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will
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After gaining huge brownie points from my better half on Mother's Day my lens budget has been increased👏. So looking for a bit of help in deciding. I shoot a lot of landscapes but I want to start doing more indoor stuff like cathedrals, abbeys etc. so any help you guys can give on one that would be ideal for both. Budget I reckon would be between £600-£700. Thanks.
 
Hi Will ....if you are looking for an ultra wide then take a look at the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 its a great lens :thumbs:
 
Another option is a tripod + head and a remote. Unless you already have one of course...
 
Sigma 10-20mm AND a tripod and head!

...oooh and a remote shutter release....

Really pleased with mine!


Heather
 
+ 1 to the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 pro.
 
Thanks for replies. I was looking for something that I could use handheld(at least most if the time). Any opinions on nikon 17-55f2.8 ? Never considered a Tokina before, something to look at. I was already looking at the sigma for landcapes but didn't think it would be good enough to get a decent shutter speed in cathedrals etc. ?
 
For hand held landscape you may want to look at lenses with VR
 
What lenses do you have currently?

Also 2.8 isn't very necessary for a landscape lens, you will normally shoot stopped down around f8 - 11.

F2.8 does make the viewfinder brighter, aiding composition through the viewfinder, though i mostly use live view for landscapes.
 
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What lenses do you have currently?

Also 2.8 isn't very necessary for a landscape lens, you will normally shoot stopped down around f8 - 11.

F2.8 does make the viewfinder brighter, aiding composition through the viewfinder, though i mostly use live view for landscapes.

I've got 18-70 f3.5 that I use for landscapes just now. I've tried that a couple of times indoor and I've had to boost ISO way up to get a decent shutter speed. that's why I was looking to get a f2.8 for indoors to try and shoot handheld
 
For hand held landscape you may want to look at lenses with VR

It was more hand held indoors cathedrals etc I was thinking about. Usually always shoot landscapes on a tripod anyway.
 
You'll need VR even more for indoor architecture. If you want sharp images. As you'll be using pretty slow shutter speeds, unless you want to kick up the ISO, which isn't a great idea for that kind of imagery.
 
It was more hand held indoors cathedrals etc I was thinking about. Usually always shoot landscapes on a tripod anyway.

Then you will need a 2.8 as a minimum..and wider than the 17mm :thumbs:
 
So VR would be more of a benefit indoors than a larger aperture?
 
The only wide angle lens I know of for Nikon fit with VR is the Nikkor 16-35mm F4 VR - I don't believe any of the 3rd party lenses have VR in this range. On a crop camera 16mm isn't overly wide either ... the 16-35mm F4 VR is an FX lens and has all the FX goodness, i.e. heavy, expensive and large ;)

I've used the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 and it is very nice, I had the Nikkor 12-24mm F4 and it was better suited to me as it had a more usable range, it too was very nice, but it's expensive new - better to get used if you can.
 
Just seen sigma 17-50 f2.8 with OS in a mag. Anyone got any experience with this?
 
theres also the tamron 17-50 vc. ive got copy that i quite like. its also a 2.8 lens, but not sure if you will want to use a wide aperture for indoor cathedrals, though you can use a wide aperture to isolate a subject if you wish.

i havent generally had a problem using tripods in cathedrals, just ask beforehand if there are any events on and put something in the collection tin.

whilst much maligned, hdr can be useful in cathedrals to balance the bright windows and dark corners, and you will want a tripod for that.
 
Would I be able to use nikon 16-35 vr in d300?
 
Yes you can. It would function as a short normal zoom on the D300.

Not sure why you would use one, unless a move to fx was imminent. You'd be better off using a tamron 17-50 vc or nikon 16-85 vr.

cheaper lighter and longer.
 
Go too wide and you get this, taken with a 12-24mm f4 lens DX (£809) but one on Ebay for (£671+ import duty possibly) which is just about in your price bracket

dsc1710desktopresolutio.jpg


Notice the side walls leaning in.


In reality you need one lens for landscape and another for indoor and if I were you would decide which I take the most of and concentrate on a lens for that particular job. However cost does come into your equation so at the moment that option isn't available. My fav walkabout lens is the 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 lens which covers most things
Realspeed
 
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Any suggestions Steve ?

