What lens(es) for me?

FloridaJohn · February 3, 2010

Hi, new guy here. For several years now I have been taking pictures with my Canon G5. It's a great camera, but it is getting a little long in the tooth, and I have decided to take the leap into the dSLR world.

I have been researching camera bodies for a while, but I have read in several places that one should, "put their money into the glass." So, keeping that in mind, I decided to research what lenses I might like to use with my as-yet-to-be-purchased camera.

The types of pictures I will most likely be taking can be divided into three categories. The first category is "ground-to-air" pictures. I attend a lot of airshows, and one of the weaknesses of the G5 is it is wholly unsuited for taking pictures of airplanes as they fly buy. It can't zoom in enough, and the autofocus is too slow. So, in your opinion, what type of lens should I get to take these kind of pictures?

The second type of picture I take is "air-to-ground" pictures. The reason I attend so many airshows is that I fly my airplane to them.

Enroute, if I see something interesting on the ground I will take a picture of it. I don't foresee me trying to zoom in real tight from the air, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a zoom lens. What type of lens would be suited for this type of picture?

Finally, since I will have this neat-o-keen new camera, I will also be using it at family gatherings. These pictures would be mostly indoors and, of course, of people. Think around-the-table-at-Thanksgiving type pictures. What lens would be good for something like this?

Finally, just to focus the discussion a little bit, right now, I am leaning towards the Nikon D90 as the camera body. That isn't etched in stone, but I think it will do everything I want, and is within my budget.

What group of lenses do you think will satisfy my needs? Can I do it with only one lens, or should it be three different ones? Or, are there two lenses that can cover these three situations?

Thanks for your help, everyone!

Ozzwald · February 3, 2010

I dont know how big your budget nor exactly sure how much zoom you need...but some of the longer zoom lens get expensive. However i'm anticiapting that these event have a good amount of light, for nikon they have a 70-300mm which has a nice reach, the aperture is not that big but should suffice...i have never shot planes from the gorund before, but if you are trying to do this with minimal amount of money maybe pick up a teleconveter if the 300mm is not long enough for you.

For air to ground i doubt you would want to bring a huge lens up there and i also think since you are so far away i dont think a regular lens will be too interesting...i was thinking maybe aim for landscape so maybe a Wide angle lens somwhere from 10-XXmm or a fisheye.

then finally for indoors, the light isnt that great inside. im not sure how much of a zoomer you are but a nice choice would be a prime lens. either a 50mm or a 35mm....and then pending what you can afford either a f/1.8 or f/1.4. since you said family gatehrings i was thinking a 35mm would be great for group shots. But you also cant go worng with the 50mm its a little tighter but if you have enough room indoors you can just back up.

this is just what i think i would take/like if i were taking pictures in your shoes...not sure what style of photography you like, but i think these lens cover a good range...i dont think you can get what you are asking for with just one lens...which out of three is most important to you? the reason one lens wont suffice is because you trying to take a picture of something so far away then taking pictures at home where the subject is much closer...if i had to eliminate 1 lens it would be the fish or wide angle...i think a 50mm and 70-300mm would do you pretty good. but i do not know if 300mm is long enough for air phtography...again the option for a teleconveter is there. Nikon has 2x one which will extend your reach all the way out to 600mm.

if you wanted to go the 1 lens route id go 18-200mm with a nikon 2x teleconveter, however you will lack the abillity to take lowlight pictures.

agian we dont know your budget, but seeing as you are just starting i dont think you would want to invest alot yet. Assuming you buy all nikon brands your looking to spend for the 70-300mm will run you about ~580, the 10-24 or 10.5mm fisheye 700-900 and then the 35mm or 50mm can go anywhere between 100-400...

ziggy53 · February 3, 2010

Lots of ways to do with this choice.

Starting with lens choices is a good way to start, but again, you have some real choice.

I do suggest that a 2 lens solution is probably best to start with and I suggest that a "standard" zoom plus a "telephoto" zoom would solve most of your shooting situations. If you are pretty sure that "crop" camera is right for you then the 2 following ranges are indicated:

17-55mm-ish for the standard zoom
70-200mm-ish for the tele-zoom

For third party lenses that would fit your needs (and available in multiple mounts):

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR DI-II LD Aspherical (IF)
Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro

The Tamron is my suggestion as I believe it is slightly superior for image quality, but I have an earlier version of the Sigma lens and it's enough for my needs (so I don't intend to upgrade anytime soon.)

Tamron 70-200mm, f2.8 Di LD IF Macro
Sigma 70-200mm, f2.8 DG HSM II Macro

Here the choice is a little more interesting. I suggest the the Tamron is slightly better optically, but if you need fast and accurate AF, the Sigma is tough to beat (but the Sigma is softer at 200mm and f2.8.)

If you have decided on a Nikon camera and you want the best Nikon lenses to go with it:

Nikkor AF-S 17-55mm, f2.8G ED-IF DX
Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f2.8G ED-IF VR (the original or the version II)

Both of these are splendid, if pricey.

If you go Canon you should consider:

Canon EF-S 17-55mm, f2.8 IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM, or Canon EF 70-200mm, f4L IS USM

In Canon notice that you can have the standard zoom with IS, and you have a choice in a smaller telezoom with IS. The f4L version of the Canon 70-200mm is quite a bit smaller and lighter and superb quality wide open. It works great if you shoot mostly daylight and I use mine for a travel lens.

The IS feature in both lenses might be important for the aerial stuff.

Since you don't already have a kit it would be good to also consider cameras with built-in stabilization. The Olympus E-620 is of particular note because it has very good high-ISO performance and a fairly compact form factor for both camera and lenses. It's best lenses are "very" pricey, but they are pretty special too.

I mean, really, where else are you gonna find a:

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm F2.0 SWD (an f2 zoom with 28-70mm equivalence)
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 35-100mm F2.0 (an f2 zoom with 70-200mm equivalence!!)

These are some seriously outrageous tools.

Of course the Olympus mid-quality zooms are more in-line with the competition and still pretty good stuff.

What lens(es) for me?

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