Nikon D 90

[Tony59329]

Hi guys,

 

I just bought a Nikon Digital SLR D90 body. Can you give me suggestions for a great all purpose lens? I am a complete novice picture wise.

I look forward to hearing from everybody

 

.

I think that I got a good deal.

[oneday]

Unless you are a purest and want to spend lots of money then look at the Tamron line of lens. The all-purpose lens I use on my Nikon D300 (98% of the time) is an 18-250mm lens and perfect for just about everything I want to do. A wider angle lens would be nice sometimes for interesting landscapes and a bigger zoom would be nice also, but as you probably already know they require compromises I'm not ready to make. I only have two other lens. A fixed fast 50mm lens for interesting night shots and a 100mm macro lens I almost never use.

 

Randy

[Kokat]

Congratulations on your purchase of the Nikon D-90. It's a great camera for the price. With my D-90 I have the 18 - 105 lens and I would recommend this lens if you buy only one as you will have a lot of flexibility in your shots. If you want to add another lens the 50 mm would be a good choice. Be sure to take plenty of pictures of the sexy Thai ladies and post some on PA. Have fun!!!

[abinder]

Congratulations on your purchase of the Nikon D-90. It's a great camera for the price. With my D-90 I have the 18 - 105 lens and I would recommend this lens if you buy only one as you will have a lot of flexibility in your shots. If you want to add another lens the 50 mm would be a good choice. Be sure to take plenty of pictures of the sexy Thai ladies and post some on PA. Have fun!!!

I would actually recommend the Nikon lenses for your D-90. The AF-S VR series of lenses include Nikon VR II (Vibration Reduction)Image Stabilization within the lenses. This will definitely help in reducing 'blurs' caused by camera shaking at telephoto/zoom distances.

 

I don't think that the Nikon D-90 has any 'vibration' reduction within the actual body of the camera. That's why I recommend the Nikon lenses with the VR within them.

 

Also, Nikon is considered to have some of the highest grades of optics as well.

 

But then again, all of this is just my opinion.

 

 

Allen

[jojo90]

35mm f1.8. Please don't buy the 50mm before you buy the 35mm. My 50mm f1.4 is hardly used and the 35mm is always my default choice.

 

I agree with everything this guy has to say with respect to DX lens choice: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/dx-dream-team.htm

[obsrving]

What do you know about SLR cameras? Otherwise the numbers people are throwing around may not mean much.

 

Do you understand fstop and what it does? Do you know why a low f stop means "fast" lens?

 

What about flashes?

[abinder]

35mm f1.8. Please don't buy the 50mm before you buy the 35mm. My 50mm f1.4 is hardly used and the 35mm is always my default choice.

 

Definitely agree with this. The 35mm lens for a digital camera would probably be the ideal 'portrait' lens. On a DSLR, the 35mm lens is equivalent to the 50mm lens on a film SLR camera.

 

From Nikon's website, about the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm 1.8 lens:

"Optical formula optimized for use with Nikon DX-format digital SLRs, rendering a picture angle approximating the classic normal angle of view of a 50mm lens on a Nikon FX-format digital SLR or a 35mm film camera"

 

It's priced at $199.99 USD on the US web site.

 

(Hmmmmmmmmm............I don't have one either. Maybe I'll have to get one for my D-60!!)

 

The only thing that I don't like about it is that it doesn't have Nikon's vibration reduction system in the lens. But, unless you're shooting in extremely low light, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

But, then again, it's only my opinion.

 

 

Allen

[djzan]

i have the 50mm 1.4 but i would prefer to have the 35mm 1.8.

with the 50mm you must to have a big room to take full body shots.

you must also to buy a flash. i think sb-600 will be perfect with your d90!

 

try also to find reviews and photos of the lens you want at flickr.com

 

you can also read some tips and tricks in the photographing tg's in this forum!

[F.E.Tanaka]

Hi guys,

 

I just bought a Nikon Digital SLR D90 body. Can you give me suggestions for a great all purpose lens? I am a complete novice picture wise.

I look forward to hearing from everybody

 

.

I think that I got a good deal.

 

You have a good camera now. Don't downgrade it by buying an inferior lens. How much did you pay for the body? Was it here in Thailand?

[Tony59329]

You have a good camera now. Don't downgrade it by buying an inferior lens. How much did you pay for the body? Was it here in Thailand?

Hi,

 

I paid $525 including shipping. Now the hunt for a good lens and flash

[Tony59329]

The SB600 is definitely on the list as a must buy

[abinder]

The SB600 is definitely on the list as a must buy

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about an external flash now. The flash with the D-90 is plenty powerful for most of the flash photography you'll be taking to start off. (unless you want to bounce the flash off the something like the ceiling.)

 

Get a couple of good Nikon lenses first.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Nikon known for upgrading their cameras in a way that their good quality lenses can be used for years to come with newer camera bodies?

 

 

Allen

[Noud]

Just as you go away fro a few days something interesting pops up.

 

Before I recommend anything I will tell you what I've been using myself and what I think about it.

 

18-55 F3.5-5.6 some standard Sigma lens. It was the kit lens I got with an Old Nikon D50, and despite it being old I still use it regularly. Reason being that I don't have anything else that goes down to 18.

 

55-200 f4-5.6 Sigma. Also came with the D50. Was ok for the money, but nothing spectacular.

