Which lens for D90

[dick_whittington]

<p>After forum input, I've decided to get the D90 as my first DSLR. Any thoughts or recommendations regarding the choice of a kit or body plus lens purchase. I am an amature who enjoys photography. Have owned film SLR's in the past and enjoyed them. Last one was an N80. And I have two Sigma lenses from the N80 that I believe I can use on the D90. (a 055 Sigma Zoom 28-80D and 058 Sigma Zoom 70-300 DL Macro Super). Budget is an issue. And with these two old lenses my question is whether it is better to buy the D90 body and use these lenses, to buy a D90 kit (which kit lens) or to buy D90 body and a separate lens. Really would like to stay below $1500 total if possible. Most of my photography is still life, animals, landscapes, babies (two new grandsons) and a lot of close up flower and garden shots. Don't know a thing about lens quality, value, differences, etc. And never have used an image stabalization lens. Appreciate your thoughts and recommendations.<br>

dick</p>

[photo5]

<p>You can find good used Nikon 18-70mm G AF-S zoom lenses on ebay for $150 every day. They are excellent lenses and well worth the money. If you want to spend more money, I would highly recommend the Nikon 16-85mm VR zoom lens. It has a superb range, very sharp and contrasty, and the VR function is more useful to me than a straight f2.8 zoom by far.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Disk has asked a related quesiton on the camera body about a month ago: <a href="00TVKH">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TVKH</a><br>

Please see that thread for some background information.</p>

[williamting]

<p>I'd buy the body and use it with your existing lenses. If you find it lacking, you can always buy a lens later.</p>

<p>Kit lenses are usually nothing to write home about, and you can usually find them for cheap anyway if you find out later you want one.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>In that price range, I'd get the D90, an 18-70, and an SB-600. Then, if I could swing it, I'd get the 35mm f1.8 AF-S, too. That might be like 1600, but would be a GREAT kit.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>i'd strongly recommend getting at least one fast prime for low-light indoor candids--either the 50/1.8 or the 35/1.8. neither will break your bank, and both will give better IQ than kit lenses or your sigma zooms.</p>

[owen_omeara]

<p>I second David Lee's answer.<br>

-Owen</p>

[john_ashby2]

<p>With my D90, I use the 18-200 and a 50mm 1.8D. The Zoom lives on the camera 90% of the time. </p>

[bruce_margolis]

<p>The D90 is a great body but I suspect you will find your current 28mm a bit limiting because of the crop factor. You might want to think about a wider lens to go with the two you have. A few choices include the Nikon 10/24, the new Sigma 10/20 f/3.5, or the Tokina 12/24 f/4.</p>

 

[mike_matijevic]

<p>Ohh no Another 18-200VR recommendation ;-(</p>

<p>Rockwell's an I diot, he should be blamed for this</p>

[bsd230]

<p>I would get the 16-85 VR as a good all around lens. I think it would be a nice match for the D90. You can get an 18-200 VR, but I had one and wasn't thrilled with the sharpness. I did like the versatility and range. Add a 50mm 1.8 for low light and indoor photography of the grand kids and your pretty well set. If your wanting to go a little cheaper the 18-70 is a decent lens for the money as well.</p>

[george_peng1]

<p>I'd get the 50 f/1.8 as others have indicated, assuming that you're happy with the Sigma 28-80. If you need to get wider, the other recommendations or perhaps the 18-55 VR works as well. I also second that you should get the SB-600 flash. People tend to underestimate the value of external flashes, which is unfortunate, because it frankly enables a lot of pictures which are otherwise virtually impossible. Between the extra lighting, some lens speed, and the D90's high ISO abilities, you'd pretty well set for most impromptu lighting situations.</p>

[john_ashby2]

<p>@Mike: What do you have against the 18-200? There is some noticable barrel distortion but it's quite good considering the price and capability of the lens. I see people complain about the softness but when I do a side-by-side comparison with the 50mm 1.8D lens, the difference is barely perceptible.</p>

[stephen_worth]

<p>If you can just get one lens, I would suggest the 18-200 VR. It's extremely flexible, and the image quality is plenty good enough for even an advanced amateur.</p>

<p>If you want more than one lens, I'd suggest a pair of kit lenses covering 18mm to 200mm (whichever combination you'd prefer, but the 18-55 VR + 55-200 VR are the ones I'd choose) and the Nikon 35 1.8 for low light.</p>

<p>Don't be tempted to overbuy... All of these lenses are capable of taking beautiful pictures with your camera.</p>

[mark_drutz]

<p>I agree with Stephen Worth. I have the 18-200 VR and I use it more than any other lens. Like most superzooms it's very sharp until you get to the longer focal lengths. It loses some sharpness in the 135-200 range but it is still sharp enough to make a very good to excellent 8x10 and a good to very good 11x14. If you want more sharpness in the longer focal lengths then go for the 18-55 VR or 18-105 VR and 18-200 VR.<br>

Personally I feel that the versatility of the 18-200 VR is worth the small loss of sharpness in the 135-200 range. A lot depends on the kind of shooting you do. I do a lot of street shooting and being able to go quickly from wide to tele is very important to me. Someone shooting landscapes doesn't have that need.<br>

I also agree with the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX. The Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is a good lens, but with the crop factor it's a little too long for some uses although it makes a good inexpensive portrait lens.</p>

<p> </p>