Lens for the D60


Status
Not open for further replies.

Dennis

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2002
3,877
0
0
Singapore
8dennis8.fotki.com
I am considering the purchase of a D60 and is considering a lens for it. I prefer wide angle zoom.
Any users and comments for the following lens that I am considering, Price, build quality, image quality etc. Any input is appreciated. I have not listed Sigma brand as I have no info on it. Thanks in advance.

Canon 24-85 f3.5/4.5
Canon 28-135 f3.5/5.6
Canon 28-105 f3.5/4.5
Canon 28-200 f3.5/5.6
Tokina 24-200 f3.5/5.6
Tokina 20-35 f2.8
Tokina 28-80 f2.8
Tokina 19-35 f3.5/4.5
Tamron 24-135 f3.5/5.6
Tamron 28-105 f2.8
Tamron 20-40 f2.7/3.5
 

Hi Dennis,

If you shoot with digital, you will have lots of not-so-important shots compared to shooting with film. That's why you may encounter many unexpected conditions, e.g. poor light, moving subjects, night shots ect. I suggest you consider those fast lenses, i.e. smaller min. f-stop values. Also you should decide to build up a zoom line or a prime lens line. The lenses you listed are not so good IMHO. Do a search in this forum and on the web. We will then give u more suggestions later.
 

One to note is that with the D60, there is a Focal Length Multiplier(FLM) and this will result in getting a wider angle len in order to have a wide angle.
*ie a 20mm => 20*1.6(D60) = 32mm.

So pls put these in mind.

Oso, not ness to have fast len if you are going to shoot sceney which give you the time to compose and then shoot. Unless you going indoor for shoot, then it will be very helpful.
 

Maybe I should list my preference for the lens in consideration.
I like big aperture (fast) lens but weight may be a problem. I am not considerating a prime lens build up but may consider a 50 or 100mm Macro in the future. I like wide angle instead of telephoto but the 1 lens do all is tempting unless image quality is totally out.
I am not too concern on minute difference in image quality that only can be seen thru microscope but should be good enough up to about 8 x 10 print. Thus my preference in order on the lens line up would be :-

Canon 28-135 f3.5/5.6 (for the IS feature)
Tokina 24-200 f3.5/5.6 (for the wide to tele)
Tamron 24-135 f3.5/5.6 (for the wide to tele)
Canon 24-85 f3.5/4.5 (wide and reasonable range, Price?)
Tokina 20-35 f2.8 (fast but range is short)
Tokina 19-35 f3.5/4.5 (Range is short)
Tokina 28-80 f2.8 (fast but not wide enough)
Tamron 20-40 f2.7/3.5 (fast but range is short)
Tamron 28-105 f2.8 (fast but heavy and not wide enough)
Canon 28-105 f3.5/4.5
Canon 28-200 f3.5/5.6

All replies appreciated.

Thanks
 

I propose Sigma 24-70 f2.8...
Value for money...the 24mm helps a lot when it comes to wide angle shots.
 

My bottomline is: buy anything not slower than f2.8. You will love it eventually.

Fast lens = low ISO = high shutter speed = less blurness = higher hit rate = higher image quality = more time on camera

If you can affort, get the Canon 16-35/f2.8, Canon 50/1.8, Canon 100/2.8macro and Canon 70-200/f2.8L... I mean, if you can afford it ;p
 

Originally posted by tomshen
My bottomline is: buy anything not slower than f2.8. You will love it eventually.

Fast lens = low ISO = high shutter speed = less blurness = higher hit rate = higher image quality = more time on camera

If you can affort, get the Canon 16-35/f2.8, Canon 50/1.8, Canon 100/2.8macro and Canon 70-200/f2.8L... I mean, if you can afford it ;p
What if you cannot afford?

Well not to worry! There is always the good old 3rd party lens! hehehhehehee
 

Dennis,

when are u buying yours? I'm trying to locate a set and get one soon. Basically a set of :

D60
<intermediate lens> Third party sharp and fast one.
Canon 50/1.4 or 50/1.8

Let's buy together?
 

I am not sure when I will buy one and also where to buy it cheap, any suggestion ?. Are you considering any of the above lenses ?. What you think about it.
 

Originally posted by Dennis
I am not sure when I will buy one and also where to buy it cheap, any suggestion ?. Are you considering any of the above lenses ?. What you think about it.

I almost surely will get from AP. CP would be second choice. Price rulez. HOwever, AP might not have the lense.
 

