trying to decide on a lens??

[nichole_holden]

<p>I am having a hard time deciding on which lens to add to my collection. I currently take all of my pictures with a 50mm prime f/1.8 and love it. it is a great close up lens but if i want to include a photo of more than one person it isnt the best and far away isnt the best either but i really love it. im looking for a nice addition. i do photography for friends and make a money here and there nothing to tell uncle sam about its not that much but i am a student to the art and am ever growing in my knowledge. bryan peterson has taught me a lot with his literature. i aim to attend some college courses here soon.</p>

<p>i havesome questions on the lens' i am considering. i saw a good deal on a nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 ( i wish i could afford the good glass of the 24-70mm f/2.8.. but 1500 is out of the question for me rt now) would you buy this lens and does it mount with on the d80 and the d300 with all functionality and af. I dont know what all the acronyms mean it is an af-g lens. i own a d80 but eventually will be upgrading to the d300.</p>

<p>here is my other choice. i played with the 85 mm f/1.8 a year ago and think i want to add it to my collection. does this lens work for doing family sessions??</p>

<p>please offer your input?</p>

<p>thanks nichole</p>

[robertbody]

<p>That's great that you're comfortable with 50mm f/1.8, but there are times when you need something wider and other times something longer.<br /> An affordable zoom lens will have a drawback of slow f/stop, and unless you get the 24-70mm f/2.8 or 17-35mm f/2.8, there will be some quality issues... sometimes. I would say in your case a prime would make sense, if there was a 28mm or 20mm that was known for its performance, that would work... also 85mm f/1.8 would be a good choice, but I prefer 105mm f/2.8 for its longer reach and for macro and portrait ability too.<br /> Other than manual focus wide-angle 28mm or 24mm or 20mm, current Autofocus versions don't have super reputation on digital, but you could be happy with something... of 35mm f/1.8 or 35mm f/2 are available too. I will use 17-35mm f/2.8 again when I can, but for now I am doing without it, not by choice.</p>

<p>18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 would be a good choice, the shorter zoom range usually means "less disappointments", and it would give you a range.</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>hey now you are adding to choices... lol there is so many to choose from it is insane. i do have a 55-200mm lens but the af went out on me. when i bought my camera used it came wth it. going lower than 35mm makes me nervous barrel distortion and all.</p>

[bernard_korites]

<p>Try the 45p. I've compared it carefully with the 50/1.8 and found it has much better color and contrast and at least a much resolution. I also like its slightly wider field of view.</p>

[douglasely]

<p>Nichole,</p>

<p>Bjorn Rorslett is a very well respected reviewer. His website will give you hours of information for many of Nikon's lenses.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html">http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html</a></p>

<p>Enjoy, D</p>

[peter_k4]

<p>since you seemed quite content with only the 50 1.8 up to this point. and you want something wider, I would suggest the 35 1.8 DX or 35 2.0 Both very nice lenses and both within a student budget. If you are being drawn to the zoom lenses. The 18-55 DX or 18-70 is probably a better buy than the 28-80 you mentioned.</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>i just checked the link and like what im reading thanks this guy is loaded with sexy lenses. what a monster im so jealous.</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>hmmm i really like the ability to have the 70-85 mm range. if you are interested in seeing what i am able to get with my 50mm i do have 2 pictures up on my portfolio. i just uploaded them. i have many more but i really like what i can get just hate that i cant get it wider at times.. so moving farther away is my only choice. i will look at what both of these offer in the price arena. thanks</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Nichole,<br />As much as I love my 85 f/1.8, to me it's a pure "head only" portrait lens. It is quite seriously tele on a D80/D300. Whether that is ideal for family sessions, I doubt it, unless you want only portraits, that is. But it will not work for a groupshot.<br />In fact, for a lot of work, the 50 f/1.8 is already a bit long on your camera. Like, for example again, a groupshot.</p>

<p>The 28-80 you mention will completely work on your D80. Whether it's a good lens, I do not know, I've never used it. But the "short end" (28mm) will behave rather un-wide on a D80 (~42mm). And having a wider angle available is often enough very useful<br />So, personally, I think it makes sense to add a (versatile) standard zoom lens to your 50mm. A second-hand 18-70 does not have to cost much, or a new 18-105VR if you can (it is a very nice lens, despite the long zoomrange). Neither is as sharp as the 50 f/1.8, but both are very nice allround performers.<br />But if you do not mind working with fixed focal, another very nice lens to consider might be the 35 f/1.8.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>going lower than 35mm makes me nervous barrel distortion and all.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I think we need to defuse something here, given the fact I've only recommended lenses below or around 35mm :-) <br />Below 35mm, you can have lenses with little to no barrel distortion. What you might get, though, is converging lines due to the wide perspective. Some people call that distortion, but it really is something different.<br />Typically, though, on DX bodies, this effect becomes only somewhat apparent under 18mm (~28mm for film). 35mm is "normal" on DX (50mm on film), and shows a perspective not unlike the human field of view without peripheral vision.</p>

