Please advise on lens choice....

Barryboy

Barryboy

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Rob
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Hi... Please help me decide on a lens for my Nikon D90. I am looking to acquire a good general purpose lens. My main interest is in street photography, events, and pretty much anything people-oriented as well as a little landscape work where I quite enjoy doing panoramas. I already have a Nikkor 18-70 (and I'm very pleased with the reuslts it gives) but for street photography I find it limited at the long end. I also have a Sigma 70-300 which is fine, but big, heavy and limited at the short end. It's also a pain to have to change lenses whilst out and about - I have missed a lot of shots by having the wrong lens fitted.

So I was thinking about getting a 28-300 lens which gives me a moderate wide-angle to short to medium telephoto, yet is compavct enough not to be a burden when out and about. In truth a new Nikkor is way out of my budget and I would be looking at a used compatible. A quick trawl through our favourite auction site shows that good condition used Sigmas and Tamrons come in at £130 to £150 which is affordable. I am a little out of touch with hardware these days but it was always thought that Sigma and Tamron were pretty much on a par quality-wise, if a tad lower grade than the manufacturers own manufacture. At the moment I am leaning towards a Sigma 28-300 f3.5-6.3 but am happy to consider anything else suitable. Can anyone offer up any advice please?.

Rob
 
Depends on your budget of course but I would suggest a 28-300 isn't going to give you the image quality ... I use a Nikon 24-120 f4 and find it brilliant for 'street' but if you were looking for a longer range with good image quality, at a budget, I would be looking at an older Nikon 80-200 f2.8
 
Thanks, Gramps, but really looking for a 300mm long end.

Rob
 
What about the newish released Nikon 18-140mm. I have seen them go for around the £200 mark and theres some positive reviews of the lens.

I can't see the need of 300mm for street work, you can normally zoom with your feet ??? On crop bodies it's usually the 35mm prime lens which is recomended, as it gives you a similar range to what your eye see's.
 
How about this one:
Sigma 18-300mm f3.5-6.3 C DC Macro OS HSM
Don't get too hung up on the technical details of the lens, most modern lenses will do the trick : )
 
cjpl2003 said:
How about this one:
Sigma 18-300mm f3.5-6.3 C DC Macro OS HSM
Don't get too hung up on the technical details of the lens, most modern lenses will do the trick : )
Click to expand...
wow, great price too and sigma have really upped their game on build quality and IQ. that is one all -round-lens
 
"Zoom with your feet" is a valid point, Swanseajack, but my style is to stand back and try to be unobserved. I find if I get too close people get uncomfortable if they spot me - it's a bit intrusive, perhaps, but there you go. I also feel a bit uncomfortable getting too close to strangers and sometimes, also, there are fences, tables or suchlike in the way which doesn't help. The lens is also to be used at events and for general purpose stuff like holidays so I'm pretty much convinced I need a long zoom range.

Rob
 
Carlh said:
wow, great price too and sigma have really upped their game on build quality and IQ. that is one all -round-lens
Click to expand...

Hmm... looks like just the job. Pity it's £400 which is beyond my budget.

Rob
 
Rob, have you thought about buying a right angled viewfinder for your street photography? I means you're not holding the camera up and pointing it at people in quite the same way. It might give you a bit more confidence/comfort to get closer.

IMO street photography with eye contact is usually the strongest, which means you tend to need to be "in the action" rather than at the end of a long telephoto. But that's just my 2p.
 
pjm1 said:
Rob, have you thought about buying a right angled viewfinder for your street photography? I means you're not holding the camera up and pointing it at people in quite the same way. It might give you a bit more confidence/comfort to get closer.

IMO street photography with eye contact is usually the strongest, which means you tend to need to be "in the action" rather than at the end of a long telephoto. But that's just my 2p.
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Hi Paul... Not sure what you mean by a right angle viewfinder... If you mean the one that clips over the viewfiunder window the only ones I've ever seen are quite small and still require you to lift the camera to your face. Or do you mean the sort of tube affair with a hole in the side and a mirror fitted into it that screws into the ilter thread on the lens? I did try one of those about thirty years ago and it was dire... I eventually graduated to using a Mamiya 330 held at waist level which was very effective, but alas film work is just too expensive these days.

Rob
 
Barryboy said:
"Zoom with your feet" is a valid point, Swanseajack, but my style is to stand back and try to be unobserved. I find if I get too close people get uncomfortable if they spot me - it's a bit intrusive, perhaps, but there you go. I also feel a bit uncomfortable getting too close to strangers and sometimes, also, there are fences, tables or suchlike in the way which doesn't help. The lens is also to be used at events and for general purpose stuff like holidays so I'm pretty much convinced I need a long zoom range.

Rob
Click to expand...

Based on your above comment, have you tried just going out with your Sigma 70-300mm and leaving the 18-70mm at home?

Have you thought about selling your current two lenses and purchasing the newer Sigma 18-300mm mentioned above, you wont be far off and close to your existing budget??? I dont know what its like but MPB have a Tamron 18-270mm in stock, this lens also has vibration reduction which the ones in your original post may not have???? > http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...tamron-18-270mm-f35-63-di-ii-vc---nikon-fit-1

Also, MPB offer part exchange so it maybe worth contacting them to see if they will take your exisiting lenses in part ex against the above or other lenses which you maybe interested in.
 
Swanseajack said:
Based on your above comment, have you tried just going out with your Sigma 70-300mm and leaving the 18-70mm at home?

Have you thought about selling your current two lenses and purchasing the newer Sigma 18-300mm mentioned above, you wont be far off and close to your existing budget??? I dont know what its like but MPB have a Tamron 18-270mm in stock, this lens also has vibration reduction which the ones in your original post may not have???? > http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...tamron-18-270mm-f35-63-di-ii-vc---nikon-fit-1

Also, MPB offer part exchange so it maybe worth contacting them to see if they will take your exisiting lenses in part ex against the above or other lenses which you maybe interested in.
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Thanks for that, Simon. I'll definitely look into the part-ex arrangement as if nothing else it will help in the domestic harmony stakes...

Rob
 
pjm1 said:
Hiya Rob - this is the sort of thing I mean but it sounds like you might have tried it: http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Pr.../DR-6-Rectangular-Right-Angle-Viewfinder.html

Funnily enough, I also have a WLF on my Mamiya and I love it - hence the reason I thought it might be worth trying to replicate for your street shots?
Click to expand...

Hi Paul - yes, that one would need the camera to be lifted to my face so of no practical use. The cost is also a little prohibitive. What I need, in effect, is a modern-day digital camera with a WLF, a good quality zoom lens and a modest price. Ah well.....

Rob
 
It's worth enquiring with MPB to see if they will take your lenses in part ex if you wish to. Depending on the boss, you could then possibly be able to buy a Nikon 18-300mm within your budget, as I believe its the one to have in this range.??? It's all about confusing her with man maths ;)
 
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