Lens questions

arshuter

Senior Member
As I've been looking at camera prices I have also been looking at lenses. I see lenses going from 18 to 300 is this to much focal range? Will it cause distortion etc? Also I see lenses in the same focal range say 75 to 200 one costs $200 and another at $800, is there really that much difference in clarity?
Also give me an idea on what lenses I will need in the future mostly landscape, waterfalls, sunsets, sun raise, things like that. Thank you. Alan
 
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Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Lenses prices aren't driven by "sharpness" as much as they are by "speed" or how fast they are. Look at the Maximum aperture... The lower the F-stop number the more $$$

1 or 2 F-stops can be a difference of thousands...
 

Danno

Senior Member
That is the kind of stuff I like to shoot too. I hung around here and looked, listened and asked. When I started out I went with some broad lenses that ran from 18-250 I think from Sigma. It was a good walk around lens but the more I looked at things the more I realized mos of my shots for sunrises were at the wide end of the lens. I started looking at 24-70 f2.8 lenses, but they were well out of my budget. I heard about a Sigma 28-75 f2.8 that was reasonable from a price standpoint and I bought it. Love that lens. Until I got my Z6 with the 24-70 f4 that was my go to lens on my D7200 and D700.

For landscapes I used the Tamron until I found a DX lens that worked on my D7200. I got the 10-20 f3.5. I later got the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 G2 and a long lens, the Nikon 200-500 f 5.6.

I like the fixed minimum aperture on a lens more than a variable. It adds cost but it makes things better when dealing with zooms. You are not messing with the light as much as when the aperture is variable. I have learned that good glass becomes more important the better the body you get, BUT not all better glass has to cost a body part. Nikon makes great glass but I think Tamron does too.

I am not sure if any of this makes sense but this is a good place to get an understanding about lenses. Most of my buying decisions came from guidance I got here.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I'd say that faster lenses tend to be sharper, too, but not because of the aperture range in and of itself. People who pay more for a lens tend to want both faster and sharper, so that tends to be the way manufacturers make decisions about their lens line-ups and designs.

As far as the Nikon 18-300, I'd stay away. I had one (f/3.5-5.6) and it was NOT a sharp lens at most focal lengths, and downright SOFT at some.
 

arshuter

Senior Member
Very nice. You will love the D7100! Which lenses do you have presently?

2 older Nikons from my 35mm days, a50mm f1.8 and a 75-150mm f 3.5, a Quantaray 52mm f 2.8, a 18-55 f3.5-5.6 DX G lens that came with my D5100 and lastly a Nikkor 70-200mm f4.0-f5.6 DX G ED
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Other than long telephoto, you have the focal range pretty well covered with the lenses you have. You might want an untra-wide lens at some point, too, like a 10-24mm or similar. Have you been okay with the image quality when using these lenses with the D5100?
 

arshuter

Senior Member
They seem to be just fine to me. By my original comment I don't want to buy lenses just to have them I would like to improve on what I have over time. Yes I would like to get something in the 10 to 20-24 range and maybe a fisheye, just to play with, in the future.
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
They seem to be just fine to me. By my original comment I don't want to buy lenses just to have them I would like to improve on what I have over time. Yes I would like to get something in the 10 to 20-24 range and maybe a fisheye, just to play with, in the future.

What are you using this 10 to 20-24 lens for? Is there a prime focal length that would really suffice? I was looking at zoom lenses in that focal range, but eventually opted to go with a 20mm. For about one-half the price of the zoom, I got a much faster lens, the Sigma 20mm f/1.4, and it's been just fine for what I want to do.

WM
 

arshuter

Senior Member
What are you using this 10 to 20-24 lens for? Is there a prime focal length that would really suffice? I was looking at zoom lenses in that focal range, but eventually opted to go with a 20mm. For about one-half the price of the zoom, I got a much faster lens, the Sigma 20mm f/1.4, and it's been just fine for what I want to do.

WM
I am really just getting started but mostly I do landscape, water that type of thing.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
As I've been looking at camera prices I have also been looking at lenses. I see lenses going from 18 to 300 is this to much focal range? Will it cause distortion etc? Also I see lenses in the same focal range say 75 to 200 one costs $200 and another at $800, is there really that much difference in clarity?
Also give me an idea on what lenses I will need in the future mostly landscape, waterfalls, sunsets, sun raise, things like that. Thank you. Alan
For an ultra-wide I'd suggest the Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II.

For a more standard wide-angle I'd suggest either the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art or the Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 C.
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Were I you, I'd opt for a 20mm or 24mm prime at f/1.8 or faster. If you need wider that that, in a lot of instances you can take multiple shots and stitch them together on the computer.

WM
 

arshuter

Senior Member
Thank you all for the suggestions but my lens buying will have to wait a while till the fund jar builds back up. I bought a D7100 off a guy I do work for that owns a pawn shop. I should say stole I got it for $325.00 with a brand new in the wrapper extra Nikon battery, it only has 2,241 shutter actuations.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Thank you all for the suggestions but my lens buying will have to wait a while till the fund jar builds back up. I bought a D7100 off a guy I do work for that owns a pawn shop. I should say stole I got it for $325.00 with a brand new in the wrapper extra Nikon battery, it only has 2,241 shutter actuations.

That's great - have fun with it. It's a great body. :)
 

carguy

Senior Member
Thank you all for the suggestions but my lens buying will have to wait a while till the fund jar builds back up. I bought a D7100 off a guy I do work for that owns a pawn shop. I should say stole I got it for $325.00 with a brand new in the wrapper extra Nikon battery, it only has 2,241 shutter actuations.
That does sound like a nice buy, it is a great camera :)
 

Mark1953

New member
I'm sure someone has covered this but I'm brand new here. I'd really like to try my hand at photographing the Milky Way with my 3200. I'm told a larger format sensor would be better, but would a short, fast lens get me there?
 

Dangerspouse

Senior Member
I'm sure someone has covered this but I'm brand new here. I'd really like to try my hand at photographing the Milky Way with my 3200. I'm told a larger format sensor would be better, but would a short, fast lens get me there?

Hi Mark - welcome!

I don't see why you couldn't do astrophotography with your D3200. There will be some limitations over more feature-rich models, but that 24.2 MP coupled to a decent lens should get you some nice shots nonetheless. I assume you've watched any of the many online video tutorials, so you know some of the basics like using a tripod, remote shutter release, etc.

Nikon USA has a good intro to photographing the night sky at: https://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/astrophotography/getstarted/camera/index.html

Midway down the page you can see a pic of the Milky Way taken with a D5500, which has the same sensor as yours. After that, under their recommended cameras, the first one listed as being good for beginners is the D3300 - essentially your exact camera.

So yeah, I think you should be able to get some fine pictures with your setup. An FX camera might indeed be better, but that doesn't mean a DX can't produce some great results (from what I've read).

But if I were you, I'd start a new thread here asking others with more experience than me this same question. I think your post is getting lost by being stuck on the end of a thread on a different topic.

All the best, and welcome again!

:)
 
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