Buy D90 with 18-55 or 18 - 105 mm

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sep9001

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Hi

A friend wants to get a D90 and has the following options:

a - D90 with 18-55mm for £599 * Price edited as it was incorrect
b - D90 with 18-105mm for £679

He will be mainly be using it for general photography including family and holidays.

Also would he be better off getting option a and later getting a second hand 55-200mm vr lens?

Thank you
 
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Hi,

I think your suggestion would be the most versatile and cost effective! - 'Also would he be better off getting option a and later getting a second hand 55-200mm vr lens?' - yes!

or even buying the 55-200mm VR new would still save you friend a bit of money over option b.
 
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That seems like a massive price diff between the two lenses unless I'm being thick... the 18-105 retails at around £180 new, so you could buy the D90 with 18-55 then buy the 18-105 in addition for that money!

Anyhoo, I have both lenses, just got the 18-105 recently and I'm not massively enamoured with it, but then I also have the 16-85 and am probably (unfairly) comparing it with that. The main physical advantage the 18-105 has over the 18-55 (apart from a longer long end!) is full time manual focus override, but that's an advanced technique and many people don't use/need it. Other than that it's significantly heavier and take more expensive 67mm filters instead of 52mm, and IMHO doesn't offer any better image quality than the 18-55mm.

I'd be inclined to go down the 18-55/55-200 route, many have done it before including me.

Also for your budget you could get the 18-55mm and the 35mm f1.8 prime, which is a very well thought of lens, bit different from a zoom but have a search around - loads of great feedback about it here :)
 
ronnus said:
That seems like a massive price diff between the two lenses unless I'm being thick... the 18-105 retails at around £180 new, so you could buy the D90 with 18-55 then buy the 18-105 in addition for that money!

Anyhoo, I have both lenses, just got the 18-105 recently and I'm not massively enamoured with it, but then I also have the 16-85 and am probably (unfairly) comparing it with that. The main physical advantage the 18-105 has over the 18-55 (apart from a longer long end!) is full time manual focus override, but that's an advanced technique and many people don't use/need it. Other than that it's significantly heavier and take more expensive 67mm filters instead of 52mm, and IMHO doesn't offer any better image quality than the 18-55mm.

I'd be inclined to go down the 18-55/55-200 route, many have done it before including me.

Also for your budget you could get the 18-55mm and the 35mm f1.8 prime, which is a very well thought of lens, bit different from a zoom but have a search around - loads of great feedback about it here :)
Click to expand...

:agree: The 18-55, 55-200, 35 prime are all superb. The 18-200 could be an option if your friend doesn't want to carry multiple lens around though?
 
18-105 is a good walk about lens. As mentioned above the 35mm is a cracking lens also. if it were me having owned them I would get the 18-105. The 55-200 is a useable lens but not really a great improvement on 105mm? maybe a 70-300vr in the future?
 
Thank you all for your suggestions and comments.

The price for the 18-55 was incorrect as pointed out by Ron.

Original post now updated with the correct price.
 
Is there a secret option number 3 - D90 body only, 35mm F1.8 + 55-200mm VR (to keep costs reasonable)? The 35mm really is a very nice lens! My wife has both the 18-55 VR and the 35mm.... the 35mm is never of her D90!
 
I have the 18-55 I got with my D60 and the 18-105 I got with my d90 since using the 18-105 I will not use the 18-55 again it is nowhere as good a lens
 
Osmo said:
Is there a secret option number 3 - D90 body only, 35mm F1.8 + 55-200mm VR (to keep costs reasonable)? The 35mm really is a very nice lens! My wife has both the 18-55 VR and the 35mm.... the 35mm is never of her D90!
Click to expand...

I have the 35mm and also love it, once he has decided what he wants and buys it I will get him to try out the 35mm and 50mm and decide on if he want to get them.

Thank you
 
paulminus273 said:
I have the 18-55 I got with my D60 and the 18-105 I got with my d90 since using the 18-105 I will not use the 18-55 again it is nowhere as good a lens
Click to expand...

Thanks Paul, will keep this in mind.
 
I got the D90 with the 18-105 VR lens. It is a much better lens than the 18-55, and it has a usable focal range for a walkabout lens. ( I have just bought an additional 70-300 lens though).
 
