Wide Angle/Zoom lens compatible with Nikon N75

I have a Nikon N75 and a basic lense AF Zoom Nikkor 28-80/F3.3-5.6 G. I am planning to buy a wide angle / Zoom lense that is worth having in my kit. The