Question on Nikon lenses for D200

Crispin

Greetings all,

I am looking at buying a D200 (to replace D50)
Looking at WareHouseExpress (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/photo/digicameras/nikon.html)
options, they have one with 18-70 f3.5-4.5 G IF
and another with 24-85 f3.5 - 4.5 G which apparently I save £250...

My question is what do the G and IF stand for. Which lens would be the better option?

I like landscapes and want a wide angle lens but could live with the 24 vs 18.

The price differance between the two is £21 so not worried about that.
Which option would be best?

Thanks for help...

DanielB

Crispin wrote:

Greetings all,

I am looking at buying a D200 (to replace D50)
Looking at WareHouseExpress (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/photo/digicameras/nikon.html)
options, they have one with 18-70 f3.5-4.5 G IF
and another with 24-85 f3.5 - 4.5 G which apparently I save £250...

My question is what do the G and IF stand for. Which lens would be the better option?

I like landscapes and want a wide angle lens but could live with the 24 vs 18.

The price differance between the two is £21 so not worried about that.
Which option would be best?

Thanks for help...

IF means Internal focusing.... which means the front element doesn't move during focusing... that alone, Plus the extra wide would make me srping for the 18-70, plus i think its a more versitile range

Art Scott

Crispin wrote:

Greetings all,

I am looking at buying a D200 (to replace D50)
Looking at WareHouseExpress (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/photo/digicameras/nikon.html)
options, they have one with 18-70 f3.5-4.5 G IF
and another with 24-85 f3.5 - 4.5 G which apparently I save £250...

My question is what do the G and IF stand for. Which lens would be the better option?

I like landscapes and want a wide angle lens but could live with the 24 vs 18.

The price differance between the two is £21 so not worried about that.
Which option would be best?

Thanks for help...

As Daniel said...IF is internal focusing...front element doesnot rotate when focusing...very useful since you like landscapes...then you'll probably be using a circular polarizer....then IF is a must..or any other types of special effects filters.....

"G"....New G design enables apertures to be selected from select Nikon AF SLR camera bodies (copied staight from nikon website)

Since the D200 is a aps sized sensor camera...I would be looking for Designations like "DG" on the lenses...denoteing they are designed for digital cameras.....even tho most of the AF nikon lenses will work with their digitals.....but the "DG" lenses will not work properly on the non-digital cameras.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THAT RETAILER ON RESELLERRATINGS.COM.....www.resellerratings.com

Crispin

Thanks guys...

I'll have a look for their rating as well...
Still shopping and trying to come to terms with what I am about to spend:cry

zigzag

G-type lenses do not have an aperture dial on the lens itself - aperture can only be adjusted using the on-camera controls. If your only camera is a D200 (and not a film SLR), you won't miss the dial.

Art called out the "DG" designation as being digital only - I believe that's a Sigma designation. The Nikon equivalent is "DX"

Get the 18-70 3.5-4.5 DX with the camera as a package. It's a winner lens - you won't regret the extra money. A good camera is not a good camera if it's got bad glass attached to it.


HOWEVER

A difference of 250 pounds for that lens vs. another is some indication of a ripoff. I don't know about UK pricing on Nikon lenses, but that lens sells for just under $300 US new. It might be an indication that this dealer isn't all it's cracked up to be.

mynakedsoda

Crispin wrote:

Greetings all,

I am looking at buying a D200 (to replace D50)
Looking at WareHouseExpress (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/photo/digicameras/nikon.html)
options, they have one with 18-70 f3.5-4.5 G IF
and another with 24-85 f3.5 - 4.5 G which apparently I save £250...

My question is what do the G and IF stand for. Which lens would be the better option?

I like landscapes and want a wide angle lens but could live with the 24 vs 18.

The price differance between the two is £21 so not worried about that.
Which option would be best?

Thanks for help...

Personally given those to choose from I'd pick the 18-70. On a DSLR the difference between 70 and 85mm is literally a few steps forward. The difference between 18 and 24mm is huge though! I can't imagine buying the 24-85 for lanscape and not having a wider lens.

DoctorIt

Crispin, the shopping thing is very personal, so I won't offer comments there, but on top of the answers already given here, you can read in detail about Nikon lens naming conventions here:

thom hogan's article on Nikon lens naming/acronyms...

