>

<p>For indoor photography, you will need a flash for bright, clear pictures regardless of the lens you use. Do you have one?</p>

<p>What focal range are you most interested in? </p>

<p>One step at a time - I don't have a flash because I don't do indoor photography. I will get all that and do that once I've mastered manual settings first and that will take some time for me to really get a hang of. All my photos are indoors except for newborn babies which is easy to do indoors. </p>

<p>When I say clear, bright pictures, I meant detail, quality and sharpness of the pictures. When I say I want high quality pictures, I mean that the photo is High Quality not because of HOW I take them. I already know I can take amazing pictures, what I'm talking about is the details and quality in my photos.</p>

<p>I've played around with the 35mm a lot and I've found my 55-200mm to be a lot more sharper in most of the settings. The focal range I'm looking for can be from wide to 70mm but that doesn't exist so I'll take something close to it at least, and get a sigma wide angle so all I'd have to do is switch lenses to a wide wide between the one lenses that has everything else I'm looking for.</p>

<p>Mmmm still think either Nikon 17-55 f2.8 for a faster lens, or 16-85 3.5-5.6. for a slower lens with good IQ and the range you seem to be asking for...<br>

The 35 f1.8 should give you very sharp images, unless you use it wide open , then images can look less sharp because of shallow DOF , in that case you need to stop it down to f2.8 at least or F4 even better, and use aperture priority if you want to work auto ....</p>

<p>Maybe what you need most is not a lens at all. You mention you take a lot of people shots. What off-camera lighting system do you have?</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>It might be beneficial to post some pictures and explain exactly what is wrong with them. Frankly I am puzzled that you had issues with your 35mm f/1.8. </p>

<p>If you are not getting high quality images, you may need to make adjustments to you camera's settings dealing with sharpness and contrast.</p>

<p>Shooting at f8 or f10 will likely yield the best results with the lenses you have. Since you are shooting outdoors, this should not be an issue. </p>

<p>Hmm - I really need to learn the settings over again and maybe clean the camera inside and on the lenses... I haven't cleaned the inside yet so it's possible that could also be an issue.</p>

<p>While we're on the subject of off lighting system...any suggestions what to use since it's all new to me? </p>

<p>duplicate</p>

<p>Three ways to go on a lighting system, depending on how many people you are lighting at once and how portable you want it to be. You mentioned all your shots are indoors. You could do quite a bit with two Alien Bees B1600 with a softbox and umbrella. Either shoot using a sync cord hooked up to flash shoe, or use radio triggers for cordless. These monolights have a ton of power, each equals about 10 Nikon SB-900. You can light medium sized groups with ease. You can overpower the sun. If you shoot at a fast moving pace (i.e. wedding receptions, events) you could probably get by with two Nikon SB-600, maybe add a Nikon SB-900 as a master. If you want the best of both (lightweight, compact, cheap) you could buy three Nikon SB-28 (older flash,) shoot in manual mode using a flash meter, with umbrellas and radio triggers (such as CyberSyncs or RF-602.) Flash will make the single biggest difference in your people shots. Photography is all about mastering the use of light. With flash, YOU control the light. This is a critical concept that few beginners seem to grasp. They think of cameras and lenses, not Light.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>Wait no - I never shoot indoors - all my shots are outdoors. If I ever do indoors, it's to shoot newborn babies indoors in the winter at their homes.</p>

<p>The monolights can be used outdoors but you'll need at least one of the new Paul Buff Vagabond lithium power packs. If only shooting 1-2 people at a time, the Nikon SB flash will have enough power, barely. You need at least two, three are better.<br />Kent in SD</p>

<p>Pamela,</p>

<p>Since we haven't seen any samples, we really can only guess what your problems and challenges are.</p>

<p>Can you post an example of a bad image please?</p>