 Sandeep Krishnan |
Which lens to buy Hi, I have read a lot of reviews regarding various lenses and equipments enough to confuse me further as to what I should go ahead and get myself. I am an amatuer photographer with a Nikon N65 with a standard 28-80mm lens. I am interested in clicking wildlife shots, portraits, sceneries and stuff. I have decided to get myself a normal telephoto lens in the range of say 80-210mm or 100-400mm. I have seen various Nikon,Tamron,Sigma and Vivitar models. Please help which one I should go for as I need to decide asap and my budget is between $125-$150 odd dollars. Looking forward for an EARLY RESPONSE!! Thanx a ton :)
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doug Nelson |
You'll get more lens quality for your money with a prime lens. A 105mm will handle any portrait situation and do a beautiful job of selecting parts of a landscape. Zooms in the price range you are suggesting may not be the quality you'd wantlong term.
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Jon Close |
A 105mm prime is not going to fit that limited budget. For $125-$150 look for Tamron 70-300 f/4-5.6 LD or Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 DL. The Tamron 75-300 f/4-5.6 LD is also good, it's an older design and doesn't focus as close as the Tamron 70-300. These 3 are very good performance values. There are cheaper xx-300 and xx-400 zooms available, but they won't be as sharp and their maximum aperture at the long end will be smaller at f/6.3 or f/6.7.
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Sandeep Krishnan |
hi thanks for the prompt response...however can u tell me... I havent been hearing too good a review about the sigma lens. what do u have to say? also what would ur views be for the Vivitar 75-300mm MF Zoom Lens ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004TVS1/103-6168525-4295024?v=glance&s=photo&vi=reviews) and the Nikon Autofocus 70-300mm f/4-5.6G Nikkor SLR Camera Lens (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005Y3OM/ref=pd_sr_ec_ir_p/103-6168525-4295024?v=glance&s=photo&st=*). Looking forward for ur views. thanks once again for the help :) Sandy
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Michael E. Johnson |
I have used sigma lenses for a long time. I have the 50 mm EX and 28 to 200 macro along with a 135 to 400. They are all good lenses for a beginner. I recomend that you look at the Sigma 28 to 300 macro and the SIgma 105 MM EX. These might be a little out of your price range for both. The 105 EX will take great close ups and Macro shots. While the 28 to 300 will give you a nice range and it takes sharp pictures for the price. Sigma also has great customer service.
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Jon Close |
Sandeep, the Vivitar lens you found on e-bay is a manual focus lens. It will mount on your Nikon N65 and can be used, but you will not have autofocus and some of the camera's advanced metering features are not supported. It is an older design, probably made by Cosina, Tokina, or Tamron. I would not expect it to be as sharp as the fully compatible autofocus Tamron or Sigma lenses I suggested before. The Nikon 70-300 f/4-5.6G lens is comparable to the Tamron or Sigma. With respect to the relative quality of the Sigma lens, it's simply a matter of you get what you pay for. For the price it is pretty good, but you can certainly spend more to get better.
