What would you buy?

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Lawrence7

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Going on holiday in August to New York for 2 weeks. I have already bought myself a new camera (Nikon D5100) and a nice prime to go with it (35mm 1.8g). I have an old Nikon 18-55mm Non-VR kit lens too, but I'm not the biggest fan of this lens compared to the quality of the prime.

I've got my eyes on the Nikon 55-200mm VR lens, would this be a good addition to my setup?

I'm after a zoom ideally and have a budget of £200. And have been looking at the following...

Nikon 18-105 VR
Nikon 55-200 VR
Tamron 18-200
Sigma 18-200

Ideally I don't want to use my 18-55 kit lens as I am not happy with its quality.

Which lens would you recommend me buying for my trip? And, if you were in my shoes what lens you buy to take great photos of New York with my budget?
 
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Why are you not happy with the 18-55mm?

This is a fantastic lens, super sharp and low distortion, could this be a user error/dodgy copy?

Can you show an image where you are unhappy with the 18-55mm?
 
I think I may have over-exagerated my comments on that lens from my last post. It's given me some good pictures and has a good range but after owning the 35mm 1.8g it opened my eyes to the quality better lenses are capable of.
 
You can't really compare the two as the 35mm is a prime lens. Primes will nearly always get a better IQ over multi-functional range lenses. If you want to match the quality of the 35mm the only way you'll do it is by getting other primes which will probably cost lots.

Personally I would just stick to the 35mm and travel light, particularly if you're pretty new to photography. Invest some time in learning to get the most out of the equipment you've got as you'll get a lot more from a camera and one lens that you can carry around than you will from a camera and lenses left in a hotel room or bag.
 
Mandoo said:
You can't really compare the two as the 35mm is a prime lens. Primes will nearly always get a better IQ over multi-functional range lenses. If you want to match the quality of the 35mm the only way you'll do it is by getting other primes which will probably cost lots.

Personally I would just stick to the 35mm and travel light, particularly if you're pretty new to photography. Invest some time in learning to get the most out of the equipment you've got as you'll get a lot more from a camera and one lens that you can carry around than you will from a camera and lenses left in a hotel room or bag.
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Thanks for the advice, I am expecting myself to use the 35mm the most due to image quality and the way it makes the camera more compact.

Would a 55-200mm be a nice 2nd lens to take with me in a city like New York?

The last time I went there I took lots of photos with the 18-55 and would like a new 'prespective' of the city from my eyes this time.
 
I would imagine it would be OK, but I personally wouldn't use it as I don't think it really offers much to street/city scape shots. I'm not sure what new perspective it would give over the 35mm.
If you feel you have to buy a telephoto lens, the 55-200 would be the one I'd go for off your list.
 
I own the 55-200mm VR and you can expect amazing results even wide open. Stopping down to f8 gives exceptional shots but even at f5.6 it's super sharp.

Easily my most used lens.

For me, a great combination is the 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR and 35mm f1.8
 
Personally I'd suggest you do some research in advance and take a look at prices and availability at B&H in New York with a view to buying on arrival.

Not only would you potentially get a good deal on your purchase - but you would also get to experience one of the most amazing camera stores in the world, if you haven't already.

Note: as B&H is owned and operated by Orthadox Jews they have specific opening times which vary to other stores. Would be worth checking those if you went down this route.

As for the type of lens. Yes you would benefit from a longer zoom given what you already own.
 
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