Lense recommandations/help for D5000

[Leo Chin]

Hi friends of CS,

I'm a total newbie to DSLR and I'd really appreciate if anyone would kindly help me out in selecting a new lens. Currently, I'm having the default(18-55mm) lens and would like to upgrade to a better performing lens.

I'm a plane spotter and would really love to shoot jets, sunsets, clouds and birds/animals/mammals(humans). I read on some forums that Sigma lenses are great and cheaper, I'm not sure how true is this and recently, I saw this 55-200mm and 70-300mm. I'm not sure if those lenses would fit me in those categories I want to shoot. And my budget for the new lens is around $300-$450.

I'd really be grateful if someone would recommend me a lens that could fulfill those categories of shots I want.

Thank you all!

Cheers!

Leo

 

[Fotophilic]

Hi friends of CS,

I'm a total newbie to DSLR and I'd really appreciate if anyone would kindly help me out in selecting a new lens. Currently, I'm having the default(18-55mm) lens and would like to upgrade to a better performing lens.

I'm a plane spotter and would really love to shoot jets, sunsets, clouds and birds/animals/mammals(humans). I read on some forums that Sigma lenses are great and cheaper, I'm not sure how true is this and recently, I saw this 55-200mm and 70-300mm. I'm not sure if those lenses would fit me in those categories I want to shoot. And my budget for the new lens is around $300-$450.

I'd really be grateful if someone would recommend me a lens that could fulfill those categories of shots I want.

Thank you all!

Cheers!

Leo

70-300 then. longer better.

 

[johndoe161]

Hi friends of CS,

I'm a total newbie to DSLR and I'd really appreciate if anyone would kindly help me out in selecting a new lens. Currently, I'm having the default(18-55mm) lens and would like to upgrade to a better performing lens.

I'm a plane spotter and would really love to shoot jets, sunsets, clouds and birds/animals/mammals(humans). I read on some forums that Sigma lenses are great and cheaper, I'm not sure how true is this and recently, I saw this 55-200mm and 70-300mm. I'm not sure if those lenses would fit me in those categories I want to shoot. And my budget for the new lens is around $300-$450.

I'd really be grateful if someone would recommend me a lens that could fulfill those categories of shots I want.

Thank you all!

Cheers!

Leo

Hello Leo! Welcome to CS.

Im a newbie too, just started shooting my d5000 (also) last month. I got my kit together with the 55-200mm vr lens. The 55-200mm is a mid-range zoom so it probably be good for you to start with, with your budget and the pictures you want to take, though Im not sure about plane spotting. Good points about the lens is it is cheap, light and good or so what I have gathered from reviews and opinions :thumbsup:. Anyway, thats my 2-newbie-cents worth. Have fun with your new dslr, im having a blast with mine :lovegrin:

 

[Leo Chin]

70-300 then. longer better.

Hm, actually is longer really the better? Haha! Cuz I was told that for landscape or scenery, using a wide angle lens would be better. But I want to have a better range and I saw many wide angle lens are usually kinda short ranged... Any advice on that?
Edit/Delete Message

 

[Leo Chin]

Hm, a lot of people in the forums said that Sigma can be 1/2 the price of a good Nikkor lens! So I think it's worth buying one to try... =)

 

[overtone]

I would recommend 35mm F1.8. I think that's a G lens. Can work on D5000 right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[johndoe161]

I would recommend 35mm F1.8. I think that's a G lens. Can work on D5000 right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

yup it works just fine, actually just used it earlier this evening for my dept dinner gathering

 

[Treetrunk]

Welcome to CS

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

I would recommend 35mm F1.8. I think that's a G lens. Can work on D5000 right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

TS wants to use for plane spotting and you recommend 35/1.8? Really?

Anyway TS you have 18-55 which is already wide enough at 18mm.. What you need is a lens with more 'reach' than 55mm, right?
How far away will the plane be (approx) when you photograph it? And how big do you want it to be in the frame?
That determines the focal length you'll need. 55-200 is the most affordable zoom. It is meant to be a pair lens with the kit lens. Thus you interchange between the 2 to cover the 18-200mm range.
There's an AFS VR 70-300, though it's significantly more expensive

 

[Leo Chin]

Thanks for the advice, so how do I actually know or judge which lens will be suitable for plane spotting(eg. wide and focus lengh) ? For instance, I read of fourm that Sigma 70-300 & 55-200 is really good for it. How about Nikkor 55-200?

