Digital Lens Question

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Digital Lens Question

Postby Ron » Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:13 pm

Hi All - I've been lurking for abit here and decided to become an active member. What an excellent group to be part of. I thank you all for your time and thoughts. Anyway here's my ??? I use 35mm ...you guys remember what that is , right lol ... I decided to add a digital camera to my arsenal and have purchased a D80 w/18-55mm lens - i want to add an 55-200mm nikon vr lens but a few friends suggest that I cough up the dough and buy the 18-200mm nikon vr lens, almost 3x's the price. If any of you have any thoughts on this matter they would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully I can add alittle to this group as time goes by....RON
"Family over Friends" "Night over Day" "Nikon over Canon" "Gravy over Everything"

XaiLo

Postby XaiLo » Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:09 pm

The 18-55mm kit lens is a decent piece of glass (the only thing you will really gain with the 18-200 is the convenience of not having to swap lenses) paired with the 55-200mm VR (key here is the VR version) they make a formidable duo for general usage. Together they are sharper and have less aberations than the 18-200 @ a fraction of the cost. I've constantly seem great results from the 55-200 since it's release. Can not say the the same for the 18-200mm it's soft at the long end and has issues wide. So for a fraction of the cost you can coverthe same range and have better glass imo. hth

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Postby rkligman » Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:22 pm

I'm going to "basically" agree with XaiLo. I say basically because I've never user the 55 or 18-200. I have the D70 and D80 and I had the original 18-55 lens (not sure if it's the same one you have). What your friends are saying is, put the 18/200 on and you'll never touch your lens again (until NAS sets in). There is a lot to be said for that avenue and it really makes sense if you get good quality from that single lens. Reports seem to be generally good on that lens so I wouldn't say DON'T do it. I'd love to run around with an 18-200 if I had the dough. It certainly wouldn't be my only lens though covering that range for exactly the reason XaiLo gave. Sometimes you want to use the more quality glass.

It also depends on what kind of shooter you are and how much you want to get into it. For someone like my wife, she runs around with my D70 and the 18-135 that came with the D80. She has no reason NOR desire to swap it out for anything. She just wants to press the button and be done. For me, I run the gamut of simple to complex shooting so I have a bunch of lens, and duplicates in ranges.

10.5 Fisheye (quality)
17-50 (quality)
50 (quality)
60 macro (quality)
90 macro (quality)
55-200
80-200 (quality)
70-300
200-500
400

The problem with "good" glass is, it's HEAVY. I'm not real happy lugging around my 3lb 80-200 but damn it shoots nice pictures. Friends of mine carry theirs around like it was a business card. So it's an individual preference. I'm usually pretty happy going out with my 17-50 and 70-300.
Rick Insane Diego...

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Postby Ron » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:18 am

Hey
I thank both of you for your thoughts... And based on that It seems to me that if I went with the 55-200 over the 18-200 I will only lose the convenience of not switching lenses ...which i can deal with...and not really lose any photograph quality and big $$ - Easy decision Thanks I might go shopping today !!!
"Family over Friends" "Night over Day" "Nikon over Canon" "Gravy over Everything"

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Postby gpsmikey » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:47 am

One consideration that comes to mind (your comment on switching lenses triggered it) is every time
you switch lenses, you run the risk of getting dust/junk into the camera on the sensor. True, not
the major crisis some have made it out to be, but still a consideration. Coming from the film world,
you (as was I) were used to any small dust that gets in and falls on the film simply gets moved
when you advance the film -- in digital, the sensor doesn't move :shock:

Just a consideration (I find the lens I use the most is my 70-300) but I need the extra zoom for
the kids soccer teams - something about the camera seems to cause them to go to the OTHER
side of the field :D

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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Postby briancbb » Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:23 am

Mikey wrote:something about the camera seems to cause them to go to the OTHER
side of the field


Are you sure it's the camera? :lol:

Brian

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Postby gpsmikey » Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:33 am

briancbb wrote:
Mikey wrote:something about the camera seems to cause them to go to the OTHER
side of the field


Are you sure it's the camera? :lol:

Brian


Must be -- if we have parents on the other side with cameras, then they stay in the
middle :D Actually, what I try to do is pick the side/corner of the field that has the
sun (if there is any !! ) behind me (which may be on the opposing team's side) so
I learn to keep quiet and not get excited when our team scores :twisted:

One trick - use a monopod to help stabilize the camera and shoot with BOTH eyes
open - one through the viewfinder and the other watching past the camera for some
charging kid headed right at you - standing right on the sidelines is dangerous !!
Don't use a tripod anywhere near the sidelines - you can't get out of the way fast
enough !!

