mauricio_orozco

I am looking at 3 options, so in your opinion and base on your personal experience, which lens is the proper one for

my D300? ( I am not considering the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 because is out of my pocket ) :

> Tokina 16-50 f/2.8 AT-X PRO

> Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 SP XR DI II

> Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 DC EX

Please advise and thank you in advance for all your help.

We live in a world of consumerism. Today we have a cell and 5 months from now, we are buying the next one, just because for whatever reason it does call out attention. This is a sample only, but also apply to buying a camera or jumping to the next one as soon as it is available. Nikon is giving us what in our brain should be the perfect camera and / or lens. They are providing that input step by step. For example, 8 months ago I bought my second HDTV because it was the new technology, the 1080p HDTV and 3 months after, the new technology was out : the 120 hz full HDTV which is sharper than the other and looks so beatiful that we never thought something like that will be possible to achieve in the industry. We are consumers and Nikon knows it and they are giving us step by step what we want. It is a matter of anyone of us to fall into that consumerism. I am also a person who imagine things in my mind base in my humble experience as a hobbyist photographer, and I would like for Nikon to invent a camera with everything that a D3 has + VR built-in-system to stabilize lenses and eliminate the VR from each lens. Also I would like all the lenses to be f/2.8 in all ranges, more noise reduction, more speed, more rich color producion, built-in-system photo processor for more common features better than we have now, fx / dx compatible, weatherproof sealing and able to shoot under the water, better metering, etc, etc, etc. and this is not fantasy because one day we will have a camera like this and much more. 150 years ago we did not even thought about going to space, and now we are talking to build a space station in the moon. Flying is not anymore a fantasy. It is reality. So we can be here the whole day talking about what I would like to have in the next camera and Nikon will give it to us ... but it will be step by step, to make us spend the money they want us to spend, simple like that. It is about consumerism and this is not fantasy, it is reality and we like it for whatever reason it is and we fall in this game either like it or not. Neither Nikon nor any other company will give us the best for once, because they will stop selling and that is not part of their game. So, we will continue racing and spending money on the next camera or lenses. For example, the perfect lens would be the one capable to be from 10 - 400 mm f/2.8, don't you think so ? Impossible ? I don't think so !! But if that lens is created / invented, it will definitely stop us from buying other lenses and that is not how they want it because they will stop making money. Simple like that !! Let's continue getting what they give us step by step. It is our decision to either stick to what we already have for a while or just jump to the next system for whatever reason it is in our mind. This world is wide open. Some of us will stick to the D300 for example till Nikon invent another camera that calls our attention and we would have the money to buy it. Some of us will just stick to older cameras just because they don't fall into this game. I know people who have the capability to buy a HDTV but simply, they don't feel the need to have it. Some of us will just stick to what we have and probably the most of us, will continue buying and upgrading our cameras and lenses as far as they are out there ready, to be bought. Welcome to earth !! Nikon is a company and a Japanese company by the way. They know how to make money and they will continue making us spend it on their equipment, otherwise they will go to bankruptcy and I am very sure, that is not in their mind, was it in yours if you were one of the owners? Don't think so !! Welcome to consumerism !!

For my D300, I used first the Dust Aid and honestly, it is good but not good enough to clean your sensor when it does has condensation. I will start using the Swabs + Eclipse 2 ( which is the one recommended for the D300 ). Do not use anyother type of Eclipse or Swabs that are not "2" so you will damage your sensor.

For me, VR is a "must have" tool in a lens, not because I do not have a good hand to hold the lens steady but for the fact that sometimes, you need it, and instead carrying a monopod or tripod, I prefer to have the VR in my lens. Most people do not have good hands to keep the lens steady and Nikon is thinking also about not only on those able to do so but in the majority of the people unable to do so. I do believe is a gret tool and I am very sure, we are not longer from the upcoming days in which Nikon will add this tool the new cameras and not to lenses. Without VR, shooting was more complex; now you just need the VR option in your lens and forget about your tripod. Instead that, now you can carry an extra couple of lenses and have more fun with your shooting. But again, this is my personal preference and I do respect those who feel in different way.

