Lens for Nikon F90X

[Steviemac]

Ive recently purchased a Nikon F90X camera body , could anyone who has used or knows this particular camera give me any advice as which lens to go for ? , I want a good quality lens for this preferably 28 or 35 to 200 or 300 ,
preferably with an aperture ring .
Not to bothered about the price if the lens is right . Nikkor - Sigma or ??

thanks in advance for any help

[quekky]

u didnt mention your budget...


Nikkor AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Nikkor AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF ED
and if u want 300mm, Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/2.8D IF-ED II

[johnyu]

Originally Posted by Steviemac Ive recently purchased a Nikon F90X camera body , could anyone who has used or knows this particular camera give me any advice as which lens to go for ?

Which AF body you use seldom affects the choice of lenses. Why do you think you need to select lenses primarily based on the F90x body? Or are you mostly worrying about the aperture ring?

Originally Posted by Steviemac I want a good quality lens for this preferably 28 or 35 to 200 or 300 , preferably with an aperture ring . Not to bothered about the price if the lens is right . Nikkor - Sigma or ??

I assume you mean a single zoom lens covering 28-300 as much as possible. There's only one from Nikon: 28-200/3.5-5.6. Not top optical quality, but a good all rounded travelling lens. 24-120D/3.5-5.6 is also good choice. (not sure if this D-version is still available new since the 24-120G VR was out.)

If you can torelate carrying two or more lenses instead of one, you have far more choices. And you need also to ask yourself what optical quality you want: average, above average or absolutely the best. This affects your decision significantly as there're always tradeoffs.

Btw, this will give you a good overview of relative optical quality of Nikon lenses: http://www.ferrario.com/ruether/slemn.html

p.s. I have both F90x and 24-120D.

[danster]

I'd recommend the older 24-120D instead of the AFS 24-120G VR becos VR does not work on F90x. Also, the only way you can control the aperture with a G lens on the F90x is in program mode via program shift, which is not ideal.

I'd also recommend a fast prime for low light, say a 50mm f1.8 (or 50mm f1.4 if you have the dough) or a 35mm f2.

Have fun shopping!

[binbeto]

It's kind of difficult to recommend anything if we dun know what kind of shot you intend of taking.

Help us help you.

If just for general photography, I will recommend 28-105 or 24-120 AFD.

[Steviemac]

Thanks to all for the replies I'll consider the suggestions carefully .
As suggested by Johnyu "I assume you mean a single zoom lens covering 28-300 as much as possible " this is near enough correct ,and I was thinking about the aperture also. (Thanks Danster , heard about this one but it didnt put me off .)
My Budget has allways been ,If I find what I want I buy it , no problems with expense I prefer quality to quantity.
I want to use this camera as a quick pick up and go setup without having to sort anything but film ,
Living in the Lake District in the UK I want something that will cover most eventualities eg: Landscapes ,Wildlife , Birds ( we have a pair of nesting Ospreys nearby ) and also the local carnivals and agricultural shows .
Simply put, sometimes it isnt convenient to have a camera bag full of gear especially if heading off for a fell walk of around 15+ miles .

[johnyu]

Originally Posted by Steviemac My Budget has allways been ,If I find what I want I buy it , no problems with expense I prefer quality to quantity.

But, the harsh truth is: if you want absolute (image) quality, you need quantity, meaning that you'll need to carry half a dozen monster lenses.

[nightpiper]

u can get a 20mm 2.8AIS, 35mm 1.4AIS, 50mm 1.8AIS, 105mm 2DC, 180mm 2.8ED AIS, 200mm 4AIS & 200mm 2ED IF AIS.

all these lens r old manual lens but belong to the legendary league. u can get them quite cheaply in 2nd habd shops.

i have a 55mm micro AIS, another legendary pc. but not using now becos it wouldn't work on my F80. i can sell it to u if u want but a bit of dust inside, no mould thou.

now u see, new G series won't work with old cameras & old lens won't work with new cameras. so much for the highly proclaim F mount compatibility advantage of the nikon system.

[gadrian]

Originally Posted by nightpiper now u see, new G series won't work with old cameras & old lens won't work with new cameras. so much for the highly proclaim F mount compatibility advantage of the nikon system.

Wont is probably over stating it.. there is nothing stopping you from mounting an AI-S lens on your F80 or D70.. you just loose metering.. but in M mode it still works fine.. with aperture controlled by the aperture ring.

And even on older bodies like say the F80 or F801.. G lenses still work.. in P and S mode..

