Your Top 3 Lenses for 3 different budgets

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Thought this thread might be of use to beginners & more experienced alike. There is lot of knowledge on this forum in terms of experience of certain lenses & research from other locations.

Challenge : You are only allowed to choose 3 lenses for your ideal setup, for 3 different budget groups per brand new lens. £200, £500 & £1000 per lens (sorry, no £1k+ for Arkady ;) ). Please indicate after lens choice if this is based on experience or reviews.

I'll give it a go with my limited knowledge ;)

£200 Budget per lens
1. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G IF-ED DX - £190 (from experience)
2. Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 D Lens - £152 (based on f/1.8 experience)
3. Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro Lens £120 (based on test plus reviews)

£500 Budget per lens
1. Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens - £325 (based on experience)
2. Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Lens - £260 (based on reviews)
3. Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG APO HSM Macro Lens - £340 (based on reviews)
* For 2) & 3) I would include Sigma 2x convertor at circa £120

£1000 Budget per lens
1. Nikon 12-24mm F4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom - £570 (based on reviews)
2. Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S Zoom - £999 (based on reviews)
3. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 G VR IF-ED Lens - £960 (based on reviews)

Prices taken from Onestop & Microglobe

Over to others now.....you don't have to complete all budgets if you haven't thought of lenses at that price bracket before.
 
Here is my limp attempt:

£200 Budget per lens
1. Canon EF 50mm f1.8 MKI / MKII - £50/£70 (experience)

£500 Budget per lens
1. Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM - £480 (Based on reviews)
2. Canon EF 85mm f1.8 USM - £270 (Based on reviews)
3. Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-4.5 IS USM - £330 (Based on reviews)

£1000 Budget per lens
1. Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8 L USM - £890 (Based on reviews)
2. Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS - £695 (Based on reviews)
3. Canon EF 17-40mm f4 L USM - £545 (Based on reviews)

(Prices from WarehouseExpress.com)
Great idea BTW DJW, as I'm after some lenses and could do with a concensus to guide my decision:thumb:
 
Ignoring that callous slur, here's my choice for those fortunate enough to have sold the wife and kids for medical experiments:

Cheapo Kit
http://www.europe-nikon.com/details.aspx?countryId=20&languageId=22&prodId=400&catId=117

http://www.europe-nikon.com/details.aspx?countryid=20&languageid=22&prodId=247&catId=119

http://www.europe-nikon.com/details.aspx?countryid=20&languageid=22&prodId=250&catId=121

What I'd Actually Use and will be issued shortly

http://www.europe-nikon.com/details.aspx?countryId=20&languageId=22&prodId=400&catId=117

http://www.europe-nikon.com/details.aspx?countryId=20&languageId=22&prodId=728&catId=117

http://www.europe-nikon.com/details.aspx?countryid=20&languageid=22&prodId=291&catId=121

No prices as I usually buy my own kit from Warehouse Express. Yes I do buy my own kit (shock) sometimes. Still got my F5 kit, FM2 kit and Leica kit as well as the medium-format Pentax and Hasselblads/doorstops.
 
Rob, noticed you will be moving from 28-80 f/2.8 to 17-55 f/2.8 . Any reason for the change, as both are highly rated on FM, cost the same (NA to work), plus I would have thought 28-80 would fit better into range between 2 other lenses you are getting ?
 
£200 Budget
1 Canon EF 50mm f1.8II (own) or Nikon variant.
2 Canon/Kenko 300 Pro 1.4TC (own/lent).
3 Tamron AF 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di (lent).

£500 Budget
1 Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM (lent).
2 Tamron 90mm f2.8 Di 1:1 Macro (own).
3 Tamron AF 180mm f3.5 Di 1:1 Macro (wish list).

£1000 Budget
1 Nikon AFS-G VR 70-200mm (owned), or Canon EF70-200 f2.8 L IS USM (I’m sure I could find one for a grand if I needed to).
2 Canon EF135mm f2.0 LUSM.
3 Canon EF100-400 f4.5 L IS USM (own),(I’m sure I could find one for a grand also).
 
IanC_UK said:
100-400 2.8 ? could you even lift one if it existed Matt ? ;)
Click to expand...

:doh: I would certainly try :smilenod:, it wouldn't be any heavier than the 800 :).
 
IanC_UK said:
Gym membership would be a requirement ;) LOL
Click to expand...