I do recommend that lens Dallas. The Nikon 70-300 VR is a great lens for the price, very sharp, long range, fast, not to heavy and feels perfect in my D300. The VR II works great and personally, I do not have any complaint about it. I have tested it even to take pictures of flying fighters jets like the F18 and to be honest with you, I was very impress for the results. I can not post any photo yet but if you decide to go for this lens, I do believe you will not look back.

Guys, thank you in advance for any help regarding this question. I am trying to determine what lens should I buy for

my D300. I know there is the Nikon 105 mm f/2.8 VR II but according to some reviews, is not as good as I thought

and also, I do not have the money to buy it. So, my options are, either :

> Tamron SP AF 90 mm f/2.8 DI SP

> Tokina 100 mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF-PRO D .... or

> Sigma 105 mm f/2.8 EX DG

 

Acording to what I reviewed so far, the call is between the Tamron and Tokina, being the Tokina the one with better

review cause the quality is better than the Tamron. Optically talking, both are the same I guess, but the Tokina got a

full recommendation. So, what is your opinion about those lenses? Which one should be the one that will be added

to my gear ? Please advise and again, thank you all for your opinion.

Darren, follow Shung below information to upgrade you camera. It is very simple. I just did it and tomorrow I will testing it.

>>>Darren, I haven't noticed the AF issue Thom Hogan mentioned. Additionally, he recently points out that the issue pretty much goes away with the latest firmware upgrade (1.03), but I haven't made any firmware upgrade yet: http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00Q19n

 

Happy shooting and good luck !!

16-85 VR anytime. Wide end and pretty decent medium range for what you want to shoot. Personally, this is the lens that stays in my camera most of the time and my shooting preferences are the same as yours.

I agree with Ilkka. Choose "Release + focus"( option a1 ).Also set the Focus Mode Selector to C ( continuos ) and the AF - area mode selector ( back of the camera ) to auto. Set the option a3 to 51 points 3D and of course, the lens to VR ON. This will help u to achieve what you want. I personally used the Nikon 70-300 VR with the above setup to shoot the Blue Angels in the McDill Air Force Base 3 months ago and those planes were way faster than dogs and I was able to stop ( freeze them ) the action, even when one F16 was close to break the sound barrier. Probably the first shot will be a bit blurry but the next ones will be in focus and sharp as razor. Don't forget to turn the release mode dial to CH ( continuos high ). Good luck and happy shooting.

Ron, the reason every suggest to you to get the 70-300 VR is because this lens is VR II and not only that ... I have compare the 55-200 against the 70-300 VR and believe it or not, this last one is sharper than the other and the VR works much better than the other as well. Beside this, you have much range and it is not that heavy but longer, which personally, I do not care because it does balance great on my D300. Also, I never tried the 18-200 VR but according to some reviews from somes pro, the 16-85 VR is much sharper than the other. If you are looking convenious, then get the 18-200 because you will not have the need to change lenses that often, but if you are looking sharpness, then I will say the other is much better. Again, good luck and happy shooting.

Ron, it is true that with the price of the Nikon 16-85 VR and the 18-200 VR you can buy more lenses ... but, you will give up quality by saving some pennies. I had the 18-55 VR and the 55-200 VR and let me tell you, they are not even close to the above lenses 16-85 and 18-200 in quality and built terms. I do not like plasticity. I do have the 16-85 and the 70-300 VR and these lenses are superb, very sharp, well built, metal mount and more robustic than the other mentioned. If you need tele, I will suggest the 70-300 VR. You will be surprise with the quality of this lens. The reason I got the 16-85 VR instead de 18-200 VR is because this last one, is not better in my opinion than the 16-85 VR. I found the 16-85 VR sharper and with much less distortion than the 18-200. It is true that I need to change lenses to go beyond 85mm, but I do prefer to do this than compromise the sharpness that I am getting with the 16-85 VR. Also, with the 16-85 VR, you can take photos than you can crop later as if you were shooting at 200 without loosing sharpness. So this is what I do when I do not want to change lenses but when I want to go beyond and dedicate a tele to tha picture, I choose the 70-300 VR which again, is also sharp as a razor and I found this lens, better than the 55-200 VR. Finally, with the 16-85 VR, you get an extra 2 down the angle and more range than the 18-55 VR. The distortion of this lens at the wide end, is even much better than the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. Good luck and happy shooting Ron.

