Hi, I am in a conundrum as to which lens to buy. I would like to replace my rather tired 18-55mm lens. The lens came with my D50 and has become rather floppy. As I am a student on a limited budget, i mostly buy second hand lenses. My local camera shop currently has several lenses that would be a good fit but I'm a little lost on what to get. My current gear is a Nikon D50, 50mm F1.8D, 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G and an 18-55mm F3.5 - 5.6G ED (1) lens. I also have a Nikon extension tube. In the long term I want to get an ultrawide zoom and a new body funds willing Which would be a good investment? AF 35-70mm f2.8D AF-S 18-105mm f3.5-5.6 VR AF 28-105mm f3.5-4.5D They also have a D40 and 18-55mm kit lens for the same price. Any advice would be appreciated?
I have the 35-70mm lens and without knowing what you really want to shoot, I can tell you that this is a great lens from an investment standpoint. I purchased one second hand years ago because I needed something to fill in the gap between my 17-35 and my 70-200 and Nikon had just come out with the new 24-70 but it was way to expensive. My plan was to buy this lens until I could get the 24-70. I've never really thought about it since. It's not going to be a "wide" lens on your D50 but it is a great all-rounder and is one of my go-to lenses for portraits. It's built like a tank. It can be prone to flaring. I purchased a rubber hood for mine to help with that.
Thanks. I am kinda leaning towards the 35-70mm as well. (Although they have two at different prices so I need to find out why) Um, I shoot all sorts: I tend to shoot candids of people rather than portraits. Some landscape but a fair amount of scenery, nature, events. I'm also doing the photography for our solar car project. I use my camera for holiday shots, work and our solar car project - where I am one of the designated photographers, family and fun.
With that focal range, surely the 35-70mm is more suited to FX. You will lose so much at the wide end on a DX camera if you go for that lens. When I upgraded my 18-55 kit lens, I went for the 17-55mm f2.8 which is superb, however this lens is rather expensive. Out of the lenses that you have listed, I would say that the 18-105 would be the most usable on your camera, but without a budget, it is hard to suggest an alternative.
You will struggle to shoot landscape without wide angle. 35mm on a DX is more or less 50mm, your field of view will be very narrow. I'd go with 18-105mm. it's not a fast lens, but it is a modern lens with VR, it should perform well in most situations. You've got the 50/1.8 when need faster shutter in low light situations.
I cant understand why anyone wanta 35-70mm lens on a DX body tbh. Personally I'd either try to pick up a used 18-55 VR, or go for the 18-105 VR.
Like I said. For a lot of types of work, the 35-70 might not fit the bill. I have used it many, many times as a portrait/short tele on DX bodies. I was testifying as an owner to it's image and build quality. I don't have any experience with the other two so I didn't have anything to add. It also may help that another reason why I got the 35-70 is that I knew that I would be moving to FX soon so being able to use it on either was a big bonus. I use it about 50% on my FX body (which makes sense - since this lens was developed for 35mm film bodies back in the day). edit: Also, the push-pull zoom design of this took some time to get used to. It's totally a non-issue now but it broke my brain when I first got it.
I didn't give a budget because i don't know how rands here will translate into pounds in terms of cameras. My budget is R3000 which is the cost of a second hand SB 900 (roughly) http://www.kameraz.com/second_hand.html Should give you an idea of second hand prices here. the 17-55 is out of budget. I looked at it.
yes, sorry I was trying to leave the office, didn't have time to answer your post as well. I think I am going to go with the 18-105 lens. I will go mad without the width. Though I do prefer the build quality in fx lenses.
I like push pull zooms. I find them intuitive. I have an Series E 70-210 zoom and you can zoom and focus in one action As much as the optics are good on the 18-55, I don't feel enamoured by the build quality and durability. Plus the front element rotates which is infuriating with a filter I went with the 18-105. Thanks for the advice
