Help with lens choice

Stlfreeride

New member
Hello....
I am new to this site and new to the slr world. This is my first slr, I have always had point & shoot camers & wanted something more to toy with..I am looking for a new lens. I have a 3100 with the 18-55kit. I shoot a little bit of everything. Landscape, animals, & a new baby thats on the way.. I want a zoom & something that does good in low light. & have looked at a few primes also. I have read to many mixed reviews & a little lost, I dont want to throw my money away...
Thanks
 

Curt

Senior Member
Well you have a great start with the 18-55mm lens. It is three lenses in one: a macro, wide angle, & portrait.
check the thread called D7000 question for more details.
 

bluenoser

Banned
Well if you added the 35 1.8 for speed (low light, etc.) and a 70-300 as a zoom (your 18-55 is obviously a zoom but I'm assuming you want even more reach) then you'd have a pretty decent set up. Having the small but effective SB400 flash is handy too when you just need more light thrown on the subject to get the shutter speeds you require.
 

Stlfreeride

New member
That is what I was looking at was the 35 1.8. & was trying to decide on a zoom.. The 55-200, 55-300, 70-300.. How are these lenses in lower light situations & hand held?
 

Curt

Senior Member
The 70-300mm AF-S VR is fantastic! Worth looking at. I have one and I love it. Its never far from my camera.
Really good in low light situtions. I am nery happy with it:).
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
The 70-300mm AF-S VR is fantastic! Worth looking at. I have one and I love it. Its never far from my camera.
Really good in low light situtions. I am nery happy with it:).

I like the 70-300, but since I got the 70-200 2.8, I'm sold to it. It's expensive, heavy, but is it ever sharp…

Here's a crop from yesterday's shoot with the D700:

MCC_3570.jpg
 

Relax

New member
Could somebody also tell me if it's worth to buy the lens Tamron AF 70-300 / 4-5,6 DI LD MACRO for 130EUR? My soon-to-be wife just got a d3100 and would like to experiment and learn macro photography.

Technische specificaties - AF 70-300 / 4-5,6 DI LD MACRO:
- Brandpunt: 70-300 mm
- Type zoom: draaizoom
- Beeldhoek: 34-8
- Lensconstructie (elementen/groepen): 13/9
- Extra scherp geprijsd bij redcoon
- Aantal lamellen: 9
- Kleinste diafragma (f/): 32
- Maximale Beeldvergroting: 1:2
- Kortste scherpstelafstand: 0,95 m
- Filtermaat: 62 mm
- Lensvatting: Nikon
- Incl. Zonnekap

Afmetingen:
- 76.6 x 116.5 mm (Diameter x Lengte)

Gewicht:
- 435 gram

Kleur:
- Zwart
 
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nightWolf

New member
Hi Stlfreeride,

Like you, i was also looking for my first lens - and was deliberating between a prime and a zoom.
I went with the 35mm 1.8 and it is great. The bokeh and sharpness is amazing, however, it's taking me time to learn to shoot with it and learn what's the best setting for the environment i'm taking shots.

With no VR, anything slower than 1/30 shutter speed, will cause some blur - well at least in my case! I might not have steady hands!
Not having a tripod yet, i find that bumping up the ISO and maxing the aperture, i can get away with decent shutter speeds.
It's a great lens, look all over the net for raving reviews.
I'm having fun with it.

Now i need a zoom lens for travel, but i think that's only next year when i have some more money!

PS. check the flickr group "AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G" for images....
 
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bluenoser

Banned
That is what I was looking at was the 35 1.8. & was trying to decide on a zoom.

Good choice! :)

The 55-200, 55-300, 70-300.. How are these lenses in lower light situations & hand held?

All 3 lenses are certainly varying degrees of good to very good however while they all have VR, they all are also slow aperture lenses requiring a plenty of light to use them effectively. In other words these are not lenses you would choose to use in low-light.

You ask about hand holding ability of these lenses? VR is all about letting you hand hold your camera at slower than "normally" recommended shutter speeds and getting sharp pictures (note I'm only talking about motion blur from the photographer as VR does nothing to compensate for subject movement). VR is not magic per se, that is, it's not going to get you hand hold a shutter speed of 2 seconds and allow for a sharp picture! Technique is not to be discounted - hold the camera properly, brace it, shutter release should be smooth, etc. If you combine proper technique with VR you can hand hold down to a pretty low shutter speed and get good results.

