[jaxadam]

From this thread, I will definitely need to grab another lens or two. It was the 18-55 VR kit lens, which I have no complaints about.

I could use a little more zoom (I've used a few 55-200's in the past) but I might not need that much. An 18-105 might actually be ideal, and I'd like VR. I've seen a few people dumping these though and going to the 18-200's instead.

I would not be opposed to getting a few lenses, say one for wide angle, and one for zoom. I'm also open to other lens manufacturers (Tamron, etc...)

I'd like to keep it on a budget (maybe $500-$600 or so), not too expensive, but I'm willing to pay for something if it's worth it.

Let me know what you think.

 

[Soopahmahn]

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

I am jonesing for one hard. A 35mm prime lens with great low-light performance. Indispensable for concert photos. It's pretty much the most logical second choice lens, other than high zoom.

Are you buying for a D40? If not there's a different one you want, you don't need the AF-S.

 

[1]

I have the 55-200VR and I like it, though with your budget I'd go 18-200 or 18-255 if you can swing it.

18-255 is, imo, the perfect 99.9999999% of the time shooting lens.

 

[jaxadam]

I'm basically looking at these two right now...

AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR from Nikon

And...

AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G from Nikon

The 18-200 would probably be ideal, but is a bit steep at $850.

 

[jaxadam]

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

Yup, definitely looking at that one for sure. It seems a no-brainer to pick that one up at that price point.

Are you buying for a D40? If not there's a different one you want, you don't need the AF-S.

It's actually for a D5000, but if I really get a hard-on tomorrow, I might just upgrade to the D7000 because that seems to really be the best of all worlds for me right now. Well, at least when it comes out next month.

 

[jaxadam]

I have the 55-200VR and I like it, though with your budget I'd go 18-200 or 18-255 if you can swing it.

18-255 is, imo, the perfect 99.9999999% of the time shooting lens.

See, I really like the 55-200 also, but some in some situations it might be beneficial for me to get a wide shot without having the means to back up a lot. Also, this may hider some indoor shots. If I could get an 18-200 VR at a good price, this would probably be the most ideal situation.

 

[Soopahmahn]

Yup, definitely looking at that one for sure. It seems a no-brainer to pick that one up at that price point.

It really is a no-brainer, and it will force you to flex your composition muscles a bit. :agreed:

 

[jaxadam]

It really is a no-brainer, and it will force you to flex your composition muscles a bit. :agreed:

I am on the opposite side of the spectrum from a decent photographer, but part of my job puts me in the situation where I have to take a lot of pictures, so I need a semi-versatile setup that will accommodate for a lot of conditions that are completely out of my hand (barring a complete downpour, where I just say fuck it, I'll do it later).

 

[1]

See, I really like the 55-200 also, but some in some situations it might be beneficial for me to get a wide shot without having the means to back up a lot. Also, this may hider some indoor shots. If I could get an 18-200 VR at a good price, this would probably be the most ideal situation.

The problem with starting at 55 is that it's useless indoors a lot of the time. Being able to go shooting with just one lens (18-200 or 18-255) is just hella convenient.

 

[jaxadam]

The problem with starting at 55 is that it's useless indoors a lot of the time. Being able to go shooting with just one lens (18-200 or 18-255) is just hella convenient.

I think I could handle the 55-200 with an indoor lens. The 18-200 VR would be perfect, but $850 is up there.

 

[1]

I think I could handle the 55-200 with an indoor lens. The 18-200 VR would be perfect, but $850 is up there.

Don't be a pussy. Get the 18-200.

Fiscal irresponsibility is one of the keys to being manly.

 

[Kagami]

Don't be a pussy. Get the 18-200.

Fiscal irresponsibility is one of the keys to being manly.

In that case get the Bigmos lol 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM - Telephoto Zoom Lenses - SigmaPhoto.com

 

[jaxadam]

Don't be a pussy. Get the 18-200.

Fiscal irresponsibility is one of the keys to being manly.

Fiscal irresponsibility went out the window the night before this bad boy broke when we decided to skip dinner, hit the bars, hit more bars, hit a few shitty titty bars, then hit a few more bars. I think it was karma...

Somehow I have to offset this in Quickbooks.

 

[79]

Wirelessly posted (iDevice of Awesomeness: Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

I'd get the 35mm prime and the 18-105mm. I'm not a big tele guy though.

 

[jaxadam]

Wirelessly posted (iDevice of Awesomeness: Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

I'd get the 35mm prime and the 18-105mm. I'm not a big tele guy though.

That's what I'm leaning towards. I figure I'll at least be able to get what I need out of them.

Hell, if I was doing okay with the 18-55, the 18-105 can't hurt.

 

[jaxadam]

Well, I grabbed a 18-55 VR today for about $100, and I went up to Ritz Camera and tried a few lenses. Some I weren't too impressed with, others I were, but they were really just out of my price range for what I do. The Tamron 18-200 was actually really nice for only about $200.

I think I may grab a 55-200 VR and the 35 mm prime for around $400 for both and call it a day. That should pretty much suit me for everything I need.

 

[Soopahmahn]

Awesome dude, let me know your impressions of the f/1.8 prime. I'm going to Christmas myself with that or something, need it to take photos of the band a few stops faster.

 

[Stitch]

Filthy Nikon users.

 

[jaxadam]

Awesome dude, let me know your impressions of the f/1.8 prime. I'm going to Christmas myself with that or something, need it to take photos of the band a few stops faster.

Will do, man.

I'm basically just hunting around on ebay and the net trying to find one for a good price, but it's funny, some of the ebay ones are going for around 200+, whereas I can get it cheaper new at places like Adorama, etc.

Hopefully I'll have one in the next week or so.

 

[Soopahmahn]

Yeah I mean, it's really worth $180-190, so I'd just snag it at Amazon myself. I love Nikon USA's sample photos taken with it: