drymanphoto Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 I currantly own a 24mm prime, 35-70mm zoom, and 80-200mm zoom; all very fast lenses and all very heavy. I'm looking for a good combination that is light, fairly fast, and pretty good quality. I'm thinking of buying a 28-105 and 80-300mm zoom. This seems like a pretty good combination for most situations and would definitely save some weight as well as give me more flexibitliy. Any comments on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_ Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Having gone to Fat Tuesday for a couple of years, my drag bag goes with a AF 28-70mm f3.5~ Nikkor, a AF 85mm f1.8D Nikkor, and a AF 105mm f2D DC-Nikkor. If you want to travel light, why a 80-300mm zoom? The 28-105mm (Nikkor, at least) is not so very light either. If quality is one of your goals, stick with a prime lens and zoom with your feet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd peach seattle, washi Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 My light travel combo is the 24-50 AFD and the 70-300 AFD, along with something fast (typically either the 35/1.4 AIS or the 85/1.8 AFD). Since you've been exposed to 24mm, you're probably the best judge of whether you can live without it; I need a 24mm. Neither of these two zooms have the 'snap' of the pro-2.8 zooms (I shoot with those quite a bit when I'm not thinking of weight) but they get the job done. The 70-300 is a tad soft at 300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_byrd1 Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Use a waist-level finder on your Nikon and zone-focus a wide-angle lens. Take along a screwdriver and pretend to be tinkering with the top of your camera. Be sure to play startled when the shutter goes off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Williams Posted January 20, 2003 Share Posted January 20, 2003 Here's a vote for the 28-105 - within its limitations it replaces five primes, and is a couple of hundred grams lighter than the 35-70 f/2.8. Excellent quality for the price, and a sensible tradeoff between sharpness, weight, speed, distortion (minimal), and zoom range at any price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan_verschoote1 Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Another vote for the 28-105. Remarkable lens for this price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadedmonkeys Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 how's about the Tamrom 28-300 XR i heard its pretty light and small Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drymanphoto Posted March 9, 2003 Author Share Posted March 9, 2003 Thank you all for your responses. I may purchase a 28-105 and carry along my 35-70 2.8, just in case. I also think a 70-300 would also be nice for some extra range and flexibility, and if I had the extra money, maybe the 80-400VR. Althought I'm guessing that this is a much heavier lense. Daryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryl Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Daryl,<P>You didn't say much about the type of shooting you plan on doing with this combo. Depending what you are doing, you may be able to lighten the load considerably (physical and financial) by keeping the 24 and maybe adding the 70-300. Or you may want to look into the 24-85, as that is supposed to be pretty good as well. That would give you continuous coverage from 24mm to 300 with two relatively light zooms. <P> The 80-400VR is a cool sounding lens, but I don't think it's too appropriate for "quick and dirty" on account of its size and weight. Since you already own some sweet glass, I don't think the super zoom is the way to go. You'll never be happy with a 28-300 lens after shooting with your current setup. <P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darryl_bueckert Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I own the older 75-300 and have extensively used the newer 70-300 and would recommend either of these lenses. I have shot these two lenses against each other and would have to say that the newer 70-300 is not only much lighter, but slightly sharper due to the introduction of an ED glass element. It is a great lens for situations that require lighter gear. Hope this helps. Darryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drymanphoto Posted March 11, 2003 Author Share Posted March 11, 2003 My current set-up is pretty good, but the 80-200 f/2.8 weighs a good bit. I mainly enjoy shooting landscapes and would mostly use the lighter lenses for travel photography. I'm a bit torn between the idea of buying ligher lenses for my current camera or buying a pretty good digital camera with a nice range. There are just so many choices out there, which seems to make it harder for me to decide. A 70-300mm zoom might make the best sense for me since my funds are limited and I already have the other gear to work with. However, I also do some sports photography, where a slower lens probably wouldn't do me much good on overcast days. I think I just need to prioritize my goals better. Thanks for you help. Daryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drymanphoto Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 I just got a Nikor 28-105 lens and I really like it on my N80. The combo feel very balanced when you are carrying it and it is a nice range for most of the things I like to photograph. I like it so much, that it has me thinking about the 80-300zoom, as a lighter alternative to my current 80-200 f/2.8 lens. Of course, if I really had the money, I'd buy all S lenses, because they are pretty light and great in quality. But this is the real world now and I'm not a photojournalist just yet and may never be. Daryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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