D7000 kit

[dennis_brabender]

<p>I am going on a trip to Chicago for work<br>

hopefully I will get a chance to take pics of:the loop/ night time, architecture, food, snow (don't get much snow in Tampa)<br>

I did live in CHicago for 20 years and I grew up Yooper so I know what I am getting myself into as far as weather<br>

trying to pick up a lens that will make better use of the D7000<br>

I currently have a D7000 with:<br>

35 1.8<br>

50 1.8<br>

tamron 90 macro<br>

D40 with kit 18-55<br>

55-200 vr<br>

18-200 version 1 (I know but I still like the convenience)<br>

SB400 flash<br>

manfrotto tripod w/ball head<br>

I was thinking a Sigma 17-50 2.8 or a Nikon 10-24 or ????<br>

I shoot just about everything<br>

portrait,pets,zoos, macro, night time scenery/cityscapes,flowers,food,glamour<br>

not really wanting to get rid of any of my present kit at this time <br>

Trying to get my wife interested in the D40 set up<br>

any suggestions on lens?<br>

Any special hints on cold weather photography?<br>

Thanks</p>

 

[wpahnelas]

<p>Personally, I think your instincts are pretty good. What we won't know is what inspires you photographically. I'd go for the 17-50/2.8, since it seems to be to be the more versatile piece of kit, but the UWA might be more of a creative stepping-off point for you.<br>

In other words, go with your gut.<br>

As for cold weather hints. nikons tend to hold up in frigid environments pretty well, but you should be prepared for fogging glass when you carry a lens from one temperature extreme to another. The usual suggestion is to allow your gear to acclimate in a sealed ziploc bag before engaging in photographic activity.</p>

[andylynn]

You already have a lot of lenses. In what ways are the combination of 18-55+55-200 or 18-200 with the primes for

low light not filling your needs? If you have a clear idea of that it would indicate whether you need another lens, and

what it should be.

[leslie_cheung]

<p>I tend to agree with Andy though you are a little short on wide and fast area...so the 17-50mm would make sense, if you are into wide and fast...</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>17-50 makes sense to get. The 18-55 and 55-200 make less sense to keep if you like the 18-200 (which makes a swell companion to the 6MP D40 imho). I would suggest, though, that if you had something like either the Tamron or Nikon 70-300 lens and did some comparisons, you might not like the long end of that 18-200 as much anymore. I certainly didn't like it on my D90 as much as I did on the D50. Nice "all in one" lens when you MUST have that (like for a vacation that's not all about photography), but if you don't mind switching... not as much.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>the sigma 17-50/2.8 OS is good enough for Thom Hogan. i have one too. it's pretty much my main DX lens, the stabilization is nice and the IQ is good. main advantage over 18-55 will be sharpness wide open and faster aperture. OTOH, if you will be shooting the 18-55 at f/8 all the time you might as well go for the UWA.<br>

i like to shoot wide shots when i travel--and with a tripod UWAs are fantastic for night landscape shots-- but overall 17-50 is a better range. if i were you, i wouldnt bring my whole kit. 3-4 lenses is plenty. i would leave the 18-200 and 50/1.8 behind for sure.</p>

 

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>Since you already have covered 18-55 focals in two lenses... I'd not but the third lens on the same range. Instead I'd go for Tokina 11-16/2.8 or for Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5. I have the second and is a great street performer on my D7000.</p>

<p><br /> If you do not need so much UWA then a good idea is to stick the 18-200 on the D40, then to sell the other glass keeping only 35 and 90 primes and to buy for yourself a pair of zooms like 17(18)-50/2.8 and 70-300 with stabilization.</p>

[dennis_brabender]

<p>Thanks for the comments<br>

unfortunately I need to build my kit slowly<br>

I realize that I will need an UW (10-24/11-16), 17-50 range 2.8 ,70-200 and maybe a sigma 150 - 500<br>

not even so much for the faster speed just more quality glass that matches the 7000<br>

one of the reason I was thinking 10-24 is because that is a range that I don't have covered (at all, but the ranges that I do have covered aren't exactly high quality)which is why I was thinking on upgrading to a 17-50 instead <br>

I like some of the wide and close effects of the UW great landscapes with foreground<br>

I really like the 35 and 90 macro<br>

I haven't used the 18-55 or 55-200 since getting the 18-200 I don't see much of a difference and none are really all that great on the D7000 they look good to me on the D40<br>

I had the 50 since before the 35 came out so haven't really used the 50 much either which won't AF on the D40 it will on the 7000<br>

I just sort of keep them for a bundle with the D40 for my wife<br>

they just collect dust mostly<br>

the 18-200 is great for convenience not so much for tack sharp images on the 7000<br>

so my go to lens for quality are really the 35 and 90 and my walk around the 18-200<br>

