Nikon Lens Advice

dentonkarl

dentonkarl

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Karl
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Hi,
I've just purchased a Nikon D90 with kit lens 18-105mm. Loving the lens, a great range.
I shoot mainly landscapes but want to get into the whole range (transport, sports, landscapes etc).
Which lens should I start saving for next ?

Looked at the Tokina 11-16 or Sigma alternative.
Possibly a 50mm prime, although not sure if the advantage of having low stops would be good for landscapes.
Possibly a 70-300 VR ?

The range is endless.

Advice always appreciated

Thanks
 
Check the link in the siggy. There is a set on there (if you can find it) on the right hand side, for tokina 11-16.

Although 50mm is nice, I find it too restrictive. Check out the 35 f1.8 (170 from jessops) or go a little wider (28mm).

Zooms I have no idea. Personally I had an 18-200 and it wasn't close enough and felt soft. I tried a friends 70-300 and that didn't get close enough, so am thinking 80-400 (tamron or tokina...) or the 50-500 sigma (think there is a 200-500 as well migth be worth looking for).


Go for a tokina 11-16 or sigma 10-20 (the f3.5? or was it the f4 that was sharper..) or a tokina 12-24..?

If you aren't on ameet to try them, perhaps rent a few as they are all around the 300-400 ukp mark or more.
 
If you've only just bought a dslr, id suggest you use what you've got for a while. Its easier to work out what to get next once you've worked out where your current kit is limiting you.
 
I think the Tokina 11-16 is the ultra wideangle I'd buy right now and the 70-300 VR is meant to be really good too. For transport (racing cars?) 300mm should be enough. Some sports might warrant an f2.8 70-200 but that's a fair investment and might be worth waiting some time to buy.

A 50mm prime is a great early purchase for it's value if nothing else. True, it is restrictive on a crop sensor so maybe experiment with just using the '50mm' length on your zoom. Same for the 35mm though, I've got the Sigma 30mm and find it quite an odd focal length to use.
 
use your kit lens and see what focal lengths you enjoy shooting. You've got wide enough and long enough to do a lot of things. Take a bunch of pictures and see where you're limited.

Likely next candidates are the 70-300 if you need more length, 35 1.8 if you want lower light, and any number of wide lenses. You don't sound like an 85 1.4 kinda guy, though a macro lens is always nice to have if you like that sort of thing.

Thanks
Rick
 
I started with a Sigma 18-250mm, then quite promptly purchased a Tokina 11-16mm. I then got the bug (pardon the pun!) for a bit of macro (insect) and consequently purchased the cheaper 85mm f3.5 (a very sharp and impressive lens for the money!) which comes in very handy for a makeshift portrait lens. /D90 user
 
I let my friend use my 50mm f1.8 for a few days on his D90 and he liked the pictures, so he bought a second hand one.

He said the pictures using the 50mm are a lot better than using his kit lens.
 
I got the D90 with the kit lens, fully expecting to want a whole list of other lenses eventually.

What I found was the kit lens is plenty wide enough for the shots that I want - and much wider than I was ever used to on a compact or bridging camera. I did find that I wanted a longer reach though, so I have invested in a Nikon 70-300 VR lens (and have been very impressed do far).

The only other lens that I can see I might well invest in eventually would be the Nikon 35mm f1.8 as I quite fancy having a play around with a prime lens.
 
The D90 is a fantastic camera and in my view it will become a classic in years to come.

The 18 - 105mm lens is a very good lens and with a bit of PP editing you can get some really excellent result.

The 50mm prime will allow you to get better results on portaits with a shallower depth of field that a f1.4 or the more affordable f1.8 offers, even when stopped down to f2.8.

I took my D90 to Malta a few years ago with a Nikon 50mm f1.8, the 18-105mm kit lens and the 70-300mm VR. I took over 600 shots with the first two lenses and a few dozen with the 70 - 300mm.

You can pickup a Nikon 50mm f1.8 secondhand for about £40 - £55.

I only started to ues my 70 - 300mm VR in anger when I tried some wild life photography and sports stuff. However, for the sports stuff, I preferred the more expensive 70 - 200mm f2.8 VR as it's a faster lens. I realised I needed a much longer lens for wildlife so I invested in a sturdy tripod, a small bean bag and a Tokina 80 - 400mm ATX Pro lens. The 70 - 300mm VR then became redundant and only used to taking on holiday as it's lighter than the Tokina.

I love both my Sigma 8-16 and Tokina 11 - 16 lenses. I can't bring myself to selling the Nikon fit ones even though I use a 7D now. I tend to use the 8-16mm for arty shots where foreground subjects are very close-by but I have an interesting background or where I want to emphasise the subject matter or where I want to go really wide.

The Tokina 11-16mm is mostly used for regulation lanscapes.

If you're like me, you'll end up scouting ebay and the internet for great bargains.

If you weren't too fussed about the reach of the 18-105mm, the Sigma 17-70mm f2.8 - 4.0 OS HSM lens is fab as it almost bridges the gap of a Prime lens (35 or 50mm). considering you can pick it up for £250 - £300, it's a much sharper lens with better all-round optics. It's much faster than the 18-105 and has a faster AF.

Then you would be justified to invest in the 70 - 300mm VR. The Sigma 8-16 or the Tokina 11-16 could then be your wide lens option, if you need to go wider than the 17mm of the Sigma 17-70mm.

Nikon have a 24-120mm which comes in a value model and a constant f4. To be honest, I've tried them both and I couldn't justify spending £650 or more on the f4 model. I might not have any choice if I were on full frame, but as an APS-C user the standard 24-120mm VR model should be considered. Stick with the 18-105mm is more versatile in my view especially when you take into consideration the 1.5x APS-C crop factor.

I just wish Sigma would bring out a 17 - 125mm f2.8 - 4.0 OS HSM for a reasonable price, based on their 17-70mm

Your choices will ultimately depend on the type of photography you're interested in. Good luck.
 
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