Need Help

[ziggyinla]

Hi everyone,
I posted this in the General Forum and got no responses. I assume it was the wrong forum for this kind of a question and hope to get some kind of a response from someone here. Anyway, here’s my ???-desperately need assistance with finding the right lens for my girlfriend’s Nikon N50 with a 35-80 zoom…your feedback would be greatly appreciated, as I am not a camera expert. Obviously, she’s been really limited with what she has now. So, want a lens that will give her some reach… compatible for indoors and outdoors shooting… Based on my research thus far, I’ve been kind of leaning towards the Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED AF Zoom Nikkor or the SIGMA 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro. Which one of these lenses is better, if any? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance for all your time and expertise.

[livin4lax09]

IMO, neither of them are very great. They'll fill all your basic needs, but nothing beyond that. Between the two lenses, I would say to go with the nikon, just because I have the sigma and except for about 180mm at f/8, it's very soft. And very slow focusing. But read the reviews on this site, and those will help you decide what to do. Nikon tends to be a reliable brand, and sigma is also, but their lenses are always a bit cheaper. If you're really looking for a good lens to last you a while, look into a 70-200 f/2.8 lens. The big aperture (f/2.8, the lower the number, the bigger the aperture) lets a lot of light in, so it is ideal for indoor situations.

[another view]

I don't remember seeing your other post, but this forum - the Help forum - is the best place for this kind of question.

In that price range, I'd probably go with the Nikon. I don't own it, but have shot with it and it's not a bad lens. A lens with an f2.8 maximum aperture might be a better lens, but may not be better for what you want to do with it - the "cons" of a lens like this is that it will usually be 70-200 or 80-200 (so it won't go out to 300), it's more expensive and it's a lot bigger and heavier.

I'm a little concerned when you say it's for inside and outside - can you be more specific with what you want to do with it, especially indoors? F5.6 isn't very fast, especially indoors.

The Sigma lens says it's also a "macro" lens, but chances are it's not a true macro lens. A good accessory if she's interested in this type of work is Nikon's 6T close-up lens. It's like a filter that screws on the front of the lens and allows you to focus much closer than without. Works really good with that 70-300 lens, too.

[ziggyinla]

First, thanks for all of the provided feedback. I apologize for not being specific about the indoors/outdoors shooting. Indoors, she probably won’t be shooting any sporting activities… just people, etc. Outdoors, it’ll probably include architecture, flora, but not as much fauna… Will F5.6 still be slow for this kind of work?

Thanks again!

[another view]

Will F5.6 still be slow for this kind of work?

Maybe, maybe not. It will certainly work in most cases with a tripod as long as you're not trying to shoot sports or concerts in really low light. The longer the lens, the more a tripod becomes necessary - there's more to it than that, but that might be a good investment as well.

An f2.8 lens is only two stops faster than f5.6. It's really not a magic bullet, so to speak, but every little bit helps in some cases. The tradeoffs as I mentioned before have to be considered too.

[Steph_B]

I don't remember seeing your other post, but this forum - the Help forum - is the best place for this kind of question.

In that price range, I'd probably go with the Nikon. I don't own it, but have shot with it and it's not a bad lens. A lens with an f2.8 maximum aperture might be a better lens, but may not be better for what you want to do with it - the "cons" of a lens like this is that it will usually be 70-200 or 80-200 (so it won't go out to 300), it's more expensive and it's a lot bigger and heavier.

I'm a little concerned when you say it's for inside and outside - can you be more specific with what you want to do with it, especially indoors? F5.6 isn't very fast, especially indoors.

The Sigma lens says it's also a "macro" lens, but chances are it's not a true macro lens. A good accessory if she's interested in this type of work is Nikon's 6T close-up lens. It's like a filter that screws on the front of the lens and allows you to focus much closer than without. Works really good with that 70-300 lens, too.

I have both the 70-300 and the 6T close up lens. I agree with AV. This combination is very good to start with. I got some very good shot with this (sharp + OK color accuracy). In any case, you will need a tripod - but then that's true for most macro work, even with expensive pro lenses.

The 70-300mm ED lens is not bad at all. That's the only non-pro piece of equipment I still have. It is light and sharp up to 200mm. In your case, I think 'light' goes a long way too. You do not want to have to carry a klunker the whole day!

From 200mm up to 300mm, the lens quality starts to go down the drain, and the lens becomes quite dark, which makes it more difficult to use/compose.

Disclaimer/word of advice: there are 2 nikon 70-300mm out there. My little blurb here is about the 70-300 ED lens with the aperture ring, not the G lens. I do not think that the G lens is that good, and I am not sure it is compatible with the N50.

Another tip: There are tons of used 70-300 mm out there on Ebay. Check it out, they go cheap now. If you get a good deal for the telephoto, you may want to think about getting her as well a wide angle lens such as the Nikon 24mmF2.8. They are also pretty cheap on Ebay, and that will give her a whole new range of possibilities.

Just my 2 cents!