18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around

darksun · 5th January 2008

For general purpose which one is better? thinking to add my lens inventory.
55-200 is good but got to change for wideangle. Thinking of one setup lens and you are ready to roll. i shot around 1/20 stop max f4-f5, so vr is not necessary. Better using higher iso option if possible. Just got one kit lens now.

For 18-135 is around 7x zoom ( is it?) so i believe it can reach enough distance for general zoom purpose.
Dont suggest me 18-200..it way out of my budget. Only a poor salary-man and lousy photo-taker

So, is it a good option or not? AF can work in d40 right?

longkangman · 5th January 2008

Think a AF-S one you have full AF.
18mm will give you wide and 200mm give you reach, so depends your need.

darksun · 5th January 2008

Means i can use it on d40 right?...i mean for the auto focus thing? Since 18-135 is an AF-S lens?

though id rather to use manual focus to practice my sense to be on par with machine precision, but i would take the af focus offer happily also.
About reach..7 times is enough for me i believe, i need wide more than reach. In event i need more distance i believe it also coincide when upgrading my camera later. While adding some more accessories or lens also in between.

I opt for lenses first than body, since i choose nikon for the tool so i better climb up one step at a time. I can get better body at later time while i can probably reuse my lenses on it. Is my assumption correct?

noob sniper · 5th January 2008

Originally Posted by darksun

Means i can use it on d40 right?...i mean for the auto focus thing? Since 18-135 is an AF-S lens?

though id rather to use manual focus to practice my sense to be on par with machine precision, but i would take the af focus offer happily also.
About reach..7 times is enough for me i believe, i need wide more than reach. In event i need more distance i believe it also coincide when upgrading my camera later. While adding some more accessories or lens also in between.

I opt for lenses first than body, since i choose nikon for the tool so i better climb up one step at a time. I can get better body at later time while i can probably reuse my lenses on it. Is my assumption correct?

Hi darksun , yes go for the lens 1st and upgrade body later is the way to go , and i think 18-135mm suit u more than 55-200mm , at the same time u can also consider the sigma 17-70mm f2.5-4.5 with hsm it will af on the d40/40x body also

darksun · 5th January 2008

Ok. Thanks for your info. Will consider also the sigma you mentioned.

giantcanopy · 5th January 2008

The 55mm on a cropped senor will be a tad too telephoto
I would think the 18mm will provide better options

Ryan

huggable · 5th January 2008

For your "general roam around", are you taking candids of people, or shooting landscapes and scenery?

55-200 would be good for the former, 18-135 for the latter.

darksun · 6th January 2008

I want both actually.

But it's better for me to pick the lens that suit my interest first. Which is to buildings, houses, and maybe the landscape and with add a little zoom ability can provide me more to the detail sections of them.
Probably i ended up with the 55-200mm vr option. I can get almost all the range i need if i carry them both everywhere. I want be able shoot candid sometimes.
This is what i don't like from dslr. Changing lenses is not difficult, but you cannot just snap if the moment is right and the lens is wrong.

So sorry to trouble you all, but i really appreciate all of your suggestions. Trying to stay with nikon offerings first. More expensive but got nikon name on it. Im consumed with brand naming, at least if budget permit. 55-200mm can save me few dollars also. Cant have both world if you are not loaded.

Thanks y'all

Yatlapball · 6th January 2008

I guess you can always have a theme in mind when you do a "walk around", whether you want more wide-shots or more tele shots. Since you already have a 18-55 kit lens... maybe a 55-200 would be a good complement to it. Rather than duplicating much of the range by getting a 18-135.

Unless of course you plan to sell the 18-55... then no worry. Go ahead and get the 18-135.

5th January 2008	#1
darksun New Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 18	18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around For general purpose which one is better? thinking to add my lens inventory. 55-200 is good but got to change for wideangle. Thinking of one setup lens and you are ready to roll. i shot around 1/20 stop max f4-f5, so vr is not necessary. Better using higher iso option if possible. Just got one kit lens now. For 18-135 is around 7x zoom ( is it?) so i believe it can reach enough distance for general zoom purpose. Dont suggest me 18-200..it way out of my budget. Only a poor salary-man and lousy photo-taker So, is it a good option or not? AF can work in d40 right?

5th January 2008	#2
longkangman Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: sewage drain/manhole Posts: 4,959	Re: 18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around Think a AF-S one you have full AF. 18mm will give you wide and 200mm give you reach, so depends your need. __________________ Studio TFCD :-) Last edited by longkangman; 5th January 2008 at 09:06 PM.

5th January 2008	#3
darksun New Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 18	Re: 18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around Means i can use it on d40 right?...i mean for the auto focus thing? Since 18-135 is an AF-S lens? though id rather to use manual focus to practice my sense to be on par with machine precision, but i would take the af focus offer happily also. About reach..7 times is enough for me i believe, i need wide more than reach. In event i need more distance i believe it also coincide when upgrading my camera later. While adding some more accessories or lens also in between. I opt for lenses first than body, since i choose nikon for the tool so i better climb up one step at a time. I can get better body at later time while i can probably reuse my lenses on it. Is my assumption correct?

5th January 2008	#5
darksun New Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 18	Re: 18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around Ok. Thanks for your info. Will consider also the sigma you mentioned.

5th January 2008	#6
giantcanopy Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Northerner Posts: 3,965	Re: 18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around The 55mm on a cropped senor will be a tad too telephoto I would think the 18mm will provide better options Ryan __________________ Kaleidoscopy & Singapore Shave! Shaving Jedi

5th January 2008	#7
huggable Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: East side Posts: 3,029	Re: 18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around For your "general roam around", are you taking candids of people, or shooting landscapes and scenery? 55-200 would be good for the former, 18-135 for the latter.

6th January 2008	#8
darksun New Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 18	Re: 18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around I want both actually. But it's better for me to pick the lens that suit my interest first. Which is to buildings, houses, and maybe the landscape and with add a little zoom ability can provide me more to the detail sections of them. Probably i ended up with the 55-200mm vr option. I can get almost all the range i need if i carry them both everywhere. I want be able shoot candid sometimes. This is what i don't like from dslr. Changing lenses is not difficult, but you cannot just snap if the moment is right and the lens is wrong. So sorry to trouble you all, but i really appreciate all of your suggestions. Trying to stay with nikon offerings first. More expensive but got nikon name on it. Im consumed with brand naming, at least if budget permit. 55-200mm can save me few dollars also. Cant have both world if you are not loaded. Thanks y'all

6th January 2008	#9
Yatlapball Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: In God's Top Ten Posts: 2,249	Re: 18-135 or 55-200??..for general roam around I guess you can always have a theme in mind when you do a "walk around", whether you want more wide-shots or more tele shots. Since you already have a 18-55 kit lens... maybe a 55-200 would be a good complement to it. Rather than duplicating much of the range by getting a 18-135. Unless of course you plan to sell the 18-55... then no worry. Go ahead and get the 18-135. __________________ my PBase(new)