Great all in one lense

rpoint16

Senior Member
I chose the Nikon D5500 for my 1st DSLR, now I'm selecting a lense.

I will need more than a 18-55. I like the Versatility (not having to swap out lense) of an all-in-one type; 18-140, 18-200, 18-300. All 4 are f/3.5-5.6 VR11 (18-140 & 300 VR only).

My question is comparing the 18-55 to the 140, 200, & 300, will say 25mm & 55mm shots on the 18-55 be the same on the other 3?

Will a 130mm shot be similar on the 140 as on a 200 or 300?

I really do not want to sacrifice picture quality. I'm probably over thinking this.

I will be shooting travel, beaches, light sailing & snow skiing.

Hope this makes sense. I perused thru dozens of threads looking for this specific info. I've read specs on Nikon, dp preview & pixel peeper. I looked at the Nikon lense simulator as well.
 

Bill16

Senior Member
Well you seem to have studied up on this more than I have! Lol But other than primes being sharper, they should work fine until you get on the long end loosing some more sharpness. So say at 300 you'd lose some sharpness! Each lens loses a little, but the longer you go the more you loose of the long end.

This what I believe anyway! Lol :)
 

gqtuazon

Gear Head
I chose the Nikon D5500 for my 1st DSLR, now I'm selecting a lense.

I will need more than a 18-55. I like the Versatility (not having to swap out lense) of an all-in-one type; 18-140, 18-200, 18-300. All 4 are f/3.5-5.6 VR11 (18-140 & 300 VR only).

My question is comparing the 18-55 to the 140, 200, & 300, will say 25mm & 55mm shots on the 18-55 be the same on the other 3?

Will a 130mm shot be similar on the 140 as on a 200 or 300?

.

I think that it is best if you try them out from yournearest camera store to see if the lens is good enough, too short, too long andtoo heavy. They all need a lot of lightespecially on the long end. Stopped downto f8 will provide best results.
I’m thinking 18-300mm would fit the bill as an all-aroundlens. You’ll need a flash for indoor shooting.
 

SkvLTD

Senior Member
Not that 5500 is a bad starter, but any of those zooms will eat away at quality. Perhaps a 35/1.8G to get you started and to grasp all the basics and controls and then you can decide what you feel you need aside from the 35- wider, longer, and invest accordingly.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
It's a rare lens that doesn't give up anything (focal length flexibility, speed, image quality), but there are some out there; you just have to pay thousands of dollars for them. If I were you I'd buy two lenses for that '5500; the Nikon 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR and the 35mm f/1.8G.

If you can find one, you might want to consider the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC APO OS, which has been discontinued by Sigma. What an absolutely amazing lens that is. It practically LIVED on my D7100.

.....
 

rocketman122

Senior Member
I chose the Nikon D5500 for my 1st DSLR, now I'm selecting a lense.

I will need more than a 18-55. I like the Versatility (not having to swap out lense) of an all-in-one type; 18-140, 18-200, 18-300. All 4 are f/3.5-5.6 VR11 (18-140 & 300 VR only).

My question is comparing the 18-55 to the 140, 200, & 300, will say 25mm & 55mm shots on the 18-55 be the same on the other 3?

Will a 130mm shot be similar on the 140 as on a 200 or 300?

I really do not want to sacrifice picture quality. I'm probably over thinking this.

I will be shooting travel, beaches, light sailing & snow skiing.

Hope this makes sense. I perused thru dozens of threads looking for this specific info. I've read specs on Nikon, dp preview & pixel peeper. I looked at the Nikon lense simulator as well.

I think for your needs of shooting situations any of them will be fine. picture quality against which other lenses? there is a reason why expensive lenses cost what they do. superzooms and high IQ are not words that go well together. you WILL get nice/good IQ, but if you dont want to sacrifice IQ, these are not the righ choices. superzooms are convenient and make it easy. but they arent up to par compared to fixed aperture lenses. the bokeh, the color, the contrast, sharpness. its a different level altogether. even a measly inexpensive 50 1.8G (or any version) will leave you speechless

personally id buy a tamron 17-50 2.8 and tele zoom (55-200/70-300) and split that. but for trips and such it will more than fill your needs. u will be very happy. almost always it the shooters technique that wont take advantage of the lenses full potential anyways. if I gave an enthusiaist a 70-200 2.8 he will have some difficulty using it properly and extracting stellar images from it because hes just not used to the feel/weight/stability and the fast focus. like giving a person a ferrari car to drive. most wont know how to drive it well.

regarding IQ...I remember when I fiorst started in weddings and I bought all 2.8 sigma glass. it was their "pro" EX line. shooting almost two years with it. being in that field you see other photogs pictures. I was noticing my images had good composition but always lacked that "polish" that other pros had in their images. it wasnt the compositions so much more the color or the contrast and sharpness and bokeh. I bought my first nikon lens. an 85mm 1.4 AIS I got for peanuts. it looked like it was in a few wars with tons of dust inside but when I shot with it, it was all clear to me. what I thought was great till then, was just pathetic and crap.

all I will say to u is DONT EVER USE A PROFESSIONAL LENS! 2.8 zooms or any primes! stay with these above lenses you mentioned and youll be fine, because if you dont, it will be an ongoing battle for IQ and your pocket will hurt! HAHAHA!
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Here's the Sigma. $700 starting bid. Certainly not a carry-around lens.
It's all relative I guess... I carried that lens on my battery gripped D7100 for weeks at a time. That lens could have been twice the size and four times as heavy and I'd still have carried it.

....
... DONT EVER USE A PROFESSIONAL LENS! 2.8 zooms or any primes! stay with these above lenses you mentioned and youll be fine, because if you dont, it will be an ongoing battle for IQ and your pocket will hurt!
So true... The glass you hate to love.

....
 
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Retro

Senior Member
all I will say to u is DONT EVER USE A PROFESSIONAL LENS! 2.8 zooms or any primes! stay with these above lenses you mentioned and youll be fine, because if you dont, it will be an ongoing battle for IQ and your pocket will hurt! HAHAHA!
Some of us are pretty hard-headed!
You're talking about consequences one should learn from and compromise a little. I only have an FE2 with a 50, but I'll tell you right now when I get a 7200, my sights are set on the 2.8 zooms, or I'll stick with primes.
 

rocketman122

Senior Member
Some of us are pretty hard-headed!
You're talking about consequences one should learn from and compromise a little. I only have an FE2 with a 50, but I'll tell you right now when I get a 7200, my sights are set on the 2.8 zooms, or I'll stick with primes.

most of us here are hard headed! we argue about the minute differences of the best glass. haha. once you start even with a simple 50 youre screwed. because youll see what ur missing with the kit lenses. especially if youre shooting pretty open.
 

J-see

Senior Member
I pretty much screwed myself when I bought my 200mm f/4 macro. I remember thinking it was an awful lot of money for a lens.

These days I'm that deep down the rabbit hole I consider the same amount of money for a lens as very reasonable.
 

Retro

Senior Member
I pretty much screwed myself when I bought my 200mm f/4 macro. I remember thinking it was an awful lot of money for a lens.

These days I'm that deep down the rabbit hole I consider the same amount of money for a lens as very reasonable.
>>>looking around for some regret... Hmmm, nope!<<<<
 
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