real noob on lens... need help

[shawn covvey]

hi there,

i'm a real noob..



How excatly do u read the number/code on the lens?


e.g. - AFS 17-55f2.8( what is afs?) whats 17-55? whats f2.8?

AF 300mm f2.8


How would u know if the lens is suitable for the photo your taking?

is there any website that tells u all the nikkor n 3rd party lens that can be use on ur cam?

what are filter for? how many kind of filters do it comes in?

btw i'm using a D60..

thanks

cheers
Shawn Covvey

[HTCahHTC]

okay...

AFS 17-55f2.8(what is afs?) whats 17-55? whats f2.8?

seriously, i myself do not know what AFS means -.- sorry about that. but i think AF is autofocus? lol, dont listen to this, i'm unsure.

but 17-55 is the zoom range. your lens widest angle is 17mm and will be able to zoom till 55mm.
another example is 18-200. your lens widest angle is 18mm and can zoom till 200mm, which means you will have a great zoom range. read more here.

okay. f/2.8 is your maximum aperture for the lens. it's considered a fast lens. don get my meaning? read here

how would one knows which is suitable for the types of photography?
there's no specific answer to this. some may use 200mm to do potrait photography for better DOF, some may use 18mm. some may use 105mm for landscape photography, but most will use a wide angle. it reali depends on where you are.

filters...
yes filters... there are many many different kinds of filters. but most common will be ND, GND, PL, Cir-PL, UV etc... i'm guessing you don't understand all these ND stuffs so, read here. i'm not using Lee Filters, cos they are kinda above my budget. there are also other brands like Hoya, B+W etc... to me, it doesn't reali matter which brand you're using, cos i believe you will still achieve the same results.

hope this helps.

[shawn covvey]

Originally Posted by HTCahHTC okay... AFS 17-55f2.8(what is afs?) whats 17-55? whats f2.8? seriously, i myself do not know what AFS means -.- sorry about that. but i think AF is autofocus? lol, dont listen to this, i'm unsure. but 17-55 is the zoom range. your lens widest angle is 17mm and will be able to zoom till 55mm. another example is 18-200. your lens widest angle is 18mm and can zoom till 200mm, which means you will have a great zoom range. read more here. okay. f/2.8 is your maximum aperture for the lens. it's considered a fast lens. don get my meaning? read here how would one knows which is suitable for the types of photography? there's no specific answer to this. some may use 200mm to do potrait photography for better DOF, some may use 18mm. some may use 105mm for landscape photography, but most will use a wide angle. it reali depends on where you are. filters... yes filters... there are many many different kinds of filters. but most common will be ND, GND, PL, Cir-PL, UV etc... i'm guessing you don't understand all these ND stuffs so, read here. i'm not using Lee Filters, cos they are kinda above my budget. there are also other brands like Hoya, B+W etc... to me, it doesn't reali matter which brand you're using, cos i believe you will still achieve the same results. hope this helps.

thanks for the fast reply bro...


aniwaes when u go to the zoo, what kinda lens do u usually use?

cheers
shawn covvey

[lBlOlSlSl]

AF-S : Auto Focus - Silent Wave Motor

Originally Posted by shawn covvey thanks for the fast reply bro... aniwaes when u go to the zoo, what kinda lens do u usually use? cheers shawn covvey

18-200 would come in handy with shy animals but a 50mm or your standard kit lens would do just fine.

[vonlichenstein]

AF-S = AutoFocus - Silent wave motor, as the guy above me has said.

what it means is that there is an inbuilt motor in the lens to autofocus, because the D60,D40 and D40X do not have the screwdrive that drives the auto focus mechanism in AF and AF-D lenses.

So AF and AF-D lenses will not be able to auto focus on your D60, but AF-S lenses will.

Note that Sigma's version of AF-S is HSM, Tamron calls it something else.

But its all the same, it means there is a motor to drive the AF mechanism in the lens.

[AMediaLuz]

Quote: So AF and AF-D lenses will not be able to auto focus on your D60, but AF-S lenses will.

I am using a D70, could I assume that I can get Autofocus with both the AF and AF-D lens?
If so, I should save some money by getting the AF or AF-D lens instead of the AF-S lens, since I (again) assume that the AF-S lens are more expensive?

[zac08]

Originally Posted by AMediaLuz I am using a D70, could I assume that I can get Autofocus with both the AF and AF-D lens? If so, I should save some money by getting the AF or AF-D lens instead of the AF-S lens, since I (again) assume that the AF-S lens are more expensive?

Correct, the D70 has a focusing motor on the camera and does not require AF-S lenses to AF. But with a AF-S lens, you should be able to focus faster.

And yes, in general AF-S lenses are slightly more expensive due to the SWM focusing motor.

[Rashkae]

All of these things are clearly documented here on the forum and on the web...

[gymak90]

Good thing that all kit lenses are AF-S.

However, I believe Nikon has different grades of Silent Wave Motor in their lenses. The SWM in kit lenses somewhat focus slower than the top-of-the-line lenses.