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Which lens? (Read 2991 times)

Jim

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Which lens?
June 07, 2006, 07:27:07 am
I've got a nikkon D50 with the 18-55 bundles lens. I'm after something with a bit more zoom on it (upto about 120 I'm thinking). I'm also thinking of buying an F80 body at some point in the future to go with these lenses. The nikkor lenses are quite expensive and have been looking at the sigma and tamron lenses as well. suggestions please

Johnny Brown

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#1 Re: Which lens?
June 07, 2006, 09:58:35 am
First up word, the F80 is a crazy bargain at the mo. You can't use your current lens though.
second, I'm presuming your after the close in, out of focus background look? two ways of acheiving this - long lens or wide aperture (small f. no).

You probably want a general use 70-300 (or dig equiv), these cover a useful range but are generally slow (ie narrow max aperture) meaning you'll have to crank up the iso in poor light, plus to get blurred backgrounds you need to use it at the long end, ie stand further away which can be restrictive at the crag.

So also consider a shorter, faster (ie wider aperture) prime lens (non-zoom). Dave has been raving about a 50mm/ f1.8 on his nikon digi, plus these are fairly cheap. Great in low light, you can use closer in and still blur the background, the faster the lens the better the autofocus performance, plus they're smaller.

dave

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#2 Re: Which lens?
June 08, 2006, 10:54:28 pm
word to my niggaz.

the 50mm AF f/1.8 (D or no-D makes no odds) is a blinging lens and an awesome bargain even full price brand new - if you can get one used then even better. Or even better still do what i did and get one for a birthday present. Its basically rated as one of, if not the, sharpest lens they make and its also the cheapest. I find it a useful length (equiv to a 75mm on film) and also having to use a prime lens for the first time really makes you think about composition etc. Its very usable wide open since when wide open on a film camera the edges of the image may go soft, but because you're only using the centre 2/3 of the image on digital theres even less of this edge softness. just be aware you get not much depth of field at 1.8 so good focusing is paramount. Also the only other downside for climbing pics is that cos you have to stand a bit further away its not so great for fill flash with the built-in flash cos if its lower power.

I've seen used F80s on tinternet for good prices check out mifsuds.co.uk for example.

I can't comment on the 70-300 cos never used one, the only bad thing i heard is that they can be a bit soft over 200, but its probably still a good lens. I've got a used 70-210 which is great. nikon don't really make many bad lenses.

Worth checking also that you might be able to use your 18-55 on an F80 just not at the widest lengths if the images circle is big enough. You'd have to try it and check. even if you could say only use it from 24 or 28 to 55 then thats still usefully wide on film. The lens will work fine in every other respect on an F80.

If you're going to buy and off brand like sigma or tamron make sure its a decent lens cos off-brands don't hold their resale value as well as nikons unless they are known as an exceptional lens. Buying and selling used Nikon lens can basically be like a free lens loan scheme if you're carefull cos they tend to hold value well. I've never sold a used lens but i hear of plenty who do and often get what they paid for it if not more!

Jim

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#3 Re: Which lens?
June 09, 2006, 07:05:57 am
cheers word for the advize.
I just missed out on an f80 body on fleebay lastnight. went for £92

dave

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#4 Re: Which lens?
June 12, 2006, 05:29:10 pm
cheers word for the advize.
I just missed out on an f80 body on fleebay lastnight. went for £92

word, since you can get them for about ton on reputable used camera sites with some form of warranty (generally 3 months to a year depending) it would be madness to pay close to that for one on ebay. Get one on ebay if you can get a proper bargain though by all means, seems proper bargains on ebay are something you've really got to be careful about these days!

Jim

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#5 Re: Which lens?
June 12, 2006, 06:45:44 pm
got one for £80  ;D . most go for around a ton with a very few going around the £75 mark so recon I got a good deal. can't belive all these people selling up good film camera cos they are going digital, madness. Good for me tho
« Last Edit: June 12, 2006, 06:47:15 pm by Jim »

 

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