Help needed for upgrade of lens


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unknownidt

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Apr 22, 2011
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Hi all,
I’m new to this forum and hopefully, I post in the correct section(if I have not please kindly let me know so I can make the necessary changes).

Anyway let’s get to the point, I have bought a new D90 + 18-105 kit lens and have been toying around with it for about a month or so. However, I find the range of this lens has been rather limiting and thus I’m thinking of an upgrade of the lens.

Currently, I’m doing the following photography:
• Travel Photography(would like to. But don’t travel much)
• Street life
• Landscape
• Portrait(less)

As I’m doing landscaping, I foresee myself getting a FX body(hopefully when I have the $$). Thus I’m actually looking at the following lens:
• AF-S VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED DX
• AF-S Nikkor VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED

I have also done a read up and I see different review about the 2 lens. However, some of the common things said are the IQ, Pro and cons.

18-200
Pro
- Light Weight
- Good Range. Don’t need to change lens often(so less change of dropping and lens are expensive so I don’t want my heart to break if it drops by accident.)
- Good for travelling use.
Con
- IQ not very good at both end of the range.
70-300
Pro
- Good IQ
- Longer range
Con
- Need to change lens if require other range
- Heavier as compared to 18-200
- On a DX body, there is a 1.5x crop factor which make it into a 105-450mm lens

I was also advice to get a 70-200F/2.8 which I think is an overkill currently for me(not to mention that the $$ I need to cough out is almost half yr of my salary. T.T) So I would like your professional advice on this matter. I hope to get a lens that will last me for at least while. I do not mind buying a second hand lens but i find that 3rd party lens are actually rather slow on my D90(personal opinion i guess).
 

Dun get the 18-200mm unless if you only want the flexibility. With proper skills, which you can practice to achieve, you can get much better IQ from your images from the 70-300mm VR than those do it all lens.

Besides, you do want the greater reach @ a cheaper price don't you?
 

18-200 is rather flexible isn't it? What bout comparing between the kit 18-105?
 

Cowseye said:
Dun get the 18-200mm unless if you only want the flexibility. With proper skills, which you can practice to achieve, you can get much better IQ from your images from the 70-300mm VR than those do it all lens.

Besides, you do want the greater reach @ a cheaper price don't you?

Thanks cowseye.

A greater reach @ cheaper price will be great.

Is there any other lens that I shld look at? I mean I know the trinity lens is one set of lens that most ppl wish n hope for but is there others that I shld look out for?
 

I'm no professional, but i'll just give you my 2 cents. The 18-200mm has really bad distortions and IQ. Highly not recommended. Since your main focus is on streets/portraits and landscapes, i don't see the need in getting the 70-300mm too. I assume you are more into street than landscape, thus the 18-105mm is good enough for your landscape.

Unless you really are into landscapes as well, try looking into the 10-24mm DX (almost the price of the 18-200mm) (was going to suggest the tokina 11-16mm [much cheaper than the nikon UWA] as many people here recommended this, but you're against 3rd parties).

The 50mm f/1.4G/ AF 85mm f/1.4/Sigma 50mm f/1.4 is an excellent prime for portrait and streets. Depends which focal length suits you well. I've seen comparisons about the nikon 50mm and the sigma's and surprisingly, sigma's 50mm f/1.4 has better bokeh.

If you're still eyeing on the 70-200mm f2.8, don't be discouraged by it's price. There are alternatives to this lens too. For example, the 80-200mm f2.8 2-touch version. It might be an old generation lens, but still produce great image quality. Consider the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 II too.

If the budget is a concern, the only way to get glasses suitable for your needs is going 3rd parties. Hope that helps.

Cheers.
 