 

24-75 F2.8 Tamron. A lot never lens that I use for almost everything where wideangle is not needed. The difference betwen 18 and 24 might not sound much but trust it is a huge difference. Works ok indoors as long as we don't want to take pictures of groups of people.

 

80-200 F2.8 Older Nikon lens, no VR. I use the mostly for outdoors portraits, where getting some distance to the subject is not a problem. Forget using this indoors, unless you have a very large studio.

 

50 F1.8 Nikon. Cheap, sharp, good stats, limited use. If you need something to cheap to use at night this could be it. But I have not had much use for mine so far.

 

200-400 Cosina. Cheap brand, not good in any way, I'm pretty sure my Nikon lens would beat this with margin if I put an extender on it. Was given to me by the last owner, and I understand why ;)

 

 

Now what should you get? I have nor read all replies but, to be able to make a sugestion we need to know what you wil take pictures of. As you say you want an all purpose lens. Lets look at what ranges you are used and for what.

 

Sub 18mm Wide angle lenses.

Fun to have if you like to play around a bit, can use it for landscape or fun images with odd effects to proportions. For most normal photography This is not going to be needed and is not anything I would receomend to start with. It is usually expensive and considering its use best bought later on when you know if you need it or not.

 

18-75mm This is the range that most use for their everyday photos, be it family pictures or picutres of the kids, even some close ups could be taken in this range. This is usually the cheapest option when it comes to lenses.

 

75-~200 This would be the range I think most would say they miss if they go for a lens that only covers 18-75. Sometimes we just want to get a little bit closer to our subject without actually having to physically get closer. My guess is that if you like to take pictures you will pretty soon want to have something that covers this range.

 

~200+ Now we are into the telephoto ranges, anything up here is not going to be used often, unless you have a special interests in takeing pictures of various birds without them knowing ;) Or similar.

 

So what do I recommend?

I think what you should get is something that covers your basic needs. I can't tell if it is 18-75 or maybe the entire 18-~200. But my suggestion would be the later. Now you can do as me and get two lenses to cover that range or one. Back when I bought mine the options were slim and the lenses that covered the entire range was not very good. Hence me getting two lenses, looking back I could have just gone with one since I eventually ended up replacing them anyway. Today these wide range lenses has become a lot better, giving even less reason to go for two different ones, besides I think one lens will probably be cheaper too.

 

After that it is all down to budget.

Nikon lenses will be the most expensive ones, they are generally very good.

Tamron is a lot cheaper, but my experience is that the quality is outstanding for the price.

 

Here's Ken rockwell view on things, but that is almost only Nikon stuff.

The DX Dream Team

 

The lenses he mentions can be bough from other manufacturers, like Tamron/Sigma. The price difference is huge. And I don't feel the prices on Nikon lenses are good enough to warrant the extra money for normal users. Apart from Tamron/Sigma I would be a bit cautious with unknown brands, there are some more but apart from maybe some Tokina lenses they are best to stay away from.

 

The short answer

 

Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-II $230

Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-II $330

Sigma 18mm - 200mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC $250

Sigma 18mm - 250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS $470 (Bit higher price bus seems to have some sort of Alternative to VR, need to research further)

Nikon "New" 18mm - 200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR II $765

 

The Nikon lense is probably the best one, but not when comparing prices.

 

//Noud

[monkeyow]

Get a couple of good Nikon lenses first.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Nikon known for upgrading their cameras in a way that their good quality lenses can be used for years to come with newer camera bodies?

 

Exactly. The bodies will always outdate in a few years while the lenses will still be good to go on new bodies. And hold their value quite well. I use some quite old lenses, most of them I got used. Good condition lenses handled well never go bad.

 

Especially considering Nikon lenses superior build quality I highly recommend a used 18-200mm VR. Not the new VR-II, that can sound confusing because the old version already uses the new VR (Vibration Reduction) system. The only new feature of the VR-II I believe is a zoom-lock?

 

So, considering you can get a good, used 18-200 VR, that is essentially the same as the VR-II, for less than a new Sigma 18-250 I'd recommend you get one. I would, if I hadn't got one when it was new. It really is the definition of an all-purpose lens.

 

And if you got the older version used, you can invest that saved money into an external flash which is a must have.

[Tony59329]

This information is fabulous. Keep it coming. I know it will help a lot of guys.

[JordanP]

I like the 18-55VR as a general walk-around lens. You should be able to get it for 7k or less in Thailand. If you want a good zoom, supplement it with a 55-200 VR for another 7k. Cheaper in places like HK, so if you're traveling there anytime soon, consider buying there.

 

Anyway, this option covers you between 18mm and 200mm. It's a good two lens solution. You can of course buy a single 18-200 VR lens to truly almost "do everything" but you'll pay more for the convenience of one lens.

 

Tamron and Sigma lenses are less expensive, but generally have less resale value and sometimes (but not always) are inferior quality. I just stick with Nikon's Nikkor line generally. The only exception for me is I have a Tokina 12-24.

[mufdi]

in my opinion the 35mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8 are the perfect combination for streetlife and people. I love both lenses very much on the D90. I used the 35/1.8 about 60% and the 85/1.8 about 40%. Now I switched to FX and i still use the same angle (now 50mm and 135mm)

[Tony59329]

Hey Guys,

I have now received my D90. Love the feel. I also got the two standard pack lenses. $780 for all plus shipping and taxes. Total was about $880.

 

Problem though...The camera is taking pictures perfectly and load easily onto Photosmart but will not onto Nikon Transfer.

 

Any suggestions?