Lens upgrade
- Thread starter skk
- Start date
dramtastic
Senior Member
Outdoor and night shooting of what type of subject/s?
What type of budget we talking about here?
Primes are a very good way to go with portrait. Say an 85 f1.8G would be a top on my list. Maybe the 105 macro. Another great sharp lens for portrait.
But I have also seen people killing it with a 70-300 with proper technique. For my people shots I stick to 70mm and up.
For landscape I would think the 18-55 would do the trick. You don't really need a fast lens since you can use slower shutter speeds. And depending on your copy the 18-55 can be pretty dang sharp. I use an 18-105 myself.
Primes are a very good way to go with portrait. Say an 85 f1.8G would be a top on my list. Maybe the 105 macro. Another great sharp lens for portrait.
But I have also seen people killing it with a 70-300 with proper technique. For my people shots I stick to 70mm and up.
For landscape I would think the 18-55 would do the trick. You don't really need a fast lens since you can use slower shutter speeds. And depending on your copy the 18-55 can be pretty dang sharp. I use an 18-105 myself.
What is it about the 18-55 that you are hoping to improve on ? The more we know about your situation and what you want to do with your photos, will make it easier to recommend a lens, or lenses. And knowing what your budget is will also help.
Landscape and portrait are 2 quite different situations, you will probably better off with a lens to suit each one. For example, a 85 f1.8 for portrait, and a wider lens for landscapes.
You don't have to get both of them at once, if you got the 85 first, you could still use the 18-55 for landscape until you can get a better landscape lens.
I have the Nikon 16-85, it is a very good general purpose lens, and would be a good upgrade from the 18-55 for general work. Sigma and Tamron make good 17-50 f2.8 zooms that you could also consider.
Landscape and portrait are 2 quite different situations, you will probably better off with a lens to suit each one. For example, a 85 f1.8 for portrait, and a wider lens for landscapes.
You don't have to get both of them at once, if you got the 85 first, you could still use the 18-55 for landscape until you can get a better landscape lens.
I have the Nikon 16-85, it is a very good general purpose lens, and would be a good upgrade from the 18-55 for general work. Sigma and Tamron make good 17-50 f2.8 zooms that you could also consider.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
The Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 is one of the more flexible lenses, IMO. It's my day-to-day go-to lens and rarely comes off my '7100. The newer 18-140mm would be just as nice but Nikon wants a lot more money for that extra 35mm of "reach". Still, if you've got the dinero, I'd say it's the way to go.
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Flugelbinder
Senior Member
1.5G?..lol QUOTE]C´mon, don´t be like that...
As for the 50mm, you have 2 options: the very expensive 1.4G, or the cheapper (and sharper!) 1.8G, which will give your images a bit of the compression look we like to see in portrait and does a great job with the bokkeh (the background blur). Remember, the longer the lens (85mm, 105mm) the more expensive they are... As for landscape, I agree with everyone. Your 18-55 is a very nice lens and, at least for now, you don´t really need anything else.
SkvLTD
Senior Member
Why... are we limiting to G's here? Vintage 50 1.2s would kill it at night like no other, and could do quite well for portraits being 75mm equivalent. Else as everyone else mentioned, 18-55's 18 end is plenty for landscapes. I'd invest into a tripod over a new lens, unless you simply HATE how 18-55's build feels.
Flugelbinder
Senior Member
Agree on the vintage, but it wouldn´t auto-focus on his camera and most people doesn´t want the "trouble" of focusing manually...
southwestsam
Senior Member
I've found the 18-55mm a pretty decent lens for me. Here's an example of how sharp it can be - my technique is pretty amateur to be honest (I think, at least!) as I've only been using my camera for about 6-8 months. When I took the picture I had only had it for about 2 months.
Obviously pet portraits are slightly different from people portraits but I think this was at appx. 35mm - I have found the 50mm 1.8G great for portraits - lovely isolation at f/2.4 and below.
Might be worth going down to a camera shop and trying the lens options out on your camera to see what you like (or dislike) about each.
Obviously pet portraits are slightly different from people portraits but I think this was at appx. 35mm - I have found the 50mm 1.8G great for portraits - lovely isolation at f/2.4 and below.
Might be worth going down to a camera shop and trying the lens options out on your camera to see what you like (or dislike) about each.
It is a manual focus, so it will not AF on any camera. Still what you get at f1.2 cannot be duplicated with slower lenses. By the way the 50mmf1.2 is still in production and costs quite a packet compared to the 50mmf1.4AF.