elliot

You could shoot 2 stops faster at the same ISO if you had an 85 f1.4, or one stop faster if you had a 105 or 135 f2.

"<i>I have heard of people who fall in love with the D100 all over again after taking these courses.</i>" - Robert McLaughlin<P>Really? That is fascinating to me. Why is this?

What are these pictures for? Just for yourself? For a project? For some assignment? Can you post some examples of this work? This would probably help a lot in recommending new lenses.

Chris - let me rephrase the original question for you:<br>

"hi. I would like to buy a 'sports zoom lens.' I have a third party 28-80 and 80-210. I think the 28-200 will be a 'sports zoom lens,' and would like to know if you think it is a good choice. I want a lens that has great color, sharpness, wide zoom range (hahahahaha), and good build quality at a cheapo price."<p>I don't know about you, but I simply cannot take this question seriously. Anybody who would ask something like that really has a lot of learning to do. Such a person will not benefit from spending several hundred dollars on an 80-200. It will not improve their photography because the skill level and knowledge of photography is more limiting than their gear. It only makes sense to recommend lots of practice and a 1 or 2 prime lense kit for a person like that, since that would make them learn. <P>When they are more knowledgeable, and have specific reasons why their gear is holding them back, then it would be appropriate to recommend specific items for specific reasons. For a person who knows why their gear is holding them back, or even for a newbie, I could never ever seriously recommend a piece of sh-t 28-200 lens for any reason whatsoever to any person who gives a damn about photography, wants to learn about photography, or wants to take high quality pictures.

Everybody who has posted has posted recommending the lenses they like. What do your current lenses leave to be desired? From your original question, it seems to me that you have no clue what you are doing. The fact that you are considering a 28-200mm lens pretty much tells me all I need to know. You don't need new gear. You need practice. Practice practice practice. And maybe a 50mm lens.

If you were really a "seriouse amature photographer," then you would not be considering the sh-tty lenses you suggested.

It really doesn't matter which you buy. Only the lenses count.

Hm. Well, if Nikon sold a 35mm f1.4 AFD, I would buy it. As long as they don't discontinue the 28mm or 50mm f1.4 lenses in the process.

I am not aware of any specific incidents you may be referring to, but it seems like there are always those one or two people who are offended by anything and everything. You can't please everyone. Those people are idiots.

"<i>I'd rather not get into the 2.8 constant aperture range lens due to their heft, both on me and the pocket</i>" - Sudheendra Ranganathan<br>Me, I'd rather not get into the 2.8 aperture range because it is slow as heck when compared to 1.4.

Yeah. An aspect more similar to 8x10, 11x14, 20x30, etc would be nice. The dust protection too.<P>How about mirror lock-up plus a swivel LCD that you can compose through? The swivel LCD would allow you to compose from all sorts of angles, and the MLU would eliminate mirror slap.

"<i>I wish there's a digital body using interchangable RF lens. Am I the only one?</i>"<P>I duno. I wish there was a digital body that took nikon AF lenses and didnt require a mirror. I would want this camera to be responsive, have good AF, and to have a swivel LCD screen that you can use to compose.

I have a GS-1, and I think that it is the best bet if you want a 6x7 slr that won't be used exclusively in the studio. I think the mamiya rb/rz cameras have rotating backs, which would make them awesome for studio work, but, like other people have said, it sucks for use in the field and carrying around. The mamiya 7 is definitely better for traveling light, but that is a rangefinder. I think the bronica is the best all-around 6x7 SLR.

I guess the plate idea would be best, but as you are not interested in doing that, I guess I would pick the pn-11 since it is closer to the camera body, and most of the shake you would get would come from the camera mirror.<P>That said, you really shouldnt have any problems at all if you lock the mirror up on your fm3a by setting the self-timer for at least a few seconds or all the way. For most macro subjects, which are usually pretty static, this shouldn't be a problem. I don't know about for bugs though.<P>If you are shooting at speeds where you need to be worrying about camera vibrations, I guess you can really only be shooting subjects that are pretty still anyway, so I guess the pseudo-MLU is the best answer. What do you think?

if it was me, I would buy the 28-105 plus the 50. hands down

what makes a lens a "PRO" lens?? I think the answer is NO.

Weddings don't really move that fast. I say, use "S" not "C". You could use "M" if you prefer, but it sounds like you don't, and it is not an autofocus mode anyway.

John -<P>Eric's answers are good.<P>You wrote: "<i>The problem is, the techie side of me keeps wondering if I'm missing something. Am I?</i>" I guess that depends what kind of photography you do? Also, in what ways do you find your current camera limiting?<P>When it really really comes down to it, the camera simply controls the shutter speed and holds the film, and the lenses make the image. What features in the camera do you need but don't have? What would you really make use of? The question is "why?". Why do you need new stuff? You only really need to buy if you find that it will benefit your photography somehow.

<a href="http://www.europe-nikon.com/category.aspx?countryid=20&languageid=22&catId=167" target="_blank">click here</a>

Who cares what "Ken Rockwell" says. This guy is an idiot. Why are you even referencing his text. Just because some guy posts some nonsense online doesn't mean that he knows what he is talking about.<P>Regarding the 18-35 slow zoom vs the 17-35 2.8 - if youre not really seriously into photography, 1. it probably isnt worth the cost to go for the big zoom, 2. you probably won't really notice the distortion in the cheaper lens anyway.<P>If you use your wide zoom a lot, the distortion apalls you, the lens isnt sharp enough for the <i>large</i> prints you're making, the slow aperture kills you, and the build quality just isnt up to your standards, then you know its time to move up and you can probably justify the extra cost, or will at least find a way to.<P>If you have to ask, you probably don't need the more expensive lens, unless you're devestatingly rich, and money isn't an issue. In that case, just buy the pricier lens and don't worry about it.

its the lenses that count, not the camera body. you need to identify what about your current equipment you find limiting and go from there. without a better idea of what you need, what you are trying to do, and how your current equipment is lacking, nobody can really suggest any good options. you say "I'm using a sigma now and it is ok." but whats wrong with it. you say "Sister in law uses a tamron and she takes beautiful pics" but what about her pictures has to do with the lens that you cannot achieve with your current gear. Think about it some more before you go out and blow your money on some gear that doesnt suit you or that isnt really very good.

I'm sorry, but no real photographers use 28-200 lenses. EVER! You might get acceptable results on a 4x6 prints if there are no straight lines (which would allow you to see the awful distortion from a lens like this). I can't believe you were even <i>thinking</i> about buying something like that!<P>You must have been confused, thinking that "zoom" is synonymous with "good." What a laughable notion! "How far does it zoom out to" is not an acceptable question to ask about any lens. EVER!

The only reason to buy "DX" lenses is to get the wide-angle range range back on the small sensors. There are no other benefits. In fact, you will be better off using regular lenses on digital bodies because, like you said, the sensor doesn't use the edges of hte image circle.

Why do you want to sell it?

When you want to find the filter size for the lens, look for a symbol that is a circle with a line through it. ( Ø ) The number by that symbol is the filter size.