Future set up

Tmetroff · April 16, 2011

So I have been browsing/researching many lenses trying to figure out what I want my future set up to be. And I figured why not see what you guys thought would be best (help spark a few ideas). What makes it so hard is the fact that I take pictures of about everything. My current Set up is Nikon D90 with Tamron 18-250mm 1:3.5-6.3 and Nikon SB-600 flash. I take alot of senior pictures/portraits for people which the Tamron does alright but im thinking a 50mm would do the job better. I also do alot of traveling, meaning I love to take alot of photos of people, landscape shots, and the occasional macro (who doesnt like cool foreign looking bugs?. I plan on having a small indoor studio which I was thinking the 50mm would work just fine. Right when I think I have found a great lens I want to buy... I find something better. I would like to have one expensive/durable lens ($1500ish). And keep the rest around the $600 dollar range until I can eventually afford multiple expensive lenses(would like to have this future set up by the end of this up coming summer).

A few lenses that have sparked my interests are (I would want this one used) Nikons 24 mm - 70 mm - F/2.8, Nikon 300mm f4 AF-s, Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 Af-D ED Macro, Nikon 85mm f/1.4D IF AF Nikkor, 50mm 1.4, 50mm 1.8, and Nikon 14mm f/2.8 AF-D.

As you can see my wants are all over the place, so any comments, concerns, advice, would be great :].

Thanks!

Art Scott · April 16, 2011

I have never really liked the 50mm no matter who made it...it is not for me........
To keep your cost minimal.....a 2 lens kit would fit you perfectly......
a Sigma 24-70f2.8 and 70-200f2.8 would do everything you say you do...2 lenses and 2 bodies.....never have to change lenses and if you score another SB600/800 or 900.....then both could be set with flash and no changing needed.....

For better than 20 yrs i only carried a 70-210 f2.8 sigma...shot wedding, portraits, scenics and wildlife and family snaps...flash was a vivatar285HV....so in reality that is all you need......then i got a 28-70f2.8 sigma and loved it until I tried a 24-70sigmaf2.8 and that 4mm made a good sized difference...so I lived now for around 10 yrs using 24-70f2.8 siggy and 70-210f2.8 siggy on Konica Minolta 7D bodies.....my nikon gear has not impressed me, but it has nothing to do with sharpness..it has to do wit hthe fact that I have always been able to do close focus work (nearly macro) with all my Siggy Lenses and none of my Nikon lenses get me close enuff to isolate the diamonds on a wedding fring or even just an eyeball in a portrait....Nikon Lenses YOU SUCK!!!!!

Pupator · April 16, 2011

On crop sensor, the 50mm is my least used focal range. For portraits I prefer the 35mm when indoors, and the 85mm when outdoors. The 300mm f/4 you mention is fantastic and on my wishlist too. I'd opt for the 1.8 primes rather than the 1.4s and save a bundle of cash unless there's a particular reason you need the 1.4s.

Tmetroff · April 16, 2011

Thank you for the responses guys, I greatly appreciate it!

@Art Scott. Why is it you prefer 70-200f2.8 over Nikon 300mm f4 AF-s or also another option is Tamron 70-200mm 1:2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro which is slightly cheaper and has a higher Fstop of 32? Just out of curiosity. And the Sigma 24-70f2.8 is a great lens for the price, I forgot to list that along with the others.

Art Scott · April 17, 2011

Tmetroff wrote: »

Thank you for the responses guys, I greatly appreciate it!

@Art Scott. Why is it you prefer 70-200f2.8 over Nikon 300mm f4 AF-s or also another option is Tamron 70-200mm 1:2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro which is slightly cheaper and has a higher Fstop of 32? Just out of curiosity. And the Sigma 24-70f2.8 is a great lens for the price, I forgot to list that along with the others.

to start with the 70-200f2.8 is a slightly faster lens.......if I need 2.8 I have it.....also the way i shoot wildlife I do not normally need anything longer than a 200mm lens amd when I do.....I pull out the Sigma 50-500 and it very seldom ever sees any focal length under 500..........I shoot from tree stands and but mostly from ground blinds...so I have wildlife with in just a few feet of me....as for Tammy of Sigma....I have never tried a Tammy...got started with Sigma 70-210 and loved it so I have stayed with Sigma..............

Pupator · April 17, 2011

I've found that the Tamron 70-200 has slightly better build quality and ever so slightly better IQ than the Sigma, but the Sigma focuses noticeably faster.

angevin1 · April 18, 2011

Tmetroff wrote: »

A few lenses that have sparked my interests are (I would want this one used) Nikons 24 mm - 70 mm - F/2.8, Nikon 300mm f4 AF-s, Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 Af-D ED Macro, Nikon 85mm f/1.4D IF AF Nikkor, 50mm 1.4, 50mm 1.8, and Nikon 14mm f/2.8 AF-D.

As you can see my wants are all over the place, so any comments, concerns, advice, would be great :].

Thanks!

Nikon does make some wonderful new AND old Glass.

80-200 AF-D ED: Had it! Nice, Sharp, Cheap! Replaced in my kit by the Newer 70-200 f/2.8 VR2. The VR1 version (+/- $1600) is fine for a crop cam!

300 f/4 AF-S. Had the AF version. Nice, Sharp. But really didn't have the reach that I'd prefer to have for wildlife. Any of the Nikons that reach longer are much more expensive!!! Sigma has a new Bigma with OS 50-500mm and they also have a 150-500, which would be my pick for longer. Our Wildlife forum has a Thread that folks show photos of and with particular lenses. That is a great way to check out some options.