Will get either the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 / 12-24 f4 or the Nikon 12-24 f4 as you wont go wrong with any of those for landscape to be fair ...but the 11-16 will satisfy your lower light needs for indoors :thumbs:

Don't know much better to pair with the D300...
 
I have to say I prefer staying with the same make as the camera if possible, But I do have a Sigma and Tamron lens to even the balance. I always find it helps if posting a photo which has used a particular lens is best when someone is trying to make up their mind. Luckily I have the same camera as the OP which is a bonus. Ideally the 24-70mm f2.8 is the answer but well out of the price range at £1239, which reminds me I must use mine more

Realspeed
 
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But that's not wide enough on the D300 to use indoors in my opinion.
 
But that's not wide enough on the D300 to use indoors in my opinion.


I would agree which is why I put up the 12-24 lens photo first. the 24-70mm is a great lens for its purpose. My first kit lens on the previous D70s I had was the 18-70 lens which might suit but well below the budget in post 1.

With all due respect to the OP he is trying to do 2 jobs with an- all in- one lens which in my opinion doesn't work. Tamron does the 18-270mm lens which makes a brave attempt but not having seen any proper results with it I can't comment.

What isn't mentioned re landscape is distance of landscape, this can have a direct affect on lens choice, ie horizon type or scenery.

Realspeed
 
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I would agree which is why I put up the 12-24 lens photo first. the 24-70mm is a great lens for its purpose. My first kit lens on the previous D70s I had was the 18-70 lens which might suit but well below the budget in post 1.

With all due respect to the OP he is trying to do 2 jobs with an- all in- one lens which in my opinion doesn't work. Tamron does the 18-270mm lens which makes a brave attempt but not having seen any proper results with it I can't comment.

What isn't mentioned re landscape is distance of landscape, this can have a direct affect on lens choice, ie horizon type or scenery.

Realspeed

Totally agree with what you mention regarding distance landscapes Bazza but the OP does suggest that interior shots of cathedral type buildings is what he wishes to use the lens for as well as landscape so that pretty well rules out any long telephoto or zoom don't you think?
 
Think we agree on the same Steve. there is always the prime lens route but that restricts even more the versatility it can be put to. This is why I prefer the lens used in the picture for indoor shots. By the way that photo is the inside of San Francisco city hall.

Same lens and place looking other way maybe DOF could be better this was at f8 hand held, but these 2 photos give some idea of the capability of this 12-24mm lens indoors without flash. This I think would be the ideal lens for the OP.

dsc1715adesktopresoluti.jpg


Realspeed
 
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Go too wide and you get this, taken with a 12-24mm f4 lens DX (£809) but one on Ebay for (£671+ import duty possibly) which is just about in your price bracket

dsc1710desktopresolutio.jpg


Notice the side walls leaning in.


In reality you need one lens for landscape and another for indoor and if I were you would decide which I take the most of and concentrate on a lens for that particular job. However cost does come into your equation so at the moment that option isn't available. My fav walkabout lens is the 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 lens which covers most things
Realspeed

Thanks for taking the time to upload pics bazza. I have a 18-70 f3.5 just now that I use on landscapes with good results. :thumbs:I was looking to see if there was a lens that would suit both landscapes and low light interiors but think I maybe pushing it. Considering now getting sigma 10-20 for landscapes and a vr lens for cathedrals etc. something longer than the sigma. Maybe Nikon 16-85? I'm wanting to do more cathedrals, abbey's etc this year so want to make sure I get the right lens
 
My landcapes usually tend to be big and wide which was why I was thinking on the sigma..:bonk:
 
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Maybe an f2.8 or f1.8 would be what to look for more than mm as you primarily want to work indoors where generally the light is poorer


Realspeed
 
Thanks for taking the time to upload pics bazza. I have a 18-70 f3.5 just now that I use on landscapes with good results. :thumbs:I was looking to see if there was a lens that would suit both landscapes and low light interiors but think I maybe pushing it. Considering now getting sigma 10-20 for landscapes and a vr lens for cathedrals etc. something longer than the sigma. Maybe Nikon 16-85? I'm wanting to do more cathedrals, abbey's etc this year so want to make sure I get the right lens

Maybe a nikon 10 24 and a tripod? Reasonable range and I would always suggest a tripod for both landscapes and cathedrals.
 
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