<p>Addition: just saw your answer, and you're a bit contradicting. You want the 70-85 lengths covered, and go wider because you have to step back?<br>

Another thing I forgot now that I'm editing my post: what would be the budget? Maybe the 35 f/1.8 and the 85 f/1.8? Nice duo :-)</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>so the 35 mm is meant more for a group shot? i just want to have good quality from farther away. in my 50mm if i want to get a full body it doesnt have that great sharpness like up close does. i would like to have the zoom option but if a prime will do all i want and more im more than willing to get a zoom. budget wise i was hoping to get two lenses maybe even used for 350.00 or under.</p>

[aaron l]

<p>I use the 24mm on a D300s for group shots for events. The 85mm will work great for small family settings if you can get about 10 feet back.</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>im on ebay and found an 85mm lens for a decent price what does no reserve mean anyone know.</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>i guess the correct thing to ask is ..</p>

<p>Is there an understandable chart that tells me what lens is compatible with my d80 out there on the web so i dont buy the wrong one ?</p>

[gogu]

<p>It means the seller has not established a "reserve" price.<br>

Many sellers on eBay want to be on the safe side when they sell something valuable so they set a price under which by eBay rules they are not obliged to sell. If the auction ends below that price, they simply don't sell. If the auction ends above that price, then they are obliged to sell.</p>

<p>rgrds</p>

[gogu]

<p>Any AF, AF-D or AF-S Nikon lens is fully compatible with your D80 DSLR camera.<br />Older lenses are partially compatible but fully usable except for non-AI lenses which are incompatible and will damage your camera.</p>

<p>rgrds</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>so no reserve means that if it sells below value they still have to sell it? do you know where i can find a compatibility chart and a chart that tells you what the g in af-g mean.. etc ?</p>

[gogu]

<p>1) Yes, even if the lens ends at 0.9 cents they have to sell it. But bear in mind that some unscrupulous sellers use this trick to attract you but they have friends who are bidding on the item in order to bring the price where they want (shill bidders).<br />2) I know of no such chart but look at my answer above. The G letter means that the lens has no aperture ring but it will work fine on your D80. Actually all modern AF-S lenses are G lenses.</p>

<p>rgrds</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>i found a chart by the way here in the link for anyone curious.</p>

<p>http://bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm</p>

[ray_rg]

<p>Hi Nichole,</p>

<p>May be this will help</p>

<p>http://support.nikontech.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13825</p>

<p>http://support.nikontech.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/57/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvc2lkL3RTOHM0SEpq<br>

Ray</p>

[nichole_holden]

<p>thanks cray.. the 28-80 wont work for my camera</p>

[kam_kozalak]

<p>I say get a 24mm/2.8 and a 105/2.8 micro. It will cover everything from moderate wide to telephoto, plus macro. You will use the combo for years. <br>

If you think you need a wider angle, a zoom may do. Same with telephoto, a zoom. But I found the thresome prime combo sufficient.</p>

[vihao]

<p>i have a sigma 30mm 1.4 and love it. the tamron 17-50 2.8 isn't bad either. have you looked into third-party lenses?</p>

[stephen_asprey2]

<p>Why not walk backwards?</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Nichole, I am pretty sure the 28-80 will work properly on your camera. It's a G lens, and all G lenses work on a D80. Look at the table on the site you found yourself (a much clearer table than anything Nikon themselves wrote so far), it will completely work with all bells and whistles.</p>

<p>Stephen, a step back is not always possible and on top of that, different focal lenghts do give different results. The zoom-by-feet thing is terribly overrated. A 50mm will never look like a 24mm, no matter how much walking you do. So nothing wrong with getting some extra lenses if you've only got a 50mm.</p>

[carl_becker2]

<p>Nichole, it sounds like you want something wider, a great field of view. What is your budget? I have used Bjorn's reviews for most of my lens purchases and generally agree with what he says. If you like primes than get something like a 35mm or wider. With the DX format I don't think you will see much distortion. There are many good zooms to be had used including the Nikkor 35-70mm f2.8, 28-105mm, 18-70mm DX, 16-85mm DX. I use a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 with my D700 and am happy with it.</p>