I will probably eventually keep the D40 18-200 and get rid of the 18-55 55-200 and the 50</p>

[studio460]

<p>FWIW:</p>

<p>I went on a recent trip to Hawaii for a family function, and decided to bring only a single, DX body (also, a Nikon D7000). Here's what I <em>wished</em> I took:</p>

<p>1. Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 DX<br /> 2. AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G DX<br /> 3. AF Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D VR</p>

<p>Here's what I actually took:<br /> 1. Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 DX<br /> 2. AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D<br /> 3. AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D<br /> 4. AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G DX</p>

<p>I used the 17-55mm f/2.8 about 99.9% of the time. I used the 11-16mm f/2.8 the other 0.1% of the time. I think, the convenience of a single lens simply won out. I never took a single frame with either the 50mm or 85mm (I was planning to do some low-light, shallow-focus stuff with the short primes, but I never got around to wrangling a model). I found that I really wanted to do some long-lens compression shots, and really wished I had brought at least one long zoom.</p>

[sjoerd_leeuwenberg]

<p>Hi,<br>

I bought the 10-24mm for a trip to marocco this year, not knowing if I would like it (only had 18 and up before that) and I love it. I use it for 25-50% of the shots now, sometimes more.<br>

The range is great, very usefull for architecture, cityscapes, etc, food and flowers depending on how you like things to look, not so much for portraits and pets (gives a lot of perspective distortion which can look funny, but not what people wanna see most of the time). Be prepared to have to get to know the wide angle usage, because it is a little different. Keep camera very straight for smallest distortion.<br>

I bet you can already take good enough pictures with the gear range you have, so in stead of improving that gear, I would extend your range with a wide angle.</p><div></div>

[Two23]

<p>I photo at night a LOT, and I do that twice a year in Chicago. Some thoughts. I generally don't carry a lot of expensive gear with me since I'm alone in the dark quite a bit. I usually go with four basic "pieces". Nikon camera, Benro Travel Angel tripod A-269, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, Nikon 17-55mm f2.8. That's it. For you, the Tamron or Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 will work just fine and be less money tied up. The tripod gets more use than you might think, especially for architecture. The Benro A-269 (or C-269) is VERY compact and folds up to less than 18 inches. I would not buy the Nikon 10-24mm for night shots. The Tokina is SO much better, and really you don't need the 18-24mm range at all since your next lens would be a 18-50mm f2.8 anyway. All that extra range does is invite distortion, which the Tokina 11-16mm has very little of. I also have a Sigma 30mm f1.4 which I sometimes use, but not that much. The Sigma is wider and faster than the Nikon 35mm f1.8G.<br>

Cold weather really is no big deal, and it doesn't get what I'd call "cold" in Chicago anyway. Do wear warm clothes as the dampness of the night penetrates regular clothing. I wear some kind of waterproof shell to keep the wind off me. If it somehow does actually get below 20 degress, put your camera into either a camera bag or sack when you go indoors. If you don't, the warm air will cause water to condense all over the camera, inside & out. Other than that, I regularly have my Nikons out in temps as cold as minus 40 and they really don't care. Consider keeping a spare battery in your inside shirt pocket as battery life is impacted in temps colder than 15 degrees. <br>

For what you're wanting, I'd say your priorities should be Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, Benro travel tripod, and maybe an SB-700 eventually. It can be used off camera where the SB-400 can't.<br>

From Chicago:<br>

<a href="http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/DogwoodApr11.jpg">http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/DogwoodApr11.jpg</a><br>

<a href="http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/DogwoodApr11.jpg">http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/DogwoodApr11.jpg</a><br>

<a href="http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/Egg1.jpg">http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/Egg1.jpg</a><br>

<a href="http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/Curve.jpg">http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/duckgrabber/Curve.jpg</a></p>

<p>Kent in SD</p><div></div>

[dennis_brabender]

<p>Kent GREAT photos but I couldn't get properties to find out which lens you used<br />the 11-16 was definitely on my probable list<br />The Bean is something I definitely want to photograph night shot with skyline reflections<br />other things that I am looking forward to shooting : general night time, skylines, Tribune (there are some great art deco /gothic angles to capture), Wrigley bldg, Marina towers,chicago river(watch out for Huey Lewis's bus),union station, sears tower skydeck,hancock,billy goats: chesseburger cheeseburger- no fries chips- no pepsi coke(I am real familiar with lower wacker),chicago theater,buckingham fountain, china town,wrigley field,water tower,the el <br />and the food real chicago hot dogs, portillos,bob chinns, there is a great mexican place on 35th street just down from comiskey , ghiordanos is in Florida now so we finally have decent Chicago pizza <br />maybe long grove covered bridge in snow<br />I will be pretty much traveling illinois, some indiana and almost to milwaukee.<br />I really wish that the railroad museum in union was open during the winter looks like they have some impressive stock</p>