Lost! Need help understanding what lens to buy

[TimesTheyareAchanging]

I'm really lost in knowing what type of lens i should buy.
I do almost exclusively landscape photography.
My current equipment is a Sigma 10-20mm and 90mm Tamron Macro Lens. I also have an 18-55mm nikkor kit lens but that is currently broken.

For about 90% of my landscape pictures i use my Sigma 10-20mm but often feel like i need some sort of zoom lens to capture farther away land. I broke my 18-55mm long ago and i don't remember if this lens filled the gap in focal distances that i'm missing.

I can get my 18-55mm nikkor lens repaired for $88, but i'm not sure if it would be worth it if i could get a superior lens for landscapes.

I'm going on a trip across America and i certainly need another lens besides my 10-20mm to tackle the various landscapes across the county.

Any advice would be very helpful as i feel completely in the dark about what i'm looking for.
My budget is around $500 for a nikon compatible lens.

[Chris350]

The Nikkor 16-85 3.5/5.6 VR makes a nice bridge between your two working lenses. I use one as my walk around. You didn't mention your camera body, so I assume you're using a Nikon DX body. I think you can get a 16-85 out of New York for $500 or slightly more.

[OldClicker]

Do you find the 90mm too long? - Terry

[freygr]

I'm really lost in knowing what type of lens i should buy.
I do almost exclusively landscape photography.
My current equipment is a Sigma 10-20mm and 90mm Tamron Macro Lens. I also have an 18-55mm nikkor kit lens but that is currently broken.

For about 90% of my landscape pictures i use my Sigma 10-20mm but often feel like i need some sort of zoom lens to capture farther away land. I broke my 18-55mm long ago and i don't remember if this lens filled the gap in focal distances that i'm missing.

I can get my 18-55mm nikkor lens repaired for $88, but i'm not sure if it would be worth it if i could get a superior lens for landscapes.

I'm going on a trip across America and i certainly need another lens besides my 10-20mm to tackle the various landscapes across the county.

Any advice would be very helpful as i feel completely in the dark about what i'm looking for.
My budget is around $500 for a nikon compatible lens.

I would tell you to repair the 18-55, and then try to save another $188, and look at the Nikon 55-300mm lens and if you have the extra $$$ get the VR version.

[Anbesol]

To cover a decent range with a more budget oriented approach, you could get the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, plus Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6. The Tamron 17-50 is an outstanding lens with excellent optics. The other, well, it gives you 70-300mm for $150. That gives you good range, an outstanding wide to standard angle, and a pretty good get-the-job-done telephoto zoom.

[freygr]

I have the Tamron 70-300mm Mirco Full frame version and I can say I'm very happy with it. But the Nikon 17-55mm is a highly rated lens, and repairing it would be lass costly than replacing it.

You can use AI series lenses which can be found used very cheaply. (note in manual only mode and you will need a light meter unless you have a D3)

[Anbesol]

Frey - I wasn't endorsing it as a good lens, I was endorsing it as a cheap 70-300. If he wanted a good wide angle zoom AND a good telephoto zoom, he'd have to go over budget.

Or, get a fair telephoto zoom and a weak wide angle zoom.

[zerodog]

Get a Nikon 50mm 1.8 $125 of fantastic lens. It also fits in the middle of what you have now. With the extra cash you can then get yourself an SB600 or SB700 flash to mess with. Or are you saying you need to go further than 90mm?

[n8]

$88 to repair the 18-55? Is it vr or non? You can get a new one one (to you at least) for probably less than that.

[Franglais]

I bought my 18-55 second-hand-as-new for 50 Euros at a photo fair (about 70$).

This breaking-lenses bit bothers me. Normally I would recommend the 16-85 which is a beautiful lens, carefully designed by Nikon for low-end professionals. It fits perfectly between the two lenses you have. However it's heavy, lots of glass in it and if you drop it on the floor you might damage it.

I'm currently looking for a walk-around lens that I can use in risky situations (i.e. light, lots of plastic, bounces when you drop it). It will have more distortion than the 16-85 but I don't do many seascapes anyway. The 18-105 kit lens looks like an excellent candidate. I shall go round the photo fair this weekend with a 100 Euro note in my pocket, just in case..

[freygr]

Tamron does offer a 17 or 18 to 200mm but it's is not a fast lens, but for a walk around lens it would be a good candidate. But I have the 17-70 kit lens which is a very nice walk around lens also.

[Anbesol]

This sort of situation bothers me. A new poster joins and makes one post, gets a ton of feedback, but never posts anything beyond their original post, not even a confirmatory "thanks for the advice, I think I'm going to do X" or whatever. This seems to be a common situation, hopefully the feedback we gave the original poster, who wasn't interested in offering any thanks for input, will be of a benefit to other readers.

[Grandpaw]

[QUOTE=Anbesol;469854]This sort of situation bothers me. A new poster joins and makes one post, gets a ton of feedback, but never posts anything beyond their original post, not even a confirmatory "thanks for the advice, I think I'm going to do X" or whatever. This seems to be a common situation, hopefully the feedback we gave the original poster, who wasn't interested in offering any thanks for input, will be of a benefit to other readers.[/QUOTE

I agree. Look at the sticky that I wrote back in 2005 in the Digital Cameras General Forum. I now have a lot more experience under my belt and have helped several members that have had questions on the Nikon D80, D90 and now the D7000. It is nice to hear back when you take time to write something trying to help a fellow member, Jeff

Lets help each other out !!!

[TimesTheyareAchanging]

Sorry i didn't reply back i certainly read all the posts and took them into consideration, they defiantly helped me out, i'll be more persistent in the future

[Eleanor Maw]

Mainly for landscapes I use a Nikon D90 fitted with a Nikon 70-300 VR and a Nikon D5000 fitted with a Nikon 12-24, I also have a Nikon 16-85 VR in my rucksack if needed, I like to travel light when out in the countryside, I leave the D3s & D2xs at home and keep that for pro work I do