Taking it up a notch

new2me

new2me

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So, after months of messing around with a D200 and 18-70mm kit lens, I think it's time to get another lens to celebrate re-employment :thumbs:

Allowing myself just £100 I am looking at these 2

Sigma 50-200mm f4-5.6 DC OS HSM
I became a little obsessd with Magpies and think there's a world of flying critters I might like to take a closer look at.

Nikon/Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8 D
Seems that a prime(?) is essential for a small kit and I believe this fella would give me good results for shooting bands in small venues.
 
As a second lens you can't go far wrong with the little nifty fifty, the large aperture and very sharp focus make it a steal! Ok the bokeh is a bit harsh on highlights but for the money you can't go wrong. Of course if you need the length then this isn't the lens to get, but for exploring shallow DoF it's great
 
If you're getting a 200mm zoom get the Nikon VR one, it's a cracker of a lens and can be had for around £120.

50mm is a little long on a crop body, especially in small venues. At the least you'd want 35mm and maybe wider, the AF-S 35mm f/1.8 DX is a cracker of a lens or you can get a 2nd hand 35mm f/2 AFD (which will work on full frame) for around £125.
 
After a quick google, I see that my D200 is a 1.5x crop body making a 50mm into a 75mm lens? I see what you're saying there ... it's not a subject I'd looked at before to be honest :thumbs:

So if I was potentially going to pay £165 for that 35mm, would I benefit from paying a little extra for the Nikon AF 28mm f/2.8D, perhaps?
Would either help me get 'much' better photos in small venues than my kit lens? I haven't actually had a go at gig photography as yet and don't expect what I have to be suitable at present.
 
The 35mm is f1.8 so very fast and will help a great deal in low light situations. The f/2.8 lenses are over a stop slower so I'd probably go for the 35mm which is a cracking lens (at any price, let alone £165) - it rarely comes off my crop body.
 
Cheers Nawty ... the 35mm has replaced the 50mm in the wishlist :thumbs:
 
I bought a Nikon 55-200 and hardley ever use it.

Then I bought the nifty and it's a stunner....wish I'd bought the 35mm...:shake:

Cheers, happy shopping and congratulations on re-employment...:thumbs:
 
The new Sigma 50-200 OS is supposed to be a very good lens indeed, especially given how competitively its priced!
 
new2me said:
Cheers Nawty ... the 35mm has replaced the 50mm in the wishlist :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Cant speak for the Nikon 35mm (which I know is very good) but I have the Canon 35mm f/2 and I find 35mm an ideal focal length on a crop, its so versatile.
 
odd jim said:
The new Sigma 50-200 OS is supposed to be a very good lens indeed, especially given how competitively its priced!
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the one I saw in Jacobs (around the same time as Just Dave ;)) for £99.99 and was preying it would stay at that price til the end of the month
 
Another thumbs up for the most excellent 35mm f/1.8.
It's pretty much my 'go-to' lens on my D90, the WA (11-16mm) and 70-200mm 2.8 rarely make an appearance these days!!
 
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My brother uses a nifty fifty on crop body for gigs. Wishes he had a 35mm....
 
I got a 24mm as my prime of choice for the 7D 1.6x crop and I really like it, just on the wide side of normal which is great for interiors in general domestic photography though I don't think it's a particularly popular focal range, at least for a prime, as it's not quite wide enough.

J
 
Okay, I'm totally sold on the 35mm :D That will be my next purchase :thumbs:

So, a 200mm. Would it be enough? I would have to delay buying a longer lens after paying a bit more than I'd initially planned for a 50mm ... so, should I save even more for a 300mm perhaps and if so, will the approaching winter months (in the North) limit my opportunities to practice with it anyway???
 
Personally after the 35mm if you decide to go for a telephoto I'd save and get the 75-300 VR which go for £280 secondhand
 
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