I am ok with my pick : Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Nikon 16-85 VR, Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 and Nikon 70-300 VR. I do prefer Nikon above any 3rd party lens for the ranges above mentioned except for the wide angle Tokina which is less expensive than the Nikon in that range. This Tokina lens, is super sharp and super fast and the quality is superb. Overall, I do prefer this one above the Nikon in that range but again, this is my personal preference. With more budget, I will substitute the 16-85 VR with the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 and the 70-300 VR with the 70-300 f/2.8 VR. My wallet does not get that fat yet !!

Thank u guys. Shun, I do not have that lens, the 18-55. Have the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 and the Nikon 16-85 VR. My intention for indoor photography could be either the Tokina or the Nikon 50 mm f/1.8 and in some cases, perhaps the 16-85 VR. Also, I always shoot in M outdoor but to be hones, never shooted in M while indoor. I will start shooting in M from now on. I always used P and according to you guys, perhaps this is the problem that I have been having, by using the wrong program. Also, I have 2 banks in my camera so far, one of them is setup for portrait and indoor. In this bank I do have Standard, D-light off, 1/30 for flash, auto-ISO off, modeling flash off and I choose auto-WB most of the time. My SB-800 is setup to +1/3 exposure ( is this a problem ? ) iTTL/BL - Please advise.

I am not a pro but I do love photography. I do have a D300 with 4 lenses, the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, the Nikon 16-85 VR, the Nikon 50 f/1.8 and the Nikon 70-300 VR. My expectation is only one : SHARPNESS !! I am in love with sharpness !! For me, this is like looking without my glases or not. But, I do not have the money to buy pro lenses. The only lens that is a pro in my gear, is the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, which I intend to use for those special ocassions when the light is not out there. This lens is supeb and I am very sure it will help me to shoot very good pictures in low light condition. The other lens that is very cheap but performs as a pro, is the Nikon 50 f/1.8 which I use for portrait. The 16-85 VR stays in my camera most of the time for everyday shooting and I do love it cause it is sharp as a razor. The last one, the telephoto 70-300 VR ( I can not afford the 70-200 VR f/2.8 ) is the one I use for long distance photos or for closing pictures. Of course, except for the Tokina and the Nikon 50 mm, the other two are not pro lenses but very good lenses in compare with the kit lenses above mentioned. Personally, I do not like plasticity, specially, mount plasticity and even though the kit lens 18-50 VR is a very sharp lens, I do like the range, the build, the wide end and the sharpness of the 16-85 VR. As you can see, the difference in prices are huge but again, this is my preference and I am very happy with what I got. As for sharpness talking, I do believe I have the tools that I need to shoot very good pictures. Perhaps some day if I become a pro and I start to charge money for my job, I will end up buying pro lenses but for now, this is more than OK for me. Don't get me wrong, one of my best pictures was shot with the Nikon 18-50 ( non-VR ) and the camera D80. One of this days, I will post it for you. With the gear I do have now, it is easier to shoot good pictures than using kit lenses. By the way, I do not like to "look" professional, I love to shoot as a pro. I am not but my goal is set to that end.

Shun, at this point I can not post any picture but I will very soon. What I will do is to practice everything you guys have been advising me in this post. Thanks a million for that. I got another question, I do believe that will all your advises point to indoor photography, but my question is : if I use lower shutter speed by choosing A on the camera, then I probably will have a blured picture. I trying here to use the SB-800 for indoor without the need to use a tripod to stop the blur and according to what you told me, using those setups, the camera will shoot in very low speed which will fill all the light properly but not without compromising blur in the picture if I don't use a tripod, so what to do in this case guys ?

