D80 Lens Recommendation

rbrugman

I'm looking for one more lens to add to my camera setup before I call it complete for a while. I'm going to have $500 to spend. My camera has the kit 18-135mm right now but I'm looking for something that zooms a bit further and probably with VR. I'm open to any suggestions though whether they be Nikon, or non-nikon lenses as long as they are decent in price and quality.

Thanks for the help!
Robert Brugman

ziggy53

It all depends on what you "need"? What are your photographic aspirations?

If you want to do more vista lanscapes you might consider an ultra-wide zoom, 10-20mm or so. If you want to go a bit longer, something in the 70 (80) - 200mm is in order.

There are some really nice Nikon primes in that price range as well.

Tell us more about your wishes and we'll have that money spent before you can say D300.

Harryb

Two lenses that spring to mind and are within your budget are the:

Nikon 70-300 f4.5-5.6 AF-S VR for $479.00

and

Nikon 55-200 f4.5-5.6 AF-S VR for $229.95


You can read reviews on both lenses here.

Ken Lapp

<<I'm going to have $500 to spend. My camera has the kit 18-135mm right now but I'm looking for something that zooms a bit further and probably with VR. I'm open to any suggestions though whether they be Nikon, or non-nikon lenses as long as they are decent in price and quality.>>

One lens you may consider is this:
Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR

This lens is $479.00 at Adorama and B&H (and also the same price at my local camera store: Kenmore Camera).

I have this lens also, and am very happy with it. It is not that fast, but for under $500 it's a great lens.

rbrugman

I don't think I really need to go any wider. For what I shoot 18mm seems to be wide enough. I have the 18-135 right now and I'm going to be traveling back to Europe for an extended period of time. I want to have a lens or two that can cover both the landscapes of the Alps and Austria but also the architecture throughout the area. I'm very happy with my 18-135 right now but I find that I'm often wanting more than 135mm.

For what I'm planning on doing though maybe I do want a wider lens. I'm not quite sure what I really need. Maybe the first question I should ask is "Is it better to be closer to the object and be able to cover it with 135mm or less or should I go a bit further away and need 200.

The two lenses I was looking at were the Nikon 70-300 and the 55-200 VR's as mentioned, but I'm not exactly sure that's what I need.


...as for the D300 I can't even master my D80 yet. Not in the market for anything more advanced

Harryb

Well if 18mm is as wide as you need then you must be looking for more reach. I would go with the 70-300 that would give you coverage of 18mm-300mm with just two lenses.

i_worship_the_King

^ I own the 70-300 f4-5.6 nonVR Nikkor. Great lens, highly recommded - particularly for the price.

The first 8 shots on this link were taken with the ^ lens on a D70. These images just have basic color correction & cropping. (Bear in mind that they look MUCH sharper @ full res, the storage for our photos limits file size and JPEG 5 or 6 was all I could squeeze.)

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=70834

Hope this helps!

ziggy53

Harryb wrote:

Well if 18mm is as wide as you need then you must be looking for more reach. I would go with the 70-300 that would give you coverage of 18mm-300mm with just two lenses.

+1 (Harry's always right about this kind of thing.)

wizzy

rbrugman wrote:

The two lenses I was looking at were the Nikon 70-300 and the 55-200 VR's as mentioned, but I'm not exactly sure that's what I need.

If you look at both lenses I would go for the 70-300, as it overlaps less on your current lense, and it has 100mm more reach at the end.
So you got a nice lense that complements your current one, and gives you the opportunity to take some architecture up-close.

I use the 70-300 also and i am very pleased with it. During my vacation I rarely have used any other lense I own.

Wish you luck with your choice

Eileron

I was in a similar situation with my D80 - I wasn't a big fan of some of the distortion from the 18-135, and I wanted a quick, light lens, so I got the Nikkor 18-55 Mk. II, then the 55-200 VR. I haven't been as impressed with VR as I thought I would be, but then again thus far I haven't needed the extra range (haven't gone on a trip since I got it... ) Overall though, I got these two lenses and a Canon Powershot SD850 IS for only a little over what you have to spend....