Hi if 18-200mm have bad IQ and distortion, y do cameralab and Ken Rockwell review of it is so good? on comparison with different prime lens, the all in one lens only loose out by a bit. But a cheaper alternative to buying 4 prime lens.... I'm a newbie so need senior views ;)
 

Hi if 18-200mm have bad IQ and distortion, y do cameralab and Ken Rockwell review of it is so good? on comparison with different prime lens, the all in one lens only loose out by a bit. But a cheaper alternative to buying 4 prime lens.... I'm a newbie so need senior views ;)

I'm not too sure about cameralab, but KRW has not been very well recognised by people on the net. His site is good for knowing the specs of your equipments and nice product pics. I take his reviews with a pinch of salt.
 

Hi if 18-200mm have bad IQ and distortion, y do cameralab and Ken Rockwell review of it is so good? on comparison with different prime lens, the all in one lens only loose out by a bit. But a cheaper alternative to buying 4 prime lens.... I'm a newbie so need senior views ;)

I normally depend more on dpreview n the-digital-picture for lens review.
 

I'm no professional, but i'll just give you my 2 cents. The 18-200mm has really bad distortions and IQ. Highly not recommended. Since your main focus is on streets/portraits and landscapes, i don't see the need in getting the 70-300mm too. I assume you are more into street than landscape, thus the 18-105mm is good enough for your landscape.

Unless you really are into landscapes as well, try looking into the 10-24mm DX (almost the price of the 18-200mm) (was going to suggest the tokina 11-16mm [much cheaper than the nikon UWA] as many people here recommended this, but you're against 3rd parties).

The 50mm f/1.4G/ AF 85mm f/1.4/Sigma 50mm f/1.4 is an excellent prime for portrait and streets. Depends which focal length suits you well. I've seen comparisons about the nikon 50mm and the sigma's and surprisingly, sigma's 50mm f/1.4 has better bokeh.

If you're still eyeing on the 70-200mm f2.8, don't be discouraged by it's price. There are alternatives to this lens too. For example, the 80-200mm f2.8 2-touch version. It might be an old generation lens, but still produce great image quality. Consider the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 II too.

If the budget is a concern, the only way to get glasses suitable for your needs is going 3rd parties. Hope that helps.

Cheers.

Actually, the reason i'm thinking of going for the 70-300mm is cause i find that taking some random person at the park playing with their kid very interesting and using the kit lens feel kinda awkward as i'll needa walk very very near to the subject before i can take a nice picture which i believe some people might actually find it offending/shy.

Highly believe that i will drop that 18-200mm. May practice with the 70-300mm if the price is not too expensive(tight on budget). i have not really tried all the 3rd party lens except tamaron 70-300mm which i find the focusing relatively slow and the image taken is always blur(which i believe is due to my hand shaking but i guess more practice will make it better).

70-200mm f2.8, hmmm good idea but i think not at the moment. it's abit scary from my POV to lunge that 3k piece of glass on a newbie. maybe when i get better at my photography.

I was actually tempted to get the 50mm F1.4 but i thought about it and i felt that the 50mm can actually wait. But seriously, i'm quite surprised that sigma lens has better bokeh than nikkor. That's something really interesting. Maybe one day i should go down to one of those shop and try it out.

Hi if 18-200mm have bad IQ and distortion, y do cameralab and Ken Rockwell review of it is so good? on comparison with different prime lens, the all in one lens only loose out by a bit. But a cheaper alternative to buying 4 prime lens.... I'm a newbie so need senior views ;)

Hi, i believe what everyone said is true. i mean 18-200 is a all-in-one lens which most(if not all) has agreed that it has bad IQ. it's a good lens if IQ is not one of your main concern. If i didn't remember wrongly, using a 18-200 lens without blowing up the picture seems ok however, when you blow up the picture, they said that the distortion is actually quite bad.
 

U can check camera lab which compare the pics. Its better zoom lens then others compared in the market.
 

The other way is to rent the one you likelyhood would buy, or both, to give it a try. It might give you a clearer picture. I upgraded my macro lens based on my own review from a rented 105mm VR too.
 