50mm. I find that 50 f/1.8 a great lens. on FX, it is too short for portraits, but on your crop cam, it may be just about right given that you are shooting a subject distance of ten to twelve feet away from the camera.

Macro. Only my 70-200 Nikon is as sharp as my sigma 100mm f/2.8 macro. And that Sigma was a hell-of-a-lot cheaper than the Nikon! Used Sigma 100's can be picked up for about $350.

Pupator · April 18, 2011

One thing about the 300 f/4 though, is that it takes a 1.4 or 1.7 TC without any noticeable loss in IQ. It's just one of those lenses that works well with a TC.

Tmetroff · April 19, 2011

angevin1 wrote: »

Nikon does make some wonderful new AND old Glass.

80-200 AF-D ED: Had it! Nice, Sharp, Cheap! Replaced in my kit by the Newer 70-200 f/2.8 VR2. The VR1 version (+/- $1600) is fine for a crop cam!

.

Yeah I have actually used a friends 80-200 AF-D ED and I fell in love with it! Just out of curiosity what type of photography did you primarily use it for?

Tmetroff · April 19, 2011

Pupator wrote: »

I've found that the Tamron 70-200 has slightly better build quality and ever so slightly better IQ than the Sigma, but the Sigma focuses noticeably faster.

Yeah definitely, I have always been a fan of Tamron. They offer really nice glass at a fair price.

angevin1 · April 20, 2011

Tmetroff wrote: »

Yeah I have actually used a friends 80-200 AF-D ED and I fell in love with it! Just out of curiosity what type of photography did you primarily use it for?

People/Family Portraits.

Manfr3d · April 20, 2011

Tmetroff wrote: »

As you can see my wants are all over the place, so any comments, concerns, advice, would be great :].

I have given up creating a minimal lens setup that fits all my needs.
Instead I buy one lens at a time to exploit one of my many interests
in the best and most enjoyable way possible (for me!).

Looks like portraits is one of the bigger things for you right now.
Go and buy a 50 or 85mm f/1.8 and enjoy doing that. Soon you'll
find yourself using that lens for other stuff which gives you a good
idea of what you are looking in a lens to do that other stuff better.
Then you get the next lens ... etc.

If you need to cover as much as possible as quickly and affordable
as possible then go 17-50 2.8 (on crop) + 70-200 2.8 as it is the
most versatile kit.

Tmetroff · April 21, 2011

Manfr3d wrote: »

I have given up creating a minimal lens setup that fits all my needs.
Instead I buy one lens at a time to exploit one of my many interests
in the best and most enjoyable way possible (for me!).

Looks like portraits is one of the bigger things for you right now.
Go and buy a 50 or 85mm f/1.8 and enjoy doing that. Soon you'll
find yourself using that lens for other stuff which gives you a good
idea of what you are looking in a lens to do that other stuff better.
Then you get the next lens ... etc.

If you need to cover as much as possible as quickly and affordable
as possible then go 17-50 2.8 (on crop) + 70-200 2.8 as it is the
most versatile kit.

I am determined to figure out a good set up :P. Yeah I am really leaning towards 70-200 2.8.. as to what brand I have no idea

. I appreciate the advice, will definitely take it into consideration!

knapph · April 21, 2011

I can not contribute to the portrait part of this discussion but I can add something about travel lens. My wife and I have traveled doing the photo thing a bit and what we have worked out is a two lens set for each of us. For travel in not so good conditions we take (Nikon) 18-55 and 55-200 lenses. Cheap and sharp when you shoot f8 - f11. We bought refurbished from Adorama to cut the costs even more. We like the way the photos come out with these lenses and we are not worried if they get damaged. Most of the photos in this gallery were taken with one of these two lenses.

Tmetroff · April 21, 2011

knapph wrote: »

I can not contribute to the portrait part of this discussion but I can add something about travel lens. My wife and I have traveled doing the photo thing a bit and what we have worked out is a two lens set for each of us. For travel in not so good conditions we take (Nikon) 18-55 and 55-200 lenses. Cheap and sharp when you shoot f8 - f11. We bought refurbished from Adorama to cut the costs even more. We like the way the photos come out with these lenses and we are not worried if they get damaged. Most of the photos in this gallery were taken with one of these two lenses.

Thanks for the suggestions, you have some great photos! How did you like Maine? I intend on visiting there this summer if things go according to plan

knapph · April 23, 2011

We like living here. Although, this time of year it would be nice to have a real spring. Today there was snow mixed with the rain - enough already. Hope you are able to make it to Maine; it is a great place to shot a few photos if you like to do the landscape thing. When you get an idea of where you might like to visit, drop me a message and I will see if I know anything about good shooting opportunities. You can see a few of our Maine shots here. If you see something you would like to visit let me know and I will let you know where it is.

Knapp

Tmetroff · May 1, 2011

Well after much researching I have narrowed my next lens down to the Nikon 24-70 2.8 and the Nikon 70-200 2.8. Any advice on these two lenses would be appreciated!

Pupator · May 1, 2011

Both are fantastic lenses - too heavy for me though.

More importantly, you're not going to be satisfied with 24 on the wide end of a crop sensor camera. You just aren't. What about the Nikon 16-85, if you're wanting to go with Nikon lenses? (I'd take the Tamron 17-50 over it as a bang for the buck proposition though.)

Future set up

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