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Sandeep Krishnan |
I am sorry for the constant trouble. But please tell me ur views about the following lenses: Vivitar100-400 f/4.5-6.7 Series1(http://www.adorama.com/VV100400NKAF.html); Nikon 70-300 f/4-5.6G(http://www.adorama.com/NK70300AFGU.html) Sigma70-300 f/4-5.6 DL Macro(http://www.adorama.com/SG70300SMNKA.html) Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Macro (http://www.adorama.com/SG70300SNKAF.html) Also what is the difference between the G and the ED markings etc on the lens? Am getting confused because of that as well being a novice with these. Once again thanks for being such a great help. I will go ahead and buy the same online the moment I get to hear ur views. Sandy
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Jon Close |
Nikon's G series lenses are autofocus and communicate focus distance to the camera body, just like their D series lenses. What distinguishes G lenses from Nikon's other autofocus lenses is that there is only electronic control of the aperture and no aperture setting ring on the lens. G lenses are fully compatible with your N65, but older model Nikon cameras have no way to control the aperture. While the first G lenses introduced were economy lenses, G does not equal cheap. Some of Nikon's latest pro-level lenses are G-series models. See http://www.nikonians.com/html/resources/nikon_articles/other/compatibility.html for a brief description of Nikon's lens designations and a chart of lens/camera compatibilities. "ED" is Nikon's designation for lenses that have one or more elements made of "Extra-low Dispersion" glass. This type of glass better focuses all wavelengths/colors of light to the same point. Other makers use similar elements, but different names. Tamron calls theirs LD (Low Dispersion), Sigma uses "APO" (apochromatic) to distinguish their lenses that have SLD (Special Low Dispersion) elements. "Macro" in the lens name refers to a close focusing feature. Close focus for this range of zooms is typically limited to 1.5m or 4.9 ft., which at the 300mm zoom setting would give a 1:4 (1/4 life size) image on the film frame. That is, a 1 inch long object would be 1/4 inch on the film negative. A couple of these zooms have a setting to allow focus as close as 1m or 39 in., allowing 1:2 (1/2 life sized) capture. Utilizing this feature generally requires a tripod and manual focus. The "macro" term is used very loosely by these makers. For example, the Tamron 75-300 f/4-5.6 LD Macro focuses just to 1.5m (1:4) while the 70-300 f/4-5.6 LD Macro focuses to 1m (1:2). Nikon and other camera makers only use the term Macro (or Micro) for more specialized lenses that can focus close enough to produce a life sized (1:1) image on the film frame, and have additional corrections to ensure sharp focus from center to edge. In my humble opinion (your mileage may vary), I think you'd be well served by any of the Nikon 70-300 f/4-5.6D ED, Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO or DL, and Tamron 70-300 f/4-5.6 LD. Go for the Nikon 70-300 f/4-5.6G or Tamron 75-300 f/4-5.6 LD if money is really tight. I'm not so keen on the Cosina-made Vivitar and Phoenix tele-zooms (though their 19-35 f/3.5-4.5 and 100 f/3.5 Macro lenses are good performing bargains).
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Sandeep Krishnan |
Hi Jon, I couldnt thank you enough for the clear and easily understandable explanation that u have provided. As per ur advice I have decided to go ahead with the Nikon 70-300 f/4-5.6G (I guesss the mone is tight although I would have preferred the ED version). I am thinking of buying this from (http://www.adorama.com/NK70300AFGU.html?searchinfo=Nikon%2070-300%20f/4-5.6G&item_no=3) although I have two versions here. The one from the gray market is proving to be almost $30 cheaper. But I guess that would be without any guarantees.I am bit confused whether I should go ahead for that keeping in mind that I stay here in INdia. But also I would like to ask you I would need to go ahead and also get a filter for the same since I currently have a 58mm UV filter for my 28-80mm Nikon lens. Kindly suggest which one I should go for from the accessories section on the right hand side of the page. Once again thank you so much for all the trouble that you have taken. You have been a great help.
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Jon Close |
Regarding "grey market" v. "USA", the only difference is in the warranty. See Adorama's FAQ (frequently asked questions). Grey market items do not carry the manufacturer's warranty. "“Grey Market” Products purchased from Adorama are warrantied by Adorama Camera and have to be returned to Adorama Camera for any in warranty repair." That would not be very convenient for someone living in India. I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that a USA-warrantied item would be covered by Nikon anywhere in the world. A call to Adorama and/or Nikon would be best to be sure. Regarding accessories, I prefer to use the lens hood instead of a UV filter for protection, but you can use both if you wish. The listing says that the hood is included with the lens so you don't have to buy it separately. The Tiffen "photo essentials filter pack" is a pretty good deal, but only if you would use each of the UV, Polarizer, and 812 warming filters. Otherwise just get the polarizer, or polarizer and UV. Tiffen isn't necessarily the best, but they are decent and a good value. My filters are Tiffens. If you don't already have a 58mm size polarizer for you 28-80 lens, then get the 62mm size to fit the 70-300, and get a 58mm to 62mm step up ring so that you can also use it on the 28-80.
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