Chappers. said:
I got the D90 with the 18-105 VR lens. It is a much better lens than the 18-55, and it has a usable focal range for a walkabout lens. ( I have just bought an additional 70-300 lens though).
Click to expand...

I am looking at lenses in addition to my 18 - 105 for my D90 and am mulling over 55 - 200 / 55 - 300 VR, I wondered which lens you bought and how you find it? I am interested in wild life and motorsport, but don't want to spend more than I need to.

I'd appreciate yours or anybody else's comments.

Thanks,


Ernie
 
I have all the lenses mentioned in the thread so far (and a D90, and more lenses) and I would 100% get the 18-105mm.
 
Ernie, I bought the Nikon 70-300 VR lens. I did think about getting either a Tamron or Sigma equivalent but most of the cheaper ones don't have the VR (or similar) and they can produce very soft images.

I then looked at the Nikon 55-300 & the 70-300. The 70-300 offers faster focussing and a manual focus ring along with a few other bits and bobs and is better built (it is also an FX lens - the 55-300 is a DX lens). The 70-300 gives better pictures (apparently) and it can also use the same 67mm filters that I have already got for the standard 18-105 kit lens - the saving of being able to use the same filters covers the extra cost of the FX lens.

The faster focussing will be needed for motorsport as well.

There are plenty on ebay which represents a decent saving over new price as well.




My apologies for the threat hijack! :bonk:
 
I found the nikon 18-70 a nicer lens than the 18-105. Around £100 second hand, so get that and body only.

55-200 is ok but if you can stretch the 70-300vr is a very good lens.
 
Chappers. said:
My apologies for the threat hijack! :bonk:
Click to expand...

Chappers, It's probably me that should be apologising but thanks for the info anyway! As it looked like you were going through a similar exercise to myself, having also looked at Tamron and Sigma, I thought it worthwhile to ask the question.

As I already have Tamron 80 - 210 manual lens for my FE2 and which I like a lot, I didn't want to dismiss their AF lenses in spite of the mixed vibes I was getting about them, but it does sound as though it would be worthwhile going for the Nikon.

Many thanks for taking the time to reply.


Ernie
 
If it helps, I saw the 55-200VR for £99.99 in Dixons at both Heathrow T5 and Edinburgh airports recently.
 
For a long while I used the 18 - 55 and the 55 - 200(VR), but I found I was getting more and more like the proverbial "one armed paper hanger". The one I actually needed was always the "other one" :D

I had a long look round and decided that an 18 - 200 was what I needed (surprise, surprise); tried the Sigma which wasn't bad; then the Nikon, which I thought was excellent. The two lenses that I had already were a hard act to follow, but the 18 - 200 does that admirably.
Worth a try !

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

It's £550 on Amazon at the moment...............
 
Stratman said:
If it helps, I saw the 55-200VR for £99.99 in Dixons at both Heathrow T5 and Edinburgh airports recently.
Click to expand...
That's a total bargain for the VR lens IMHO, they go for more than that used! :bonk:
 
I think that you should always look to get fast glass.

I have a d90 and I've now aquired the following lenses. All 2nd hand but well worth It.

Nikon 35mm f1.8 (although I'm in the process of selling this)
Nikon 50mm f1.8
Tamron 28-75 f2.8
Sigma 70-200 f2.8

These are all cracking lenses and tack sharp. If it were me (and actually what I did) I'd buy the d90 with the 18-105 but sell it to fund either a Nikon 50 or 35 f1.8 or maybe even a tamron 17-55 f2.8.

If you shoot indoors you'll appreciate the low f stop.

Sent from my Nexus One
 
After reading many reviews I went for the 18-105 option when i purchased my d90 before christmas. Opinion was it was a better lens than the 18-55 and i thought the extra would be usefull, and it has.
 
Thank you all for the suggestions I will pass on a link to him and see what he decides to get.

Thanks
 
As an extra (that I've only just remembered), a friend has a D40 that came with the 18-55 & 55-200 kit lenses. He found that he was always swapping between lenses as the 55mm swap-over point between lenses was just in the wrong place.

He's also recently bought a D90 with the 18-105 kit lens and is extremely happy with it (both camera & lens).
 
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