D70 - but which lenses?

[nelson_bell]

I am new to SLR photography and about to purchase a D70. I have read

some reviews and forums looking for insight into the best lens

choices. I think I'll go with the kit (DX 18-70). But I need a

second lens that can provide great interior room shots (lower light

& wide angle), the Sigma 12-24 f/4.5-6.5 EX is $700 (ouch!) is this

a good choice/value or are there other recomendations for this

camera?

[richard_laepple]

The 1.8/50 is a bargain for about 100$. You can't go wrong with it, one of the best prime lenses at all. F1.8 is perfect for low light situations, but 50mm on a DSLR is the same as 75mm on a film camera. If you want a fast wide angle you have to spend a lot more. Fast zooms are very expensive. The Sigma is rather slow (and costs 700!), not a good choice for low light IMO. I'd suggest go for the kit lens, f3.5 at the short end is not bad and you have a good lens for general photography. The problem is, the kit lens has some vignetting wide open at the short end. Perhaps you can test it before buying. If this is a problem for your kind of photography go for a additional 2.8/20 or 24 prime.

[dominic_.]

The 35/2 or 35/1.4 for "normal" perspective on a D70, and maybe a 20mm (30mm) would suffice for interior shots?

[chris haake]

The 50/1.8 is a great lens, but with the 1.5x crop factor, it won't be very useful for "room shots." Instead, go with the 35 f/2 (which is like a 52.5mm f/2 on the D70) or the Sigma 28 f/1.8 (which is like a 42mm f/1.8). Since you're talking about "room shots," which I assume would include a large proportion of the room and not just one or two people in it, the Sigma would be a better way to go. You can sometimes get them used at KEH.com or other web sites. Have fun!

[joenieters]

With my D70 I decided to pass on the 18-70 even though it is a good value. Instead I chose the following Nikon lenses;

 

- 20mm/1.8 D

 

- 50mm/1.4 D (although the 1.8 may work for you)

 

- 105mm/2.8 D Micro

 

- 28-200mm/3.5-5.6 G

 

Pretty happy with these so far and plan to add something like 12-24 later.

[armando_roldan]

I just got a mint Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-4.5 for $350 on Ebay and couldn't be happier with it and its faster and cheaper than the 12-24mm Sigma. And one thing about low light, the D70 can use ASA1600 and you can always use a tripod if the lighting is that bad.

[scott_warn]

The 18-70 Kit lens is an excellent lens and does give a 27-105, 35mm perspective on the D70. You may find that the 27mm perspective is wide enough for your needs because it is fairly wide. That said, I have found that a 24mm, on 35mm film, is really a better choice in tight quarters and do understand why you are interested in the 12-24mm lenses. The Sigma has been well received on the net and is probably your only inexpensive option. I know, 700 bucks isn't really cheap but, I have been looking at so many 1200 to 1600 dollar lenses (12-24 DX & 70-200m VR is what I lust for), that a 700 dollar lens is starting to seem inexpensive. I know that it isn't really what you wanted, but any other option will be a "super wide" originally designed for 35mm and those lenses are very expensive.

 

Ideally, what I think you need is a 15 or 16mm "prime", that would give a 24mm, FF perspective. You may want to hold of a bit and wait for Photokina, perhaps Nikon will announce some DX "primes" like a 15mm f2.8 DX that will sell for around 300 or 400 dollars. That is only a guess, I do not know any of Nikons impending releases. I just think that there is a need for some less expensive wide angles for the DX format and maybe Nikon will start filling that need soon. If Nikon doesn't answer that need, perhaps Sigma or some other maker will.

 

Some other tips for your new purchase. Make sure to get a spare battery and I suggest that you pay for the Nikon battery, there have been reports about "off brands" that have damaged the camera and the Nikon battery is only 34 dollars. When the battery in the D70 is done, it is done, waiting for it to "come back" for another frame or three just doesn't work. As for your memory requirements, I can fit about 185 JPG-Fine Large images on a 512mb chip. Shooting in RAW mode consumes a lot more memory but I have found that JPG works well for about 95% of my images, I only use RAW for the frames that I think will benefit by shooting RAW. You may want to use these numbers as a guide to decide on your memory needs. One other suggestion concerning memory is to divide up your memory, ie. get more that one chip. If you buy one large ship and it fails, it means that you can't take any pictures until you get another chip. I am not implying that chip failures are common, I just like the added insurance of having another chip, just in case. Another tip is to buy Capture, it's an excellent program and really adds to the power of the D70, well worth the cost.

 

The last tip is to spend a lot of time experimenting and getting to know the camera. The D70 won't yield "perfect" images out of the box, most digital P&S cameras do a bit better. I find that the "canned" modes are not that good and the D70 exposure system has been "biased" to preserve highlight detail. This means that you may find your images requiring some "tweaking" before printing. I don't mean to say the D70 makes bad images, it's just you can't take them straight to the printer without doing a bit of fine tuning and you should be aware of that. The good news is that the D70 has all of the features, and controls, of a "pro level" DSLR and it is extremely "tunable". Do some research about "Tone Curves" download some samples over the net, use Capture to load one into the camera, and after a bit of experimenting, you will get results that blow a digital P&S into the weeds. The D70 has SO MANY features and options that it can really make some stunning images, the problem is that it will probably take you a month, or three, to get there.

[RaymondC]

i go with the 20/2.8 D prime at about $440. 2nd hand is about $300. Becoming 30mm.

 

The 18mm prime would be lot more expensive. In this way, I would suggest you go straight to a 12-24mm DS $900.

 

You mentioned $700 ouch then ... consider the 20mm or just use the 18-70mm kit lense with a tripod and so a longer exposure, you can also employ F16 etc for interiors ...

[nelson_bell]

Thanks to all for this detailed insight. A lot of great choices by the look of things. Now to convince the local camera store to allow a test drive of a few (or more) of these lenses.

[kenneth_logan]

A response to Scott Warn's comment about a done battery being done, and don't wait for a few more frames: if recollection serves well, I had the factory battery in my D70 and it was "done" at a very disappointing time: however, after it sat and changed environments, it did power for a few more frames. YMMV.

[brandonhamilton]

Forget the kit lens, it is a waste of money. I suggest two lenses for you.

 

Nikor 50mm f/1.8 - Simulanously nikons sharpest and cheapest lense. Perfect for general shooting (100$)

 

Sigma 24mm f/1.8 - nice sharp/fast prime lese for a bargain. Perfect for wider situations, like shooting rooms. (280$)

 

By the way, you can get that new 12-24 sigma zoom new for about 580 bucks, but why would such a slow lense cost so much? I woudln't even consider this lens.