So saying won't is not totally true.. it is not completely compatible.. but will still work.

Pardon my pickiness.. but this is what makes the F-mount wonderful, you can even mount and use a G lens on an FM2 if you want.. shooting at f/22 the whole time.. or if you innovative enough like a friend of mine.. he tapes the aperture wide open and it still works.. just having to do everything manually..

This again is the beauty of the F-mount.. it may not offer 100% backward/forward compatibility right now.. but it still works..

[nightpiper]

Originally Posted by gadrian Wont is probably over stating it.. there is nothing stopping you from mounting an AI-S lens on your F80 or D70.. you just loose metering.. but in M mode it still works fine.. with aperture controlled by the aperture ring.

have u tried it? i said won't becos even M mode can't meter. if my 55mm can work on my F80, i will be so happy. u can search other forums & see who has a new nikon with MF lens can work. so far none i found. mostly r digital users & shooting the pics again & again correcting from histogram. not any advantage for me as a film user.

Originally Posted by gadrian And even on older bodies like say the F80 or F801.. G lenses still work.. in P and S mode.. So saying won't is not totally true.. it is not completely compatible.. but will still work.

F801 will work with P mode, F80 is newer, can use G lenses no problem. old bodies i mean bodies before F801. try it on a F401 or a FE2. even using P mode, if u can't control your settings, whats the use? if controling what u shoot is not an issue, then just get a P&S, why spend so much on SLR + lens? right?

Originally Posted by gadrian Pardon my pickiness.. but this is what makes the F-mount wonderful, you can even mount and use a G lens on an FM2 if you want.. shooting at f/22 the whole time.. or if you innovative enough like a friend of mine.. he tapes the aperture wide open and it still works.. just having to do everything manually..

sure, u can mount any F mount to any nikon, but u want to make full use of the whole system. u don't just buy a lens or a body so that u can cripple it right? got AF use AF, got matrix metering use matrix metering, why take the trouble of getting a modern AF SLR so that u can do manual focus & manual metering? not unless u have very specific needs.

i can mount the 55mm lens onto F80 but i wouldn't want to do w/o metering. sure, i can buy an extra light meter, but by the time i meter, the subject would have flown away or swim away or run away already. not forgetting the extra cash for it. of cos u can argue that i shoot still life like buildings, flowers, trees, etc. but i m not into still life.

Originally Posted by gadrian This again is the beauty of the F-mount.. it may not offer 100% backward/forward compatibility right now.. but it still works..

each to his own needs. beauty to u is ugly for me. too much pain involved in incompatabilities. besides, nikon improve technology so as to take away as much pain in photography as possible, won't u agree?

[nightpiper]

forgot to mention that he can just get AF lens like the 28-105mm for his F90x. i recommended those MF lens is becos F90x can still make use of them & they r really stunning.

have fun.

[nightpiper]

Originally Posted by gadrian t.. shooting at f/22 the whole time.. or if you innovative enough like a friend of mine.. he tapes the aperture wide open and it still works.. just having to do everything manually..

sorry, don't mind i add a bit more.

lets be more realistic here, how many photographers would shoot everything in F22 or wide open? not forgetting a whole set of problems that comes with F22 like, diffraction, slow shutter speed or very high ASA grainy film. similarly for wide open.

any photographer will tell u they want control over the pics they shoot, so using a G series lens on old bodies is not realistic or practical at all. the only consolation is its ability to mount onto the camera body, thats about it. imagine a 70-200 2.8G VR lens on a FM2 or FG or F301. its either everything in F22 or everything in F2.8, so how do u estimate the shutter speed?

is it really practical to put on an old lens to take metering & speed, then change it to the new G lens & set everything manually? same scenerio for new body with old lens. not at all practical or feasible. i believe not just for me but many others, this is a pain rather than beauty.

lastly, a little trivia for every nikon users: in the entire history, nikon only has VERY FEW lens that can go F22 w/o diffraction & also very few big aperture lens thats sharp corner to corner when wide open.

[Steviemac]

Many thanks to all for interesting links and discussion , I'm off lens shopping this weekend to see what there is available locally , so hopefully I can find something good .
I'm inclined to agree with most of you that the use of 2 or more lenses is inevitable , I allready have 4 lenses for a Nikon F70 and 5 lenses for a Pentax ME Super and this looks like Im going the same way here , still no problem I love walking and I love taking photographs .

You cant take it with you ,spend it on something you can enjoy and share.