Lens Recommendation Needed

[fotojack]

We used to shoot with out VR...People these days rely too much on technology, and not enough on technique...

Cars used to be hand cranked to start years ago. Much easier with the key now, isn't it!

 

[jengajoh]

Hi, I have a D90 too! Will you be getting the kit lens with it? The 18-105? Thats a great all-around lens. I also enjoy my 55-300. I also have the 50mm 1.4, a Tamron 10-24, and a 60mm Nikkor micro lens, these are all great lenses for the D90

 

[Tami Jo]

Cars used to be hand cranked to start years ago. Much easier with the key now, isn't it!

Just a bit! So glad that technology has expanded and we no longer have to do that. As for the lens progression, I realize things are quite a bit easier than they used to be. I think we've made some improvement since those days. I think however unlike the manual crank starting your car, some may still prefer to use the old lenses. I am definitely looking forward to picking up a few of those manual lenses myself. I think it will be nice to see what kind of shots I get with those versus the VR lenses.

 

[Rick M]

Cars used to be hand cranked to start years ago. Much easier with the key now, isn't it!

Until you go out in that cold winter morning and your battery is dead!

 

[Billy Y.]

Cars used to be hand cranked to start years ago. Much easier with the key now, isn't it!

and even easier now with the button.



Photo from BMW blog.

 

[Nikon Photographer]

some may still prefer to use the old lenses. I am definitely looking forward to picking up a few of those manual lenses myself. I think it will be nice to see what kind of shots I get with those versus the VR lenses.

It's true, you don't have to use VR lenses, it does come in handy on longer lenses, but I still like to use my 28-105 AF-D, as it has a pretty good 1:2 macro mode on it, and for the type of macro shots I like to do, i.e Butterflies etc, I don't need a 1:1 macro, as long as you use the old rule of thumb of using a shutter speed to match that of the focal lenth of the lens, camera shake should be reduced, so if your using a 200mm lens, use a minimum shutter speed of 1/250th of a second ....

 

[AC016]

Try to stick with Nikkor if you can. Go for the VR or IS or OS or whatever you want to call it. Would you buy a car without ABS? Or would you rely on your braking technique to come to a stop in a safe manner? Either way, you will come to a stop. With or without VR, you will be able to take pictures. You just have to ask yourself if you want an advantage to be able to do a particular task that much better. Whatever lens you choose, i hope you have a good time shooting.

 

[Mestre]

The VR Is more important on longer focal distances, i'm confortable shooting my 24-70 without VR but I hate to do so at 300mm.

 

[stmv]

nothing wrong with the lens that have no lens motor, and need the drive from the camera, which the D90 has, some of the older screw lens ones are a bit slower, then some of the more modern internal motor lens, but will work just fine.

On other hand, the price of the used AF lens without the motor, can be really help, plus even the new AF with no motors are older designs and can be real bargains.

 

[gqtuazon]

What about this lens?Sigma 50-200mm f/4.0-5.6 DC IF SLD Optical Stabilized (OS) Lens with Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM)

I am having a hard time finding the OS without the motor and the D90 already has an internal motor. Will these even work without causing a conflict? Is there a way to shut off the lens motor and use just the camera motor? Sorry this is just all new to me.

Sigma and Tamron usually have an annoying noise when focusing. Not as quiet as the Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM) which all AF-S lenses have.

If you are purchasing a D90 (body only), a kit lens will normally be a good starter zoom lens such as the Nikon 18-105mm VR. I would just add a Nikon SB 700 flash, some AA batteries and a good charger to get you started. Try that first before you move to the super zooms. In most cases, you won't be using them that much.

 

[Mestre]

Sigma with HSM and Tamron with USD are almost noiseless, i can compare either of them with my 105mm nikon micro VR. However, the older Sigma model that was refered on the first post not only Is noisy but also very slow.

 

[Tami Jo]

Sigma with HSM and Tamron with USD are almost noiseless, i can compare either of them with my 105mm nikon micro VR. However, the older Sigma model that was refered on the first post not only Is noisy but also very slow.

If I understand correctly the Tamron usd means the same thing as the Nikon VR. Is that correct?

 

[Tami Jo]

Hi, I have a D90 too! Will you be getting the kit lens with it? The 18-105? Thats a great all-around lens. I also enjoy my 55-300. I also have the 50mm 1.4, a Tamron 10-24, and a 60mm Nikkor micro lens, these are all great lenses for the D90

Hi Jen! I have heard such good things about the Nikon D90 I am getting the body only. I did pick up a couple of lenses for it so I will be ready to try it out when it arrives. I got the Tamron 55-200 and the Nikon 50 1.8. That will be a nice start to build from hopefully.

 

[Tami Jo]

Sigma and Tamron usually have an annoying noise when focusing. Not as quiet as the Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM) which all AF-S lenses have.

If you are purchasing a D90 (body only), a kit lens will normally be a good starter zoom lens such as the Nikon 18-105mm VR. I would just add a Nikon SB 700 flash, some AA batteries and a good charger to get you started. Try that first before you move to the super zooms. In most cases, you won't be using them that much.

I haven't yet looked into the flashes yet...but I will add this to my list of items to check out. It seems to be growing fairly quick!

 

[Tami Jo]

Until you go out in that cold winter morning and your battery is dead!

That's the worst no matter what you drive. Certainly not the way in which to start your day off with!

 

[Nikon Photographer]

If I understand correctly the Tamron usd means the same thing as the Nikon VR. Is that correct?

No, the USD is Tamron's initials for there Ultra Sonic Drive, basically the same as Nikon's AF-S, there equivalent to the VR is VC (Vibration Compensation)

 

[Agustin8100]

The general rule of thumb for shutter speeds and focal lengths is 1/focal length, give or take a little bit depending on what you're shooting and how stable you are able to keep your camera. VR allows you to get up to (advertised) 2-4 extra stops, which can be a considerable difference allowing you go go from say 1/125 to 1/30 with minimal blurring from camera shake (obviously it can't slow down action from moving). Shorter focal lengths are less prone to showing blurriness due to camera shake, but having a 55-200mm lens vs a 70-300mm lens makes no difference if you're shooting at 135mm.

Also consider that the D90 has a crop factor of 1.5x (smaller field of view compared to a full-frame camera such as the D800 or d4 and the 35mm standard), so your focal lengths are technically a 105-450mm (consider this on the 50mm as well, some find it a bit too long for any indoor shooting, maybe take a look at the 35mm 1.8g?), so when you're shooting at 300mm on the non-VR, you probably would need to shoot 1/500 to get sharp shots, which would require a whole lot of light at f/5.6.

I'm totally agree with you.You'r 100% good here that the general rule of thumb for shutter speeds and focal lengths is 1/focal length,give or take a little bit depending on what you're shooting and how stable you are able to keep your camera.