 

[Fotophilic]

Hm, actually is longer really the better? Haha! Cuz I was told that for landscape or scenery, using a wide angle lens would be better. But I want to have a better range and I saw many wide angle lens are usually kinda short ranged... Any advice on that?
Edit/Delete Message

u said u wanted to shoot plane right? don't think ur kit lens can reach the plane, hence i feel that longer is better.

for landscape, ur kit lens is not enough? not all landscape requires really wde angles. don't think ur budget can get u those wide ones like sigma 10-20.

if u want a bao-ka-liao lens, then i suggest the 18-200 VR. But it does not fit your budget.

with your budget, not much choices. unless u plan to save up.

 

[lonarciso]

welcome to the club!

 

[Override2Zion]

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

Regarding a suitable lenses for the D5000, you have to know that your camera does not have a AF motor built-in. You'd have to get lenses which comes with built-in motor, otherwise you'd be stuck without auto focus. Make sure to check online or with the shopkeeper about the lens you're about to purchase to avoid disappointment.

Regarding the range, you're more of a plane spotter so I guess you'd want telephoto zoom lenses. A common range to look for would be 70-300, Sigma makes a good one. I've ever tried attaching a Kenko 2x teleconverter to the older non-motorized version of the lens to get an effective 600mm, it works well on a bright day. Regarding sunsets and scenery, you'd probably want a wide angle lens. At 70mm widest, you'd find it a little limiting.

Hope this helps

 

[Leo Chin]

Thanks for the reply and advice, I saw this 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO-M DG Macro [$365 MS, Feb10] in the pricelist guide. Will this be a good lens for me in regards to shoot planes? Technically speaking, I spent more time shooting sunset than planes, therefore will Sigma 55-200mm be a better choice?

 

[Leo Chin]

Yeah, I'm really trying to find a Bao Ka liao lens... Cuz I love shooting a variety of stuffs...

 

[Override2Zion]

Thanks for the reply and advice, I saw this 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO-M DG Macro [$365 MS, Feb10] in the pricelist guide. Will this be a good lens for me in regards to shoot planes? Technically speaking, I spent more time shooting sunset than planes, therefore will Sigma 55-200mm be a better choice?

The Sigma 70-300 is a very good lens for its price, considering its weight and macro ability.
If you decide to shoot sunsets only, i would advise you to get the wider angle Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 instead. Its a faster lens that will allow you to shoot lower light but it would burst your budget by nearly $200. The Nikkor 18-200mm is a good all-rounder but it exceeds your budget by quite a margin. The Nikkor 18-200mm is out unless you are willing to pay more. Personally, I would try to persuade my dad to buy the 18-200 if I were as lucky as you ;p

 

[Leo Chin]

The Sigma 70-300 is a very good lens for its price, considering its weight and macro ability.
If you decide to shoot sunsets only, i would advise you to get the wider angle Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 instead. Its a faster lens that will allow you to shoot lower light but it would burst your budget by nearly $200. The Nikkor 18-200mm is a good all-rounder but it exceeds your budget by quite a margin. The Nikkor 18-200mm is out unless you are willing to pay more. Personally, I would try to persuade my dad to buy the 18-200 if I were as lucky as you ;p

Heh Heh, you're wrong man! I'm paying everything myself:cry:, this hobby of mine isn't really understood by my family members. But I'm quite sure you all know what I meant. So how much is the 18-200mm price?

 

[hartzdevil]

Thanks for the advice, so how do I actually know or judge which lens will be suitable for plane spotting(eg. wide and focus lengh) ? For instance, I read of fourm that Sigma 70-300 & 55-200 is really good for it. How about Nikkor 55-200?

Hey bro this is a pic i took wit my nikon nikkor 55-200 at 200mm. All i can say is that it is a gd len to me.

 

[hartzdevil]

Heh Heh, you're wrong man! I'm paying everything myself:cry:, this hobby of mine isn't really understood by my family members. But I'm quite sure you all know what I meant. So how much is the 18-200mm price?

I got a price quote from MS colour for the nikon nikkor 18-200 VRII for S$1188.

 

[Override2Zion]

Heh Heh, you're wrong man! I'm paying everything myself:cry:, this hobby of mine isn't really understood by my family members. But I'm quite sure you all know what I meant. So how much is the 18-200mm price?

Hey, sorry about that Leo Chin, I kinda confused your post with another guy who posted something similar. Yeap sometimes people who aren't into photography won't understand why we need to buy new "accessories" for our camera when we already have a functioning unit.

The price of the Nikkor 18-200 is about SGD$1100-1200. Alternatively you can try looking under the buy and sell section, you might be lucky to find a good buy at $800-$900.