Hi if 18-200mm have bad IQ and distortion, y do cameralab and Ken Rockwell review of it is so good? on comparison with different prime lens, the all in one lens only loose out by a bit. But a cheaper alternative to buying 4 prime lens.... I'm a newbie so need senior views ;)

Ken Rockwell is known to be a bit biased. It's usually a good idea to check on multiple review sites before basing your decision. Not such a big fan of cameralabs either.
dpreview and bythom are more trustworthy sources IMHO.
 

i see the reasoning for getting the 70-300VR but not the 18-200 considering u have the intention to go FX.....
 

Actually, the reason i'm thinking of going for the 70-300mm is cause i find that taking some random person at the park playing with their kid very interesting and using the kit lens feel kinda awkward as i'll needa walk very very near to the subject before i can take a nice picture which i believe some people might actually find it offending/shy.


70-200mm f2.8, hmmm good idea but i think not at the moment. it's abit scary from my POV to lunge that 3k piece of glass on a newbie. maybe when i get better at my photography.

The Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 (http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/70-200mm-f28-ex-dg-apomacro-hsm-ii-sigma) only costs at least $1200. Much Much cheaper than the nikon's. Also the price of the 18-200mm as well.

Here's a review do check it out :) (p.s, love this guy)

[video=youtube;bdYWIuyqFXM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdYWIuyqFXM[/video]
 

hhmm, if you foresee yourself buying an FX, then why still considering DX lens?

for me, if you really want to have great street shots, travel shots and landscape, there is not many reason to buy tele lenses.. you need to be right in the middle of the action to get those great street shots.. and rmbr the crop factor of your camera.. your 18mm lens would have equivalent of ard 28mm, not quite wide for landscape.. what i can suggest is the tokina 11-16 (it has a great DOF, so you can actually guesstimate the focus and don't have to rely totally on your AF system) or nikon 12-24.. get one 50mm/35mm prime, sell your 18-105 and get the 70-300mm, or even the 55-200mm (i believe it's not bad a lens!).. you don't need to cover all the focal lengths.. sometimes, you need to use your feet.. that's my suggestion..
 

bayusuputra said:
hhmm, if you foresee yourself buying an FX, then why still considering DX lens?

for me, if you really want to have great street shots, travel shots and landscape, there is not many reason to buy tele lenses.. you need to be right in the middle of the action to get those great street shots.. and rmbr the crop factor of your camera.. your 18mm lens would have equivalent of ard 28mm, not quite wide for landscape.. what i can suggest is the tokina 11-16 (it has a great DOF, so you can actually guesstimate the focus and don't have to rely totally on your AF system) or nikon 12-24.. get one 50mm/35mm prime, sell your 18-105 and get the 70-300mm, or even the 55-200mm (i believe it's not bad a lens!).. you don't need to cover all the focal lengths.. sometimes, you need to use your feet.. that's my suggestion..

Actually, i'm thinking of getting a 50mm F1.4 maybe after the 70-300mm, then i'll get that. selling the 18-105, i actually hope to so do but sometime i think family photo they will wish to use that. As much as i understand that the kits lens is not the best lens, but i believe they are able to provide an acceptable image.

i should be going for 70-300mm lens for the time being and learn how to do better in the photography path. Hopefully i don't follow what i saw someone posted, kena BBB poison and within a month get the trinity glass.(although i doubt so.)

@Sgdevilzz: thanks for that advice. but i think i'll skip that for a while. as much as i'm tempted to get that, i read the review and everyone said that it's F2.8 produces a rather soft image. I think i'll buy a 70-300mm for the time being and then slowly save up and maybe in the future get a Nikkor 70-200F2.8. but i think that should be slightly some time after the 50mm F1.4.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR VALUABLE INPUT. THEY ARE SUPER VALUABLE AND I HAVE LEARNT ALOT FROM EVERYONE. THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH.
 

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