I disagree with tomshen's comments about Dennis' listed Canon lenses as "not so good". Having used or at least seen results from all of them (except 28-200), I must say those are value-for-money lenses. Consideration of fast lenses is not only "inherent" in digital cameras but for film cameras also. You have to understand those lenses are far heavier, bulkier and definitely more expensive even for a second hand.

f/2.8 lenses are not necessarily much sharper than their variable focal length cousins. Anyway, in digital, sharpness of lenses is not exactly critical as I can assure you the D60 doesn't give as sharp images as if you were to shoot with films. You can always use PS to edit your images. And even if you do shoot with films, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference in sharpness between a fixed aperture L lens with a "consumer" lens.

So the only main advantage I see that you get from a f/2.8 is the wider opening. If your shooting style demands f/2.8 and you can afford it, go for it then. Else, the 24-85, 28-105 and 28-135 are all good lenses. Not sure about the 28-200 but heard it's not too bad too. But I don't like the slow f/5.6 at the end and generally shun from super zooms.

As you know, you have to take care of the 1.6x multiplier in focal length...

At the end of the day, don't buy a lens just because "it is an f/2.8" or a prime or that other people have 'em. Know your shooting needs and consider your tools from there. To reiterate, the 3 Canon lenses you mentioned are all good!
 

Originally posted by David

Anyway, in digital, sharpness of lenses is not exactly critical as I can assure you the D60 doesn't give as sharp images as if you were to shoot with films. You can always use PS to edit your images. And even if you do shoot with films, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference in sharpness between a fixed aperture L lens with a "consumer" lens.

Well I think I have to disagree on this part! PS will only help that much.... But if the pic is sharp, only a little bit of sharpening is to be....

L len and "consumer" len do have a diff! Not only in sharpness but in colour as well. If you take both the same pic and compare, you'll see the diff! Even comparing Sigma 70-200/2.8 and Canon 70-200/2.8L , there is already diff in the colour ...... Not to say a Canon 70-200/2.8L and a Canon 70-300/4-5.6. The Latter been soft and the 70-200 still sharp!
 

I don't mean L lenses are of the same standard as consumer lenses. But the difference in sharpness may not critical. That's why I said "SOMETIMES it's difficult to tell the difference..." I was referring more in particular to the Canon zoom lenses of the range 24-200mm.

In particular, I have used both 28-70L and 24-85 and did a couple of lens tests. The sharpness of the 24-85 is close to if not the same as the 28-70. I believe in what I see with my own eyes and don't quite subscribe to MTF graphs, etc which are done in the LAB. Of course we're not considering distortion and flare here.

I say again, the difference in sharpness is not critical when using digital cameras and using PS to sharpen is not an issue. I've done a lot of films and used digital recently. I was disappointed with the softness of the D30 and D60 despite using L lenses but soon learnt that it is inherent in the cameras.
 

Originally posted by camera1001
I don't mean L lenses are of the same standard as consumer lenses. But the difference in sharpness may not critical. That's why I said "SOMETIMES it's difficult to tell the difference..." I was referring more in particular to the Canon zoom lenses of the range 24-200mm.

In particular, I have used both 28-70L and 24-85 and did a couple of lens tests. The sharpness of the 24-85 is close to if not the same as the 28-70. I believe in what I see with my own eyes and don't quite subscribe to MTF graphs, etc which are done in the LAB. Of course we're not considering distortion and flare here.

I say again, the difference in sharpness is not critical when using digital cameras and using PS to sharpen is not an issue. I've done a lot of films and used digital recently. I was disappointed with the softness of the D30 and D60 despite using L lenses but soon learnt that it is inherent in the cameras.
Roger that...
hhhehehee....
 

If you always shoot with tripod at small aperture (eg. >f8) under a sunny day, yes, you wont see too much different between slow/fast or consumer/L lenses. And for the money all those lenses listed by Dennis are winners. Why bother to spend a lot more on fast lenses? The reason is, once again: with digital, you would like to take a lot of not-so-important and never-tried-b4 shots, eg. street performance/*flying* birds/*insect* macro, under overcast weather/indoors/fast moving subject condition. I own a Canon 28-105/f3.5-4.5. It has a very useful range but for the above reason, it's the least used lens for me. Why? Because it's not fast enough so I often have to use ISO 400 and above!

My theory may not apply on other pple, but I do feel that if you shoot quite often (very likely with digital), invest some fast lenses! Otherwise you will see yourself upgrade at a later time:)
 

Originally posted by zapp!
I propose Sigma 24-70 f2.8...
Value for money...the 24mm helps a lot when it comes to wide angle shots.

eh any idea how much a new one sells for?
 

OK nerrowed down to the following in order of preference
What will you choose ?.

Canon 24-85 f3.5/4.5 (wide and reasonable range, Price?)
Tokina 24-200 f3.5/5.6 (for the wide to tele)
Canon 28-135 f3.5/5.6 (for the IS feature)
Tamron 24-135 f3.5/5.6 (for the wide to tele)
 

Status
Not open for further replies.