D5000 owner, looking for a lens suggestion

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sushigirl

New member
I currently have the 18-55 and 55-200 kit lenses. I also have a manual focus prime 28mm lens from DH's Nikon N90. I am looking a new lens but honestly, I don't know what to get. I love photographing nature (the zoom is great for that) but I am also interested in macro nature. I also love photographing kids (my 2 year old especially). If you have this camera, what lenses do you have?
 
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Mike150

Senior Member
Welcome Sushi
Your 28mm is a great lens for landscapes
The 18-55 is a great all around lens, and your 55-200 is great for those longer shots.

What you add to that mix totally depends on your budget. I just ordered the 50mm F/1.8G. It's not real expensive and is an excellent lens for portraits.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I think you need to define if you mean macro in the true sense of the word, or if you mean "closeup". Reason being is that true macro photography means not just filling the frame with your subject but shooting at 1:1, and that pretty much requires a dedicated lens.

For true macro I'd want something in the 100mm range like Nikon's f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro, an $800 lens. If I just wanted frame filling closeups I could achieve that with a good 200mm zoom lens at a fraction of the cost.

My current lens arsenal is comprised of the following:

Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6: This is a real jack-of-all-trades lens that rarely needs to come off my 7100. This is my, "If I could only have one lens..." lens.

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G: This is my primary indoor lens. I'll use flash if I have to but I prefer to avoid it and this lens helps me do that. Very versatile outdoors as well but rarely sees daylight.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8: My ultra-wide for landscapes and such. Very sharp, very fast, very wide. Perfect! Loads of fun to shoot with but also the most difficult lens I have to use effectively.

Nikon 55-200mm f/3.5-5.6: Soon to be replaced by the Nikon 70-300mm. For those times you need some extra reach. Most people gravitate toward the big zooms but this is the the least-used lens of the lot. The more photography I do the more I find myself gravitating towards wider, faster primes and wide-to-moderate zooms.



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S

sushigirl

New member
Mike150 said:
Welcome Sushi
Your 28mm is a great lens for landscapes
The 18-55 is a great all around lens, and your 55-200 is great for those longer shots.

What you add to that mix totally depends on your budget. I just ordered the 50mm F/1.8G. It's not real expensive and is an excellent lens for portraits.
Click to expand...

Thank you all for the welcomes!

I appreciate the suggestion for the lens. I wasn't seeing this one when I was researching. I will look into this one more.
 
S

sushigirl

New member
Horoscope Fish said:
I think you need to define if you mean macro in the true sense of the word, of if you mean "closeup". Reason being is that true macro photography means not just filling the frame with your subject but shooting at 1:1, and that pretty much requires a dedicated lens.

For true macro I'd want something in the 100mm range like Nikon's f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro, an $800 lens. If I just wanted frame filling closeups I could achieve that with a good 200mm zoom lens at a fraction of the cost.

My current lens arsenal is comprised of the following:

Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6: This is a real jack-of-all-trades lens that rarely needs to come off my 7100. This is my, "If I could only have one lens..." lens.

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G: This is my primary indoor lens. I'll use flash if I have to but I prefer to avoid it and this lens helps me do that. Very versatile outdoors as well but rarely sees daylight.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8: My ultra-wide for landscapes and such. Very sharp, very fast, very wide. Perfect! Loads of fun to shoot with but also the most difficult lens I have to use effectively.

Nikon 55-200mm f/3.5-5.6: Soon to be replaced by the Nikon 70-300mm. For those times you need some extra reach. Most people gravitate toward the big zooms but this is the the least-used lens of the lot. The more photography I do the more I find myself gravitating towards wider, faster primes and wide-to-moderate zooms.



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Click to expand...

That's the problem with true micro. I just don't have $800 to spend. We take our son to the zoos and aquariums often so I'd love a true micro lens for that.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
sushigirl said:
That's the problem with true micro.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain. I will, therefore, direct you to the Poor Boy's/Girl's Guide to Macro Photography (For free! (Because I'm just that sorta guy)).

There *are* other ways to get your feet wet with macro to help you determine if the macro thing is a path you want to take over the long haul - or not - without blowing a mortgage payment. Google "how to do macro on a budget" and see what else you can find. The information is out there...


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