Lens Advice Needed

Ewan

Ewan

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Ok, I'm about to start the 9 millionth thread asking for advice on which lens to get.

I've looked around for awhile and it seems the Nikon D50 is the body for me. So now I'm starting to try and find out which long lens I should get to go with it.

Today I found this lens:http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product.asp?ProductID=2654.

I've read some reviews on it, and looked around at some prices. It seems I can get the d50+kit lens+above long lens for about £600-£650, which seems like a reasonable price.

So, what do you lot think? I've read somewhere that the zoom ring is sticky and not smooth - can anyone verify this?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, but since I can't do that, maybe you can tell me them :p

Thanks in advance,

Ewan
 
The one you posted in the first link is the one I should be getting tomorrow. Have heard loads of good things about it, will let you know what I think.
 
Ewan said:
Ok, I'm about to start the 9 millionth thread asking for advice on which lens to get.

I've looked around for awhile and it seems the Nikon D50 is the body for me. So now I'm starting to try and find out which long lens I should get to go with it.

Today I found this lens:http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product.asp?ProductID=2654.

I've read some reviews on it, and looked around at some prices. It seems I can get the d50+kit lens+above long lens for about £600-£650, which seems like a reasonable price.

So, what do you lot think? I've read somewhere that the zoom ring is sticky and not smooth - can anyone verify this?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, but since I can't do that, maybe you can tell me them :p

Thanks in advance,

Ewan
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Feel the force. Ignore the darkside young padawan. Invest in a Canon:lol:
 
Thanks Wile! Can you throw me a PM or post here when you've tested it out? Cheers.

dougdarter said:
Feel the force. Ignore the darkside young padawan. Invest in a Canon:lol:
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What body+lens would you suggest then? Canon have a good range of lenses but they all seem to be at the higher end of the market :shrug:
 
Ewan said:
Thanks Wile! Can you throw me a PM or post here when you've tested it out? Cheers.
Click to expand...

Dont worry will do, Im just sitting in work waiting for it to be delivered, I hate waiting for things :bang:
 
The 70-300 VR is good for the money. Iirc it costs around £350. Its probaly a better lens than the 55-200, mostly due to the larger reach. It does cost and weigh more however!

The 70-200 2.8 is an absolute killer lens - one of Nikons best! However it costs over £1,000! Nikon TCs cost several hundred each too.

Go for whichever you can afford! :D
 
The Nikkor 70 - 300 VR will be a great budget end lens and imgo unbeatable for the price ... :thumbs: ... I started with an earlier non-VR version of the 70 -300 and found it a super versatile lens with no competition for the price ... ;) ... go for it and with the body/lens combo you mention you will have a great kick start on the Darkside ... :D









:p
 
Ewan, as you never stated the budgetary constraints I would recommend the following:

If you HAVE TO buy a Ni**n (Sorry, we are not supposed to use vulgar words on this forum:lol: ) then get a D80.

If you go for Canon then start with a 30D.

Both very decent bodies which shouild serve you well for a good few years.

Lenses depend on what type of photography you do most...:shrug:


Cheers
 
Don't listen to those Canon non-believers - the Nikon 70-300mmVR is a cracker especially at its price! I have tried a number of combinations & this one is the best compromise of value & quality that I have tried ... I took this with it handheld & it continues to be one of my all time favs ...

eagle_head_800.jpg


Paul :nikon:
 
[s1]
I Love NIKON noise
[/s1]
 
Ewan said:
Canon have a good range of lenses but they all seem to be at the higher end of the market :shrug:
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There are loads of lenses at the budget range, not excluding some excellent ones from the likes of Sigma too. The Canon 70-300 IS USM and the Nikkor 70-300 AF-S VR are roughly comparable from each manufacturer.

Though if you are happy with Nikon then that is what is important.

Michael.
 
As far as the body goes, you can't go wrong with the D50 as an entry level DSLR. The kit lens, although basic, is perfectly good to start off with. The price you've got there sounds reasonable. I've heard of D50 lens kits going for £300 new in stores, so you may be able to get one like that and have more flexibility with the long lens purchase.

Personally I use the Nikon 18-70 (as supplied with the D70s kit) as my basic lens (I destroyed the D50 kit lens by dropping the camera off something!) but am looking to buy a long lens soon, but optically the 18-55 seemed just as good.

Oh, and don't listen to the Canon boys, they know they made a big mistake but are in too deep and can't turn back now! ;)
 
Ta Michael.

Just seems like there's not much difference between the two brands, so it all comes down to personal preference really.

Thanks Ian

I was looking for a basic body that I could get quite cheaply, in order to save money for a good long lens, and the D50 seems about right. I'm not gonna be printing huge prints, so 6MP is enough for me.

I'm currently trying to find out whether a Kenko (Kenco?) converter would be any good on the 55-200mm, as 400mm is quite tempting, and also cheaper than buying the 70-300mm. If anyone has any experience with these items please let me know :)

Thanks again for everyone's help!
 
Hi, I've got the 70 - 300 VR and the link you have given seems a VERY good price! Its a lovely lens and can produce some cracking pictures. I'm totally in love with the VR! However I have read somewhere that the 55 - 200 VR is a better quality lens.... But having never used it I can't comment.
 
Hi Ewan,

Did you know that the first Canon rangefinder cameras used Nikon lenses? In those days Canon was solely a camera maker and Nikon a lens maker. Canon later produced it's own lenses and Nikon their own cameras!

Anyway here is Thom Hogan's review of the lens, and he is a reliable reviewer

http://www.bythom.com/70300VRlens.htm

As you have been advised, if you can spring the extra go for the D80 because it has the Commander Mode for Nikon's Creative Lighting System built in, plus is 10 Megapixels. With that the camera can control more flashguns off camera than any of us can afford!

I was considering the well regarded Canon 20D when I changed to digital because I had to get rid of all my non-AI old Nikon gear and start afresh. However it was rumoured that a 30D was soon to be introduced, but even Canon fanatics were upset when it was released as it was only a minor upgrade on the 20D and no match for the then new Nikon D200, so I stuck with Nikon and got a D200 and have been very happy with it since. But no doubt I would have been just as happy with a Canon, Olympus or Pentax as they all produce quality equipment in spite of the little digs each camp has at each other.

All the best,

DaveW
 
Ewan said:
I'm currently trying to find out whether a Kenko (Kenco?) converter would be any good on the 55-200mm, as 400mm is quite tempting, and also cheaper than buying the 70-300mm. If anyone has any experience with these items please let me know :)
Click to expand...

My observations here would be YES the Kenko converter would probably work OK but at the loss of TWO f stops and the lens is already f5.6 at the long end - also there is normally a slight softening of images with a converter - I found it a pain using a converter but I'm a lazy g!t ... Paul ;)
 
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