In need of a little advice on lenses.

[camt]

I have finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase my first SLR. I am

trying to do as much advance research as possible to avoid making a bad

decision and having to start over.

 

So far I have decided to purchase a D70s. My question is what two lenses

should I couple with the camera to get the most versatility. I will primarily

be taking photos of daily life. To include my 9 YO's activities (piano

recitals, soccer games, portraits, etc.) I would also like to try some

landscape photography and maybe a few backyard bird/bug shots. I am not

looking for professional quality prints. I just want something that will look

good and provide good flexibility. So far I have narrowed it down to the

following;

 

1) Purchase the D70s Kit with the 18-70mm and 55-200mm DX lenses

 

or

 

2) Purchase the D70s Kit with the 18-70mm with one of the following;

 

a) The Nikon 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF Lens (this is a little more than I

would like to spend)

 

b) The Tamron 70-300mm LD MACRO 1:2 F4-5.6 FS62/NIKON AFD

 

c) The Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G AF Lens

 

Any advice you all could provide would be very helpful.

 

Thanks,

Cameron

[richard_liu2]

First of all, it's important to know what kind of photography you will do. There is one thing you mentioned which, in my experience, none of the lenses will do well. That is the birding. Although the 70-300mm offers an extra 100mm, the result isn't all that pleasant. I think this is Nikon quality consumer lens' weak point, unless you get the pro lens(likely over $2000/piece).

 

Other than that, I'd recommend to get the 18-200mm VR(if you can get it) and a 50mm 1.8 D. Since it's hard to get the 18-200mm right now, get the D70s and 50mm and start shooting. You can take the time to know your equipment while waiting for the 18-200mm. In the long run(although I have no idea how long is long), the 18-200mm wil beat the 18-70mm+other lenses. The most important thing that comes into my mind recently is to know your gear, know their limitations, improve you skill, and go out to find great opportunity to photograph. For micro, you can start cheap with some extension tube. I found the 50mm and 18-200mm VR can have huge potential and will do most shooting for some time. Best of all, you spend more time shooting than thinking about equipment. When you grow out of the potential of these lenses, you'll know what to add to your inventory. Happy shooting.

[hayward]

2c. If you stick with it, you'll upgrade later.

[richard_liu2]

Well, if the 28-200mm is over your budget, than the best combo is 2+c.

[mawz]

2b if you intend to do and bug shots (1:2 macro on the Tamron), otherwise 2c. 2b is actually overall the best combo, the LD glass in the Tamron (and the Nikkor 70-300 ED which is identical other than the better macro on the Tamron) reduces the colour fringing that the 70-300G is susceptible to.

[stefan_g]

How about the 18-70 kit lens, and a used Nikon 80-200/2.8 ?

The latter is faster (=nicely blurred backgrounds) for sports, portraits, with a teleconverter (Kenko Pro 1.4x or 2x) maybe even servicable for birding. It's heavy though.

Depending on your patience level you can try to find one-touch (=push/pull) non-D 80-200's in the $300 to $500 range on ebay, or (with less patience) D-types around $500-600.

[ShunCheung]

It is not necessary to get everything at once, is it? I suggest getting the D70s + 18-70 DX first and use them for a little while. Find out what the limitations are and which holes you need to fill.

 

Even though your requirements may not be high, shooting sports, including children sports, may be too demanding for the D70s, which otherwise should do a fine job on just about everything else you listed.

[yeux tortu]

I have owned all of these lenses, all are decent, but not enough speed for indoor activities. I would suggest Tamron 28-75 2.8. and c)

[studor13]

Cameron, like yourself I too had the same questions when I bought a D70. I went around in circles, bought this and that lens. Now after about 9 months or so, I use the 18-70 DX 90% of the time. Even now there are a whole lot of issues I need to understand in just using this lens. One major reason is that it takes an enormous amount of time to get on top of the D70 and even longer in post processing to see what you like and don't like. Is it the lens, the camera, composition, exposure, and so on.

 

Now that I've put in some hard yards on just this one lens my priorities are not in getting another lens (although I have a endless wish list), but in getting a decent tripod.

 

I believe that you will figure it all out by yourself if you spend some time with just one lens - any lens.

[camt]

Thank you all for your advice. It has been very beneficial to my decision making process. Many of the lenses that were suggested were simply out of my price range right now. I still haven't decided fully, but I am getting closer. I am debating between the Nikon G lens or the Tamron.

 

One more question if anyone could spare some information.

 

The Tamron 70-300 lens comes in two derivations. One is listed on the manufacturers website as a "Di" and described as "Lenses designed for superior use on both digital and film SLR cameras". The other is the standard lens and described as "Lenses designed for film SLR cameras (may be used for digital)".

 

The Di is around $20 more. Is there a significant difference between the lenses? I would assume it would be worth it to purchase the Di, but that is an assumption on my part.

[tristanlaing]

If you really want a nikkor 28-200, the D version (older, and I've seen it used for less than

150 at stores) has better optics than the G version.

 

My recommendation is for the 70-300 nikkor G lens. People on this site berate it

continuously, but no one has ever pulled out a test to show it to be actually softer than the

70-300 ED which everyone seems to love despite having the same optical configuration

and distortion characteristics.

 

Actually, my recommendatino is for a 70-210 AF 4-5.6. This is much sharper than the

70-300ED or G. THe "D" version of this lens is much more expensive because the focus is

geared very fast for sports, but that is the only difference.

[camt]

I've added an additional lense to my list; the Sigma 70-300 f4-5.6 DG APO Macro Nikon AFD Zoom Lens: USA. It has 3 SLD lense elements and a metal mounting ring.

 

If anyone has any input I would apprecitiate the comments.

 

Tristan Laing,

I have read many reviews stating the 70-210 AF 4-5.6 is a better lense, but most have pointed only to the D version. I've looked for the 70-210's on ebay and am watching a few auctions. Are there other good sites to check for used photographic equipment?

 

Thanks,

Cameron