Ah well, almost "Stuper Bowl" time - where we go over to friends, munch all sorts
of good things then gather at half time to watch the commercials (sure hope they are
better than last year !! )

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
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Postby rkligman » Sun Feb 03, 2008 1:10 pm

I love my 70-300 too. If the 200-500 weren't so big I'd carry that around a lot too. I love candid's.
Rick Insane Diego...

XaiLo

Postby XaiLo » Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:14 pm

richichi, no problem.

gpsmikey, no such luck the commercials just keep getting woarse, what ever happened to bud bowl. O well at least my team won. :)

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Postby gpsmikey » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:12 pm

Yep -- commercials not any better - I ended up helping my daughter with her
chemistry homework while others watched the stuperbowl and felt I had a
better time :D

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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Really Macho Canon Lens ...

Postby gpsmikey » Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:22 am

Just got an email from B&H photo (one of my favorite places). For those who
want to have a REALLY MACHO telephoto lens for you Canon, check this one out:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/news ... Lenses.jsp

As they say "Operators are standing by" (be sure and make sure your credit
card is polished up and ready to go ... maybe a couple of credit cards ... :shock: )

mikey
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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Postby Tarafrost » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:28 am

I prefer the 70-200 AFS VR f2.8, which is a wicked lens. Sharp, fast, wonderful.

But, if you think the 18-200 is expensive, the 70-200 will make you have a stroke. But it's worth the money, IMO. Good glass always is if you can afford it. The 70-200 is also a big, heavy lens, which may not suit you. The weight/size don't bother me and that is on a D200 with the optional 2-battery grip. Though my wife hates that rig cause it's too heavy for her. She perfers her D70.

I have the 18-200 and it's a super lens. I've found it to be plenty sharp/fast enough. It's probably sharper than most photographers can handle, as with most lenses these days.

It's key value is that you can go from quite wide to zoomed in without changing lenses. Great for things like weddings and other functions, where you don't know what you'll need and don't have or don't want to pack multiple bodies. Also great for travel, since it's a "one lens does all" solution.

I recommend it....and except for huge prints of tricky subjects at a fine-art level of execution, you can't tell the difference between it and the 70-200. Mind you, the pro lens is a lot brighter at f2.8 and that can be quite critical in low light situations.

We also have the 70-300, the older non-AFS one. My wife uses it all the time and loves it. A very inexpensive lens, but the extra reach to 300mm is great for wildlife stuff.

Guess like all photography gear, you need to evaluate how you plan to use the lenses, what kind of subjects you'll be shooting (wide landscapes, zoomed in wildlife, portraits, events, sports, mix of all), and the light conditions you usually shoot under, then factor in your budget and don't look back.

Ergonomics are also important, and are different for different folk, so you might want to take your body into a good camera shop, and try out the options, take some pics, take the pics home and evaluate how they performed for you.
....Andrzej (aka: the curmudgeon)

Tarafrost Photography: Specializing in Wild-Life
http://www.tarafrost.com

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Postby Ron » Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:08 pm

Well I thought I was going to purchase the 55-200 vr but I then decided not to rush the decision - I then read your reply Tarafrost and I took your advice - I'm fairly friendly with my local camera store, he let me take out both lenses for a few hours...I fell In love with the 18-200 It really was a no brainer for me ...The feel, convenience and results was more than I anticapated... he even gave me a break for buying the demo and he purchased my 18-55mm as well...$750 to $650 demo to $550 lens trade-in Plus no tax .... All in all I felt a made a quality purchase - I thank everyone for their time & thoughts .... Now I'm looking for a Decent Camera Backpack Bag ........I'm lookin at an ebay auction # 300195946355 ......any thoughts on this bag ....thanks Ron
"Family over Friends" "Night over Day" "Nikon over Canon" "Gravy over Everything"

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Postby Tarafrost » Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:11 am

Ron wrote:I then read your reply Tarafrost and I took your advice


Wow...someone actually listened to the curmudgeon, and things turned out for the best as a result. Amazing!

It was a pleasure spending your money, Ron! Enjoy the lens and take lots of pics.

As for the rest of you, take a lesson from this. Don't argue....just listen to the curmudgeon. :D :D
....Andrzej (aka: the curmudgeon)

Tarafrost Photography: Specializing in Wild-Life
http://www.tarafrost.com

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Postby gpsmikey » Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:30 am

Tarafrost wrote:
Ron wrote:I then read your reply Tarafrost and I took your advice


Wow...someone actually listened to the curmudgeon, and things turned out for the best as a result. Amazing!

It was a pleasure spending your money, Ron! Enjoy the lens and take lots of pics.

As for the rest of you, take a lesson from this. Don't argue....just listen to the curmudgeon. :D :D



What ???

mikey :lol: :lol:
You can't have too many gadgets or too much disk space !!
mikey (PSP6, Photoshop CS6, Vegas Pro 14, Acid 7, BluffTitler, Nikon D300s, D810)
Lots of PIC and Arduino microprocessor stuff too !!

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