Crispin

Thanks guys, I recon I'll go for the 18-70 then.

"Crispin, the shopping thing is very personal, so I won't offer comments there" Over my head but thanks for the Nikon naming list.

My next problem comes with - no one has stock... Oh Well, wait some more...

SCS_Photo

DX only signifies that its designed for APS sized sensors (it'll vignette on Film bodies). Except for the 18-70 and the 12-24, the other DX lenses suck. Namely the 18-55 D50 Kit and the accompanying 55-200.

What you want to look for is AF-S (faster AF) and ED (digital coatings). The 18-70 has both. Its a great lense, I love it.

chuckice

SCS_Photo wrote:

DX only signifies that its designed for APS sized sensors (it'll vignette on Film bodies). Except for the 18-70 and the 12-24, the other DX lenses suck. Namely the 18-55 D50 Kit and the accompanying 55-200.

What you want to look for is AF-S (faster AF) and ED (digital coatings). The 18-70 has both. Its a great lense, I love it.

The 17-55DX does NOT suck. Georgeous, fast and $$$$$$.

mynakedsoda

SCS_Photo wrote:

DX only signifies that its designed for APS sized sensors (it'll vignette on Film bodies). Except for the 18-70 and the 12-24, the other DX lenses suck. Namely the 18-55 D50 Kit and the accompanying 55-200.

What you want to look for is AF-S (faster AF) and ED (digital coatings). The 18-70 has both. Its a great lense, I love it.

1. There are those that would debate at length at just how good the 12-24 is actually.
2. I've only used the 18-55 a few times but thought it was pretty good (wide open contrast and sharpness) especially considering the price of it. Even though it isn't real ring AFS it was also quiet and fast (I wouldn't say rocket fast though) at AF.
3. The 17-55 is a DX lens and it certainly doesn't suck. If wide open sharpness, contrast, and color saturation are priorities along with pro build quality then it certainly seems a bargain even considering the range it covers.

4. The 10.5 2.8 Fisheye is a DX lens and it certainly doesn't suck either. It's one of the big selling points of DX or APS-C for a Nikon DSLR IMO.

5. AFS isn't always an indication of super fast AF speed. I haven't seen a AFS lens yet that I thought was much quicker than the 85mm 1.8D (geared like a rocket) although the silent nature of AFS along with the ability to instantly touch up focus is nice.
5. If I understand correctly, ED actually denotes extra low dispersion glass. Primary advantage being increased contrast (my opinion.)

SCS_Photo

Forgot about the 17-55 and 10.5 fisheye. The latter is kind of a specialty lense... just slipped my mind. I didn't know they made a DX 17-55 f/2.8... Just looked at BH, its damn expensive like the other fast lenses.

About AF-S... thats true about HSM, USM, and SSM too... the motors tend to work best on wide aperture tele-lenses.

zigzag

SCS_Photo wrote:

Forgot about the 17-55 and 10.5 fisheye. The latter is kind of a specialty lense... just slipped my mind. I didn't know they made a DX 17-55 f/2.8... Just looked at BH, its damn expensive like the other fast lenses.

The 17-55 DX is quite appropriate for a camera like the D200, which was the question of the original poster. Buying a fairly expensive nearly pro level camera with cheap glass is like...why bother? Better the other way around, unless you're just in it for the gadget factor.

It's also a spectacular lens, if a bit prone to flare.

Crispin

Greetings,

I've been a bit quite here, seeing as I started this thread but have been reading and "learning".

Anyway, this thread is now closed 'cause my new toy has arrived
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=28057

Oh, and I got the 18-70

zigzag

Crispin wrote:

Greetings,

I've been a bit quite here, seeing as I started this thread but have been reading and "learning".

Anyway, this thread is now closed 'cause my new toy has arrived
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=28057

Oh, and I got the 18-70

A) Congrats, and I'm jealous.
You did well, as the 18-70 is a perfect lens to start out until you learn more about what you need. But buy a 50 mm f/1.8 prime ($100) to complement it for low light use.

Crispin

Thanks!
I actually had my eye on a 50mm f1.8 (They are far cheaper than I expected) but decided to get the D200 first. That will be a preset to myself (I celebrate every day of the week and reward myself with presents. My Religion:D )