55-200 Vr or prime

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>A have a D80, 18-55 mm vr and 50 mm 1.8 (my favourite). Mainly I shot people, abstract and indoors. Landscape and architecture is not so often.<br>

I want to have a longer FL, but although I know the benefit of fast lenses, I don't know what to buy. I cannot afford a 70/80-200 2.8 or any other 2.8 zoom, so I need suggestions. Is there a prime (zoom is not a must) that can beat the 55-200 vr (especially speaking of speed)? 200 mm is not a must, but at least 130-150? I can spend on it approx. 250-280 US.<br>

Regards, Thomas</p>

[jwittenberg]

<p>If I recall correctly, the D80 has a screw drive motor, yes? If so, then the Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 AF should be at the top of the list of lenses for you to look at. I'm not sure of its current price (used), but I think it should be near your range. Gorgeous look to its images. And relatively small and light (esp when compared to the 70/80-200 f/2.8 zooms).</p>

<p>/joel</p>

 

[jwittenberg]

<p>Thomas -</p>

<p>Well, I just checked KEH, and they have used 180's for between $349 and $616, so noticeably higher than your range. But the 180 f/2.8 is a great lens. Here's a summary line from Bjørn Rørslett (www.naturfotograf.com):</p>

<blockquote>

<p>This 180 must be ranked among the finest Nikkors of all times in terms of its optics, but on handling criteria alone it never will go into the Hall of Fame.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Go read the rest of his comments.</p>

<p>/joel<br>

<br /></p>

[nishnishant]

<p>If you mainly shoot people indoors, and you are on DX, then I am not sure 130mm (195 mm equivalent) or higher is a great choice. Unless you are talking about large halls or indoor stadiums.</p>

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>Joel: that 180 f/2,8 is really a good one, but quite pricey.<br>

Nish: in my case indoor means a larger hall, like a church. Mostly I shoot from 5 to 10 meters (16-33 feet), for closer shoots I would definetly use the 50 mm or a longer FL lens for headshots.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>A second hand 85mm f/1.8, though a lot shorter than you indicate. But from that length on, the AF lenses tend to get a lot more expensive, also second hand. The 180mm Joel indicates is a bargain, basically (esp. at 350 dollars!). And an awesome lens.</p>

<p>For older manual focus Ai or AiS lenses, there are some very good options, but they do not meter on a D80. If you can do without metering, AiS 200 f/4 is typically not expensive second hand, 135 f/2.8 or 105 f/2.5 also can be found well within your budget. Or a series E 75-150 f/3.5.</p>

<p> </p>

[alex_zepeda]

<p>What about an 85/1.8?</p>

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>Wouter, you're right. Lenses with longer fl are a lot more expensive, but even though for me - probably because I haven't tried - it seems short. The others that you mentioned, well, I'm trying to find them, and I'll think about them. Other suggestions would be also great, like so far.</p>

[jwittenberg]

<p>As Wouter said, the Ais 200 f/4 is very good, and is quite small and light. Of course, it's manual focus, and on the D80, manual exposure (again, as Wouter mentioned). If manual focus and exposure isn't a problem then any of the other lenses Wouter mentioned are all good (esp the 105, which is superb; there are 2 main varieties - Sonnar (earlier) and Gauss (later). I have only used the Gauss). I have 2 different copies of the 75-150 (silver ring, and black ring), and while good, they haven't impressed me as much as I had hoped from their reputation.</p>

<p>/joel</p>

 

[eric_arnold]

<p>for $280 USD, your options are limited. i would just get the 55-200 VR first to get you out to 200mm. next, i would buy a flash so you can shoot with that indoors. after that, i would look at better glass, like the 85/1.8 or 180/2.8.(fyi, having a gap between 55mm and 180 could be challenging. i'd get something in the 85-105 range before going with a longer tele lens.) also, unless you're already comfortable/familiar with manual focusing, i wouldn't recommend a MF lens for people shots, which is where you need AF.</p>

 

[mark_drutz]

<p>Like Eric said, your options are limited. I checked keh.com and this is what I found near your price range:</p>

<p>Nikon 85mm f/1.8 $325 bgn 349 exc<br>

Tamron 90mm f/2.5 macro 245 bgn<br>

Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro 310 exc+</p>

<p>Anything longer is way over you price range. You could try ebay, but keh gives a 60 day warranty and has a reliable return policy. keh's grading is very conservative, so a bargain lens is very usable. You can also try B&H and Adorama's used dept's.</p>

[Two23]

<p>The Nikon 55-200mm VR is actually a very good lens. I prefer it over the 85mm f1.8, and I own both.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

[jannekaakinen]

<p>While 55-200mm VR is very good for it's price, I would wait and save a bit more and get used 180mm f/2.8, it's easily one of the best lenses I've shot with.</p>

[philip_tam]

<p>The 55-200mm VR is a very good lens... if your subject doesn't move (autofocus is slow), and you have plenty of light (it's slow in terms of aperture and the VR doesn't work so well). Optically it's sharp, but I've found that it takes care to coax sharpness out of the pictures.</p>

<p>The 70-300 lenses available are much more forgiving: they focus somewhat faster and the VR works much better.</p>

<p>If you're indoors and you need more reach than the 50, I think the 85mm 1.8 would be preferable (but I don't have that).</p>

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>Today I had the chance to shot with the 55-200 vr on my D80 in a church. After a few shots I realized that 1.) i really don't need a very long FL lens, a 100-150 should be fine for me 2.) a fast lens is always better than a vr, i knew this, but there in the church it was evident. My shots at 200 5.6 were better than nothing, actually i liked them (for the price of the lens is great), but at 1/10 i had luck only if the subject remained steady. So finally, i think i will wait and search for a fast prime or zoom in the range of 100-150. If there it's any suggestion, I'd be thanfull.<br>

Regards,<br>

Thomas</p>

[thomas_kovacs]

<p>I forgot to mention, 1/10, but at iso 1600. For D80 is a bit tough.</p>