Picking good glass for D7100

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adot45

Senior Member
It looks as though I'll be able to get a D7100 soon. I looked at the thread "whats on your D7100 right now" and was keeping track of how many had the 18~140 and how many had the 18~105. After 13 out of 26 pages, it was almost 2 to 1 in favor of the 18~140. I'm not sure how meaningful a statistic that is because some guys were in both groups, etc. I also noticed that the 16~85 got a lot of mentions too. So in picking a zoom lens to start me off, which of THESE THREE would be considered "good glass" and a good lens to start with? I know down the road I'm going to want other lenses but right now, at first, I'm looking at versatility. Thanks
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
adot45 said:
It looks as though I'll be able to get a D7100 soon. I looked at the thread "whats on your D7100 right now" and was keeping track of how many had the 18~140 and how many had the 18~105. After 13 out of 26 pages, it was almost 2 to 1 in favor of the 18~140. I'm not sure how meaningful a statistic that is because some guys were in both groups, etc. I also noticed that the 16~85 got a lot of mentions too. So in picking a zoom lens to start me off, which of THESE THREE would be considered "good glass" and a good lens to start with? I know down the road I'm going to want other lenses but right now, at first, I'm looking at versatility. Thanks
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The 18-140mm is extremely versatile and the IQ, overall, is quite good. If master-at-none, it's certainly a jack-of-all-trades sort of lens. I could recommend better, bigger zooms, primes or wide angle lenses but the 18-140mm kind of nails the "sweet spot". I only wish it was a constant aperture lens, say f/2.8 (!!) or f/4 but then Nikon would want three times the price.
....
 
Michael J.

Michael J.

Senior Member
I have the 18-105 and the 16-85. The 16-85 is such a wonderful lens. 2mm down is for me more important than 20mm up. For zoom I use the 55-300


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paul04

Senior Member
I really do like my 18-105mm lens, more or less does everything I want.

Going to be a hard choice just to pick one lens out of the 3 in your list.
 
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nickt

Senior Member
I can't speak at all for the 16-85. But I have a 18-105 and an 18-140. I picked up a refurb 18-105 for around $200 a good while back. The 140 did not exist at that time or I would have gotten it instead. Earlier this year, there were a ton of 18-140 refurbs for $240. The supply seems to have dried up, but if you can find one cheap, I would say get 140 over the 105 for the small price difference. The 140 has a metal mount too, the 105 is plastic. Image quality is the same in my book, just more reach on the 140. A little bigger and a little heavier too. I like it.
 
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hrstrat57

Senior Member
Off topic kinda I guess but I would try your current DX glass first. You might be satisfied enough to walk around with those for a bit and then focus on acquiring prime lenses or better / professional zoom glass one bit by one while you learn your new camera body with familiar lenses. 24MP might challenge the kit glass for large prints but you can work with a familiar baseline while saving for better pieces of kit.

My somewhat off point .02
 
Spottydumplings

Spottydumplings

Senior Member
hrstrat57 said:
Off topic kinda I guess but I would try your current DX glass first. You might be satisfied enough to walk around with those for a bit and then focus on acquiring prime lenses or better / professional zoom glass one bit by one while you learn your new camera body with familiar lenses. 24MP might challenge the kit glass for large prints but you can work with a familiar baseline while saving for better pieces of kit.

My somewhat off point .02
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I'm not sure that you were "off topic"; I was going to ask the same thing:encouragement:.

When I bought my D7100 earlier in the year I bought it as "body only" as I already had an 18-105mm that I got with my D90. The only reason that I recently bought an 18-140mm is that I have a trip planned for early in the new year and only want to carry the minimum of kit (that and a Sigma 10-20mm f4.0-5.6; for if I need something wider). The 140 will give that little bit extra reach at the top end.
 
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mustang

Senior Member
save your money till you can buy good glass
a good used copy of a 17-55dx lens is not out of reach
and the IQ is leagues above the 18-140 or 18-105

wanna buy a like new 18-105 mm ?, it never gets used anymore
my 7100 either has a 17-55 dx or a 70-200 vr1 on it these days...........
the 7100 deserves glass that has a gold stripe around the top .
NK1755DXU_zpsc17dd6ac.jpg

this is a cropped shot from a 17-55 dx , and I'm talkin seriously cropped like more than 75% ended up gone .
snake_zpsch7act0o.jpg
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
I have both the 18-105 and the 18-140 that I have used on my D7100. Between the two the 18-140 is the hands down winner. I now have a 24-120 F4 on the D7100 and it is very nice but it is a lot more expensive. I am not sure it makes that much difference in my shooting but I am upgrading all my lenses to FX just in case I decide to go FX in the future.
 
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Lawrence

Senior Member
Interesting answers here.
On my D5100 I enjoyed the 18-105 but since moving to a D7100 that lens has been a disappointment and I haven't been able to put my finger on the reason.

Not sure if that helps in any way.
 
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dave42

Senior Member
adot45, I've been away from photography a long time and just recently returned. In the day, I used lens that covered 28-200mm ranges. That is why I went with the 18-140mm (1.5 crop factor). Also, as nickt said, "The 140 has a metal mount too, the 105 is plastic."

If I were to get another at some point, that 17-55 2.8 and the new 16-80 2.8 would be on the short list. Good luck!

 
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Blacktop

Senior Member
Don Kuykendall said:
I have both the 18-105 and the 18-140 that I have used on my D7100. Between the two the 18-140 is the hands down winner. I now have a 24-120 F4 on the D7100 and it is very nice but it is a lot more expensive. I am not sure it makes that much difference in my shooting but I am upgrading all my lenses to FX just in case I decide to go FX in the future.
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You mean go FX in the future?:)
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
nickt said:
I can't speak at all for the 16-85. But I have a 18-105 and an 18-140. I picked up a refurb 18-105 for around $200 a good while back. The 140 did not exist at that time or I would have gotten it instead. Earlier this year, there were a ton of 18-140 refurbs for $240. The supply seems to have dried up, but if you can find one cheap, I would say get 140 over the 105 for the small price difference. The 140 has a metal mount too, the 105 is plastic. Image quality is the same in my book, just more reach on the 140. A little bigger and a little heavier too. I like it.
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Refurb right now seems to be around $265 (checked Cameta, comes with 1 year warranty) for the 18-140. Still not bad. Having done the research a while back, this is eventually on my list as a walkaround lens for the D7100, but it's not a priority at this point as I do what I need with what I have.
 
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