Choosing lense for N80

[norberto_navarro]

Hi All,

 

I just found photo.net and it's like a one-stop site for all photo

needs. On to the mundane stuff...

 

I'm an art student and need to shoot my work on slide film. I want to

use my camera for everything imaginable but shooting my art, weddings

(my own comming soon) and portraits are the specific applications

right now.

 

I really know what body I want (the Nikon N80) but I don't know much

about photography and so choosing a lense has become difficult. I've

read a few posts of folks suggesting the Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-

Telephoto 28-135mm f/3.8-5.6 Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for

Nikon AF-D which goes for $129.

 

I understand the whole idea of spending more on glass than camera

body, but my budget is tight and I just need something to work with a

lot. Later, I plan renting lenses and upgrading from there but right

now I need something to work with.

 

So will this lense do the trick? any other lense recommendations?

Should I purchase this Sigma and a 50mm Nikon?

 

Seriously, I need help! :)

[h._p.]

Sigma lenses are often very good value and I've been generally very pleased with them. However, a 28~135 zoom at $129 is not going to be wonderfully sharp, unless Sigma has recently repealed the laws of optics and economics.

 

It would help if we knew your total budget but guessing from what you've written, you might be better advised to consider buying a used manual focus body like the FM2 and finding a 35/f2 and a 85/f1.8.

 

Autofocus is usefull for old codgers like me who are no longer entirely sure where the plane of sharp focus lies but for a young man with, I assume, good eyesight, a good manual focus outfit will give you a lot more quality bang for your buck. An FM2 will work with any AI or AIS lens (and any AF lens with manual focus) and two good primes will provide you with much sharper results than you'd get from a cheap zoom.

[armando_roldan]

I would suggest you get WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD. Perhaps since you are not a hardcore photographer, you will not need the whistles and bells of a more advanced body and spend the excess cash allowable on a premuim lens especially since you going to be shooting slide film. Personally, I would not get a 50mm Nikon unless I would shooting a lot of low light subject and get a 28-105 Nikon Af lens. The previous suggestion of a manual focus body is valid for those cameras are of superior quality and hold their value quite well too. And one moe thing, let someone else shoot your wedding..you will have plenty of thigns to do that day besides shooting photographs. Enjoy the best day of your life..congratulations!!

[david_blackburn1]

i just bought an n80 and a 50/1.8. i love the lens. not the greatest view angle, but the optics aer wonderful. i dont know anything abuot the sigma other than it seems too inexpensive to be GREAT optically. it all depends on your standards, though. i third the suggestion on a manual body. i am beginning to think i may have been better off with an fm3a instead of my n80. i dont know much (anything) about the older manual bodies. the n80 wont meter with manual focus lenses, which limits your choices. sorry if this advice doesnt help, if you were already dead set on the n80. take care.

[hugh_t]

If I could only have one lens for my N80 it would be the afsg 24-85. Covers alot of situations and is very sharp. Its sharpness is great.

[eva_harun]

I second the opinion of getting the AFS 24-85 G. I myself own a F80 (non US market) and later this month I will buy that AFS 24-85G f3.5-4.5. I have opted this instead of 28-105. I know this particular lens (AFS 24-85G) will not work on my FM2n, however I will but it anyway. My dream is to have the following combo : AF 18-35 f3.5-4.5, AFS 24-85 f3.5-4.5, AFS 80-200 f2.8 and AFS 300 f4. Three of them are still far away, but I work on that. Now I own the AIS 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and a Tamron 70-300 f4-5.6 that I am happy with.

 

In my country, the second hand FM2n in good condition is as costly as the new F80 (non D and non S version). I would recommend to have the N80.

 

Good luck.

[ed_alban]

This may be the farthest thing on your mind right now, but whatever you do, do not buy a manual focus lens for your N80. The camera won't meter with lenses without a CPU.

[jim_gifford]

For someone on a tight budget, the combination of a Sigma 28-135 and a Nikkor 50mm would be a fine start.

 

It would be easy to draw up a list of lots of cool lenses to add to your kit at the start, but I'd suggest settling for one body and two lenses for a while... waiting to purchase further gear until you know more about what your initial set of equipment can and cannot do for you.

 

For art and portrait work, a tripod and head would be on my wish list. Any tripod is better than none at all, but look at Bogen (also sold as Manfrotto) tripods for an excellent compromise between quality and price.

 

Lighting will be your next priority. You'll need to work on making the best use of available light, at least until your budget allows you to add whatever sort of strobe(s) will best suit your requirements.

 

An awful lot of wedding photographers use a good TTL flash mounted on a flash bracket, so read some threads on those critters while your bank balance recovers from the purchase of the camera and lens(es).

