Please help a newbie choose a decent/cheap telephoto zoom lens

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grcd

New member
Dear everyone,

I am very new to DSLRs, and to photography -- I am acquainted with some of the terminology and I have been taking photographs for a long time, but this is my first time getting a piece of equipment that I can truly call 'professional' (for my level, anyway!)

So, as you have gathered, I just bought a D3200 and I am very happy with my purchase. I decided to also get myself a decent telephoto/zoom lens, ideally somewhere around 70-210mm. I believe that due to the crop factor, this would be the equivalent of 112-336mm (1.6x) which I believe is mighty fine for my needs (I intend to use it for portraits, objects shot from a distance, etc.)

The problem is that the camera already set me back quite a lot, and even a $50 lens would exceed my current budget, which I want to keep to a minimum. I have identified two lens candidates, and to my understanding they should both work with the D32000 but on M (Manual) mode only. Here are they:

Sigma 70-210mm F4-5.6

Tokina 70-210mm SD


Both cost around $30 with shipping included, and are well within my budget.

Do you know if I should chose one or the other? I am relatively familiar with Sigma, but I am not aware of Tokina. I am interested in a 'vintage' feel.

As long as the lenses will work on the D3200 I am happy. I don't mind if I have to set it on manual -- gives me an excuse to learn to use the camera on manual instead of over-relying on Automatic modes.

If anyone is familiar with these brands and/or the lenses in particular, please advise me. Compatibility is obviously my most important requirement, but I also want the best product... given my paltry budget and price range I doubt I can really get much better than these two.

Sigma 70-210mm F4-5.6 Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon F Mount SLR Cameras | eBay

GOOD QUALITY TOKINA 70MM - 210MM TELE. ZOOM LENS NIKON F BAYONET FITTING | eBay

Your advice is most welcome!
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
OK......first things first. Congrats on your new D3200. Nice camera. should serve you well for years to come. Though not in the pro category, it's still a pretty decent camera.

Your Nikon has a 1.5 crop factor...not 1.6...so that would make the 70-210 equivalent to 105-315. Nothing wrong with that at all. :)

If I was choosing between the two lenses you listed, I would opt for the Tokina. Better build, better glass, better quality.

Either of these two lenses is made for outdoor photography during daylight hours. Not good for low light situations unless using a flash.

If you ever opt to buy Nikon lenses, get the AF-S models. You will thank me for this advice later. :)

Enjoy your camera...experiment....and practice, practice, practice. :)
 
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pedroj

Senior Member
Welcome..

I don't think either of these lens will auto focus on your camera...If you want AF you will have to buy AF-S nikon..HSM for Sigma
 
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Nikon Photographer

Senior Member
They will work with your D3200, but as you've realized you will have the set the mode to "M" in other modes the shutter will not fire, but also you won't get any metering with these lenses, so you'll either have to learn to use the histogram or a hand held meter, the only 3rd party lenses I have used in the past are Kiron and Sigma, and the Sigma lens was top notch, never used Tokina lenses, but they seem to get good results in the magazine reviews ....
 
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N_Addy

Senior Member
Yep, you read right. And you, like I, probably thought that $100 50mm/1.8 was a cheap lens!

Quite frankly, I would not expect much from a $30 lens. But then again, you really aren't out much.

My advice would be to save your money for a decent Sigma or Tamron. There are great deals out there on the used market if you are patient.
 
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pistnbroke

Banned
Whats all this rubbish fotojack about the F5.6 lens only being good in daylight....the 3200 goes to 6400 asa which is 4 stops better than the old 400asa film ....5.6 4 2.8 2 so in modern terms its an F2 ..so whats the problem.
Anyway on DX you need to keep at F8 + if you want any depth of field....
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
pistnbroke said:
Whats all this rubbish fotojack about the F5.6 lens only being good in daylight....the 3200 goes to 6400 asa which is 4 stops better than the old 400asa film ....5.6 4 2.8 2 so in modern terms its an F2 ..so whats the problem.
Anyway on DX you need to keep at F8 + if you want any depth of field....
Click to expand...

I didn't say it was only good in daylight.....this is what I said; "Either of these two lenses is made for outdoor photography during daylight hours. Not good for low light situations unless using a flash."

I certainly wouldn't use either of those lenses indoors without a flash. Yes, of course you could bump up the ISO, but that adds noise. I'm not a big fan of noise.


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pistnbroke

Banned
I think jack you want to dump your D200/D40 and try a D3200/D7000 We are forced to use sigma 18-200 3.5-5.6 lens every week in unlit thirteenth century churches with small stained glass windows and "economy bulbs" No flash permitted . A 50 mm F1.8 is no use as there is no depth of field and we need about 4 ft to cover the B and G at 45 deg.

Dont take offence jack I just like to wind up people who post as moderators rather as themselves . Posting as a moderator gives your opinion more weight than an ordinary member when in truth being a moderator is nothing to do with photographic experience. I think posts and moderation should be kept seperate like www. Boatdesign.net one of the biggest forums in the world.No one knows who the moderator is and he only takes action when there is a problem .....
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
pistnbroke said:
I think jack you want to dump your D200/D40 and try a D3200/D7000 We are forced to use sigma 18-200 3.5-5.6 lens every week in unlit thirteenth century churches with small stained glass windows and "economy bulbs" No flash permitted . A 50 mm F1.8 is no use as there is no depth of field and we need about 4 ft to cover the B and G at 45 deg.

Dont take offence jack I just like to wind up people who post as moderators rather as themselves . Posting as a moderator gives your opinion more weight than an ordinary member when in truth being a moderator is nothing to do with photographic experience. I think posts and moderation should be kept seperate like www. Boatdesign.net one of the biggest forums in the world.No one knows who the moderator is and he only takes action when there is a problem .....
Click to expand...

hehehe....hey, no offense taken. I stand by what I said. My experience dates back to 1976, and my opinions are just that....my opinions. They're not meant as gospel, nor are they carved in stone....just what I've learned and experienced over many years. Of course, we're all entitled to our opinions, aren't we? :)
Perhaps I should explain what I mean by "indoors". My idea of indoor shots is studio portraits, inside a living room in a house....things like that. I never even think of inside a cathedral or other huge indoor venue. In those situations, any good camera with high ISO capabilities would certainly be able to use the lenses in question....no argument there. I never use my D200 as a basis for my opinions. Most everyone knows the D200 is not famous for high ISO shots! LOL I never go above ISO 400 with the old beast. :) But I wouldn't trade it in for any of the newer Nikons, no matter how high their ISO's went. My dream camera is the D300 ! :)
Anyway...moving right along.....I appreciate your feedback on my opinion to the OP, and I appreciate your candor.
 
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David OC

New member
Hi all,

May I bring us back to the topic of which telephoto zoom to buy? But also hijack the thread at the same time? :rolleyes: Thanks.

I am wondering about the quality of zoom lens to mate with an uber-hi resolution body like the D3200? With 24 megapixels of resolution, lower quality lenses are not going to be able to take advantage of the sensor. So what lenses are out there that can take advantage of what the D3200 has to offer? What is the minimum quality lens that the newbie should look for to mate with this body? D? ED? VR? PCE? Thanks.

David in Vancouver
 
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