Thanks Elliot. Are you telling me to increase the ISO in the camera or the SB-800? If so, how high should I set it up ? By the way, most of the time, I use the difuser or bounce flash, but still getting underexposed pictures.

Always shootign at ISO 200.

For me to get a bright foreground and background, I have to use the camera in slow sinc + 1/30. This is nice, since I

get the expected result .. but, not without dealing with some blur so, to keep the sharpness, I must use a tripod or

monopod and that is something I will not have anytime I will use my SB-800, so, my question is, can anyone advise

what else to do to avoid tripod and still shooting bright pictures ( foreground and background ) ? Does the WB have to

do something with this ? So the filters ? Usually I have my camera setup on 1/30 on one of the banks to shoot

photos with flash, but still, using this setup, sometimes I am getting underexposed pictures. Please help !!

Thank you guys, I did blow the focusing glass and it went away. I do appreciate your help !!

Some kind of dust have entered in my D300 viewfinder. On the upper right corner, there is a dust. I cleaned it and

nothing was removed. Have not use my camera in a dusty environment, but I do remember I was shooting the other

day in Tampa Bay and it was very windy. What I do not understand is, how in heaven this dust got into the viewfinder?

I used a Giotto blower to clean it up and still there. It is not the sensor because I have it very clean. Cleaned also the

lenses and every possible part but still there and still do not understand what happened. This camera is suppose to

be sealed in most parts and probably this is one of them that should be sealed properly. Have anybody have had this

kind of problem ? Please advise !!

Had a 17-50 tamron and I returned it due to a lot of barrel distortion, plasticity and for some unknown reason, made my D300 perform bad. The LCD became black, one or two photos were completely black as well and finally I did return it. To be honest with you, I did compare the barrel distortion with the Nikon 16-85 VR and this lens, the Nikon one, has less barrel distortion than the tamron, being the tamron at 17 mm. Also, as far as sharpness talking, the Nikon 16-85 VR is super sharp in compare to this tamron lens. It is true that I do not have f/2.8 on the Nikon, but the VR allow me to down the f stop 2 or 3 times and with the ISO on the D300, I can shoot photos in low light conditions, and if I need a better lens for this type of pictures, then I do have the 11-16 f/2.8 Tokina or the Nikon 50 mm f/1.8.

Yes Dave, I just bought mine today at www.ntphotodigital.com /// this store is located in Tampa, Florida and they have this lens and it is made in Japan. I will not give you the price because I don't know if that is against the terms and conditions of this forum, but they do have this lens and so far, I am very happy I did buy it. Have a D300 and it is working superb on my camera. Go for Dave and pass the info. I was looking for this lens in the net but not one has it but this guys, have it and they are in stock 'cause I saw about 4 of them after I bought mine today.

I have the 70-300 VR and at f/5.6 to f/8 and upto 220 or something, it is sharp as a knife. I have even shot pictures at 300 mm and I am still getting pretty good results. Did have the 55-200 VR and that is a crap of a lens in my opinion. First of all it is not VR II which makes a huge different. VR II works great and there is not comparison in my opinion. It is true that with the price you pay for the 70-300 you can buy 2 of the others, but again, for me, not even in the optical quality they are close. Again, I had both and I returned the 55-200.

Never had this problem either. Mine is clean and crystal sharp.

Just turn the lens aperture 22 and lock it. Then control your aperture on the camera. I have the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and this one goes upto 22. Don't know if the one you have goes upto 16 or 22, but that is not important, just turn the wheel to 22 and lock it as I said above. By the way, that lens is a little more expensive than the Nikon 50 f/1.8. You may save some money going for this lens instead that one which only goes down a bit in compare the one I do have. Both have I guess, an according to a lot of reviews, the same optical quality. Good luck and happy shooting !!