In terms of which one, I would scratch the 55-200 from the list and narrow it down to the latter 2 choices. The 70-300VR is a bit better than the 55-300 in terms of build, IQ and of course is FX compatible. However the 55-300 is no slouch and will deliver excellent results for you too. If money is not an issue I'd go for the 70-300VR otherwise the 55-300 would be a fine choice too.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Nobody can tell me if the lens I'd like to buy for my other half is a good choice?

Maybe it's because none of us have that particular lens. It makes sense not to comment when I don't know what the lens can do. So now you can look at all the tests, the pros & cons and really get confused. For the price mentioned, I'd just get it. I have 2 Tamrons and am happy with both. Are they the best? I don't care since they do what I want them to do for me.
 
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bluenoser

Banned
Could somebody also tell me if it's worth to buy the lens Tamron AF 70-300 / 4-5,6 DI LD MACRO for 130EUR? My soon-to-be wife just got a d3100 and would like to experiment and learn macro photography.

Nobody can tell me if the lens I'd like to buy for my other half is a good choice?

Maybe it's because none of us have that particular lens. It makes sense not to comment when I don't know what the lens can do. So now you can look at all the tests, the pros & cons and really get confused. For the price mentioned, I'd just get it. I have a 2 Tamrons and am happy with both. Are they the best? I don't care since they do what I want them to do for me.

+1 with what Marcel said.

I'll add that it's usually considered poor form to "hi-jack" another member's thread with your own question - start your own thread.

With regard to the lens you asked about - I've never used it but it's an extremely inexpensive, 3rd party, zoom lens - that usually means it's not going to be a great performer. At that price point for a 3rd party zoom lens, I would expect the focus to be slow and inaccurate, the build quality most likely will be poor and the zoom may be noisy, slow, etc. Here are some user reviews from a very reputable site: ]FM Reviews - Tamron AF 70-300MM F/4-5.6 LD Macro

If you are looking for a macro lens then get a true macro lens - not a zoom/macro hybrid. You could pick up the older Nikon 60mm 2.8D macro second hand for $200 (at least in Canada you can). There are many choices depending on your budget and shooting requirements.
 

Relax

New member
First of all, thanks for the opinions, I appreciate them.

Second, I didn't want to hijack nobody's thread... I searched the forum to not duplicate a possibly existing topic and I found a thread with a very generic title, that I thought was supposed to collect such requests.

PS: being my request over a lens whose range was under discussion, doesn't appear to me to be that out of topic! ;)
 
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ohkphoto

Snow White
Second, I didn't want to hijack nobody's thread... I searched the forum to not duplicate a possibly existing topic and I found a thread with a very generic title, that I thought was supposed to collect such requests.

PS: being my request over a lens whose range was under discussion, doesn't appear to me to be that out of topic! ;)
Please don't worry about it! We want to make sure you get your questions answered. Most of us here don't care or worry too much about "hijacking". If a post is in the wrong thread, one of the moderators will simply move it to the appropriate thread and let you know.

When I'm looking at buying a new lens, I try to rent one first. I'm not sure what your options are in the Netherlands. Perhaps you have a friend who could let you try one. Everybody's needs and styles are different, and everybody needs to start someplace with their lens collection. Tamron, Sigma and Tokina all make good lenses.

Good luck!
 

Relax

New member
Thanks for the advice... We were in the shop until 20 minutes ago ;)
Instead of a dedicated macro lens my other half preferred a nikon 50mm f/1.8 for portrait and next week will go back for a Nikon 70-300.
 

bluenoser

Banned
First of all, thanks for the opinions, I appreciate them.

No problem, happy to be of assistance.

Second, I didn't want to hijack nobody's thread... I searched the forum to not duplicate a possibly existing topic and I found a thread with a very generic title, that I thought was supposed to collect such requests. PS: being my request over a lens whose range was under discussion, doesn't appear to me to be that out of topic! ;)

No big deal at all. I was just throwing in some information for an FYI sort of thing. It's actually a benefit to start your own thread as a question asked in someone's else's thread may get lost in the shuffle so to speak. Usually an unbiased, professional moderator would make the same point if they don't have an axe to grind with a newer member like me. Unlike a previous post by somone, you don't need to be a moderator in this forum to to make a suggestion about this issue. However if you do happen to frequent any other forums it's good information to know.

Thanks for the advice... We were in the shop until 20 minutes ago ;)
Instead of a dedicated macro lens my other half preferred a nikon 50mm f/1.8 for portrait and next week will go back for a Nikon 70-300.

Excellent decision! Enjoy the new lens. The 50 f/1.8 might just be Nikon's best quality vs. price lens they make - a real steal for what you get.
 
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