What lens for D300 up to £250?

EspressoJunkie

EspressoJunkie

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Im contemplating dabbling in the dark side and switching to Nikon:eek:

Part of this is because I could have access to borrowing some really high quality glass. If I do move however it'll mean a D300 and only one actual lens of my own for a while. And I dont really know much about Nikon glass at the moment,

So with a budget of around £250 what would be a recommended 'walkabout' lens?

Or is there any sort of adaptor which would allow me to keep one of my current lenses?

Thanks
 
Tamron 17-50 or 28-75 f2.8, ideally a 2nd hand motorless one (faster focusing). You'd have to spend 2-3 times more to get a slight increase in image quality.
 
Tamron 17-50 non-VC here too. You can also try and hunt down a Nikkor 16-85, more range great IQ but slower aperture and chances are it will even second hand exceed your 250£ budget though not by much.
 
EspressoJunkie said:
Or is there any sort of adaptor which would allow me to keep one of my current lenses?

Thanks
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There are adaptors that allow Nikon lenses to be used on Canon bodies, however it is not possible to use a Canon lens on a Nikon body.
 
Is there a particular mm that you use now?

For zooms, the ones above.

For prime... maybe a 35mm f1.8 nikon (approx 170).
If you dont mind second hand, sigma 30mm f1.4 - just check that it af's ok in the store (although they should be able to guarantee and fix for you).

Depends on what you shoot the most, or what you prefer...
 
I use a 17-70 mainly now.

I'm really in 2 minds about whether to switch systems though. It would be great to be able to borrow good glass, but its slot of money to switch which I could just put towards getting some good Canon glass of my own!

Descisions descisions!
 
What about a sigma 18-50 2.8 hsm. I've just picked one up for £170 and its a cracking lens. Very sharp
 
stick to nikon - 35/1.8 new and 18-70 s/hand should just do the two for a tad over your £250.
 
I've got the Tamron that's been mentioned and to be honest I've not been that pleased with it. I think the build quality is poor, feels very plasticy (because it is lol) and loose. Just doesn't feel anywhere as good as the Nikon build or even the Sigma.

IQ has been good but I'm really starting to notice quite a bit of CA.
 
18-70 to begin with, be able to pick a decent one for half that price. Can use it as a back up lens or just a small walkabout if you buy something faster at a later stage.

I wouldn't start off with a 28 to something as it just isn't wide enough (my opinion of course).
 
You could get a used 18-70mm lens (£100 approx) and a 70-300 non Vr lens (£70 approx) again used but both excellent lenses because I used to have then . This would leave you a bit of spare cash yet cover in total 18mm through to 300mm .

Realspeed
 
For taking photographs with, an f/2.8 lens with a 'cheap' plastic body is a much more useful tool than an f/4.5 lens with a 'nice' plastic body, IMO ;).

I wouldn't compare apples to oranges - the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 appears to be the only constant f/2.8 zoom available at under 250GBP (and is a cracking lens anyway). The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 costs about 570GBP new :eek:, so that's a bit outside of your budget :(.
 
I think I'm going to go for the Tamron 17-50. I've seen some examples from it on D300 and they looked amazingly sharp.

I had my eye on a couple on eBay, but DigitalRev have it new for £230 at the moment in a sale, so I might just end up getting one from there.
 
EspressoJunkie said:
I think I'm going to go for the Tamron 17-50. I've seen some examples from it on D300 and they looked amazingly sharp.

I had my eye on a couple on eBay, but DigitalRev have it new for £230 at the moment in a sale, so I might just end up getting one from there.
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