Just membership? If that's the criteria, then I'm eligible :D
 
£200 Budget:

Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 MkII (own it)
Sigma 18-125mm F3.5 - 5.6 DC (looks like a decentish but cheap walkabout lens)
Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO Macro DG (Own it)


£500 Budget:

Canon EF-S 17-85mm F4-5.6 IS USM (Own it)
Canon EF 70-300mm F4-5.6 IS USM (Own sigma equivalent but would like IS)
Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG Macro (reviews)


£1000 Budget: (all from reviews as they are a pipe dream)

Canon EF17-40 f4 LUSM
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM (would try my best to get one for under £1k)


With all of the above I have tried my best to cover all focal ranges (from 17/18mm up to a minimum of 300mm hence I didnt choose the 70-200 L USM lens) with as good a lens as I can get for the money, adding macro where possible
 
DJW said:
Rob, noticed you will be moving from 28-80 f/2.8 to 17-55 f/2.8 . Any reason for the change, as both are highly rated on FM, cost the same (NA to work), plus I would have thought 28-80 would fit better into range between 2 other lenses you are getting ?
Click to expand...

Just based on past experience, the lenses I use most are the 17-35 and the 80-200. I have an issued 24-85 f/2.8-4, but prefer the glass optics of my own 28-70 f/2.8.

Practically speaking the 17-55 will bridge enough of the gap covered by my own lens and/or the plastic 24-85.
And it also means I won't be using my own kit on Army Jobs. I nearly lost the camera bag out the side of an RAF Puma last trip, which caused a few palpitations! If it's all Army kit, I'll worry a lot less.

As I shoot with two bodies, I need two lenses that will do for 90% of my work all the time as I need speed of operation above all other considerations - if I have three lenses that I use all the time, you can guarantee that the wrong one will be fitted when a shot presents itself.

The small gap not covered by the two new lenses is quicker covered by my moving than by changing lenses.
 
Interesting thread…

£200 Budget
1 Canon EF 50mm f1.8II (own).
2 Canon/Kenko 300 Pro 1.4TC (own).
3 Tamron AF 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di (own).

£500 Budget
1 Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM (own).
2 Canon EF17-40mm f4 L USM (own)
3 Canon EF 50mm f1.4 (Wish List).
4 With the change add in Kenko 300 Pro 1.4TC (own).

£1000 Budget
1 EF16-35mm f2.8 LUSM.
2 Canon EF135mm f2.0 LUSM.
3 EF300mm f4.0 L IS USM
4 With the change add in Kenko 300 Pro 1.4TC (own).

I think I should add that if I have a budget of £1000 for three lenses and already owned none, I would probably still add in the 17-40L instead of the 16-35L and use the saved money elsewhere (50mm f1.8,Flash, tripod, CF cards etc) but for the sake of sticking to the rules…
 
bump.... come on guys & gals, I spent hours trawling through reviews to decide on lenses......it would have been so much easier if there was a thread like this with lists from people who's photography knowledge & skills I respected. Even part completed lists are OK :)

Thanks to all those who entered details to date.
 
£200 budget:

Nikkor 18-70 AF-S (kit lens) £186
Nikkor 50mm f1.8 (or f1.4 if you fancy spashing the cash) £70 / £150
Sigma 70-300 APO £120

£500 budget:

Sigma 100-300 f4 £474
Sigma 105mm Macro £224
Sigma 70-200 2.8 £459

£1000 budget:

Nikkor 17-55 AF-S 2.8 DX
Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VR £1,010
Sigma 120-300 2.8 (slightly over budget) £1,130

Prices (where quoted) from onestop digital. UK prices will be significantly higher in some cases.
 
where'd you see the sigma 70-200 for less than £500?!

oh and in price order:
50mm mkII
28-135 is
24-105 is L or 70-200 2.8 [sigma]
 
I can only give you the lenses I've already chosen, as I decided not to compromise on lens choice from the outset even if it means waiting a while to fill the gaps.

£200 BUDGET.

Canon 50.mm 1.4 USM (Bought 2nd hand)

£500 BUDGET.

Canon 17- 40L (Bought 2nd hand)

Canon 17-85 EF-S

£1000 BUDGET.

Canon 100-400L IS

Canon 180L Macro.

Both these lenses were within budget when I bought them and can still be found within budget by shopping around.
 
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