 

For now, the Nikon and two lenses will give you plenty of opportunities to take fine photographs and learn and grow.

 

Have fun,

[norberto_navarro]

Jim,

 

At least someone understand where I'm comming from:) Going back to the 50mm lense...is the Nikon 50mm/1.8 lense a good lense or should I consider any other 50mm lense?

 

Ed,

 

Thanks for the heads up on non-metering lenses! Just to be safe, the Sigma I mentioned WILL allow me to meter with the N80, eh?

[chuck_greene]

Norberto,

 

The AF Nikon 50mm f1.8 is a good lens, it is very sharp and inexpensive. For photographing flat artwork a normal focal length (50-60mm) macro lens is also an excellent choice. I used to own the AF 60mm f2.8 micro and it is an extremely sharp lens http://www.photo.net/nikon/60-2.8-macro

 

Nikon did make an autofocus 55mm f2.8 macro lens before the 60mm, it is a bit cheaper used. Search for threads on photographing artwork to see what lenses other photographers use for that purpose.

 

It sounds like your main uses are photographing artwork and portraits, and you don't need autofocus for either of those, so if you're on a tight budget used manual focus gear is an option to consider.

 

For your purposes I recommend getting a body, either a 50mm f1.8 lens or a 55-60mm macro lens, and a sturdy tripod. Since you need to photograph artwork I would buy a tripod before a second lens. For now you can take portraits with the 50mm lens, later on get the zoom or a 85-105mm lens. Bogen makes good tripods, look at a 3001 or a 3021.

 

Good luck and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

[jim_gifford]

Norberto, the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8... ANY version of the 50mm f/1.8... is a fine lens and an inexpensive one.

 

If you wind up with an N80, might as well get the AF-D 50mm f/1.8 version so it will communicate focus distance to the body for better flash results. That's not an absolute must-have feature, but given how inexpensive the AF-D 50/1.8 lens is, why not?

 

As others have told you )or will tell you) the N80 will not meter with the manual-focus Nikkor lens line, so you'd want an autofocus version of any lens for that camera.

 

If you wind up instead with a Nikon body that WILL meter with manual focus Nikkor lenses, great, get an AI or AIS version 50/1.8 and enjoy the wonderful silky feel of a classic Nikkor.

 

Focusing an autofocus lens manually is, by comparison, gritty and sloppy.

 

Then again, he said with a touch of irony, the autofocus characterstics of a manual focus Nikkor leave something to be desired...

 

So it's horses for courses. If your course is an N80 the best value horse is the AF-D 50/1.8.

 

Have fun,

[wind.dk]

If you're on a tight budget, get only the 50mm and see where that gets you. If you find yourself limited by it, you have lost nothing as it's still good value for many applications. Maybe by then you can afford a better zoom or more primes.

[norberto_navarro]

Mr. Gifford, Your advice is right on topic and I've taken every word you've said into consideration.

 

Mr. Greene,

Your reassurance of the Nikon AF 50mm f1.8 was great. Your comment along with photo.net's article "Building and SLR system" were key in making my decision.

 

Mr. Gifford,

Thanks for letting me know about the "D version" of the 50mm lense. I was not aware of this.

 

Mr. Skovgaard,

You tied the entire thread beautifully.

 

All of the replies I received were key (not to mention comforting) through this whole process. Also, the article "Building an SLR system" informed me a great deal on optic qualities between prime lenses and...oh shall we say (so as not to offend), "inexpensive" zoom lenses.

 

Since I'm not a photojournalist and my needs are somewhat limited, today or tommorow I will be ordering the N80 and Nikon AF-D 50/1.8 (from etronics). Possibly also a tripod from Walmart since it came recommended along with a shutter cable. Not only will I be spending a WHOLE lot less than I thought, I feel this is the right path and feel extremely confident in what I'm getting thanks to you all.

 

When the need to shoot an event comes, by that time I will not only know what I want but can also rent before I buy.

 

Oh, and for the record, I never meant that I was going to shoot my own wedding:) I intended to hand the camera to a friend or relative. The well-wishes are appreciated!

[chuck_greene]

Norberto,

 

I would avoid any tripod sold at Wal-Mart or any other discount/department store, they are pieces of junk. If you want a decent tripod go to a camera store. Look for a used Bogen 3001 or something similar.

[cole_...]

The quality of glass is more important than the camera body. You will notice the difference as your eye improves. I suggest getting the Nikon 50mm 1.8d (the 1.4d if you can afford it) and the Nikon 28-105D. I made the mistake of saving money on glass when I started out and have paid more buying poorer quality lenses only to sell them to buy better Nikon glass. I chose Nikon for their glass, not their bodies.