Lens recommendations for Nikon D90 / D300

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MrRobbie

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I'm considering buying the Nikon D90 or D300 as a replacement for my old Canon G3 Powershot which has finally died after 10 years loyal service - it's probably not worth repairing.

So I'd appreciate any recommendations as to which make & type of lens or lenses I should go for as a good quality, all rounder with the D90 or D300. I'll be taking landscape, buildings, wildlife, portrait and night shots, but I probably won't be doing much high speed sport or fast action type shots.

Would the Nikkor VR lens be the best type of lens for these camera bodies, or are there better options I should consider from other manufacturers? Nikon offer a 18-105mm VR kit for the D90, but I wonder if this lens would be a mistake?

The other Nikkor lens which appeals to me is the 18-200mm VR as a single, all rounder. But would your view be that this is too much of a compromise - it looks to be too good to be true to get all that range in one lens, without sacrificing something on the quality.

Look forward to any advice you can give me.

Many thanks.
Vaughan
 
The 18-200VR is an amazing lens tbh, I would love one to leave on my camera for 70% of the time. Amazing all rounder.
 
foggy4ever said:
Lens review
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. After reading this review, I'm much less convinced now that this lens would be an acceptable choice for me, due to the compromises identified in the testing.

Any other suggestions for the D90 / D300? What would be the best 2 lens choice, where image quality with minimal compromises is required?
 
Nikkor 17-55 f2.8, and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VR (or the older 80-200 non VR version). Thats two lenses getting you from 17 - 200mm with no compromises.

A touch lighter on the wallet, Nikkor 16-85 VR and Nikkor 70-300VR also lighter on the shoulder as well, but you would not be disappointed in the image quality.

As a guide option 1 about £2300, option 2 about £800
 
I have the 16-85mm VR as my walking around lens. Its really good, but is a little heavy! I do like the slight wide angle this lens gives...
 
grahamc said:
I have the 16-85mm VR as my walking around lens. Its really good, but is a little heavy! I do like the slight wide angle this lens gives...
Click to expand...

Heavy, I considered this a lightweight option :D, ... I know its all relative, compared to the kit lens it probably is a tad heavier, and I am used to carrying some hefty glass, but I would not call the under 500g 16-85 heavy.
 
recently fitted the Tamron 17-50 F/2.8 on my D300 in place of the Nikon kit lens. Great lens, superb results and not broken the bank.
 
I have the 70-300VR. Simply could not afford the 70-200 F2.8 VR but I'm astounded by the image quality all the same. Great value lens in my opinion.
 
I would say the Tamron 17-50 2.8 and the Sigma 50-150 2.8 is a good combo without breaking the bank.
 
Hi Mr Robbie (and welcome to TP),

I've got the D90 with an 18-200 VR as an all rounder. I can't speak for the pro's and cons of other lenses but I really like this one as it covers all of my needs. Maybe see if you can try one out in a shop first with some others too? The 70-300 and another might also be a good option for the wildlife shots though.
 
sigma 50-150 is good, lot lighter than most fast 70-200s too
 
+1 for the 50-150, smashing lens. lot's of samples on my flickr. Much smaller and lighter than the 70/80-200's.

I've got a 1.4 TC too which takes it to 70-210 f4.
 
Thanks to everyone for your advice - much appreciated. On balance, I think I favour the recommendation to go with 2 lenses, but due to budget constraints, I'll probably start with the 70-200mm VR, and then see how I go.

Sometimes though, I think you can get too bogged down in all the technical / performance data, and forget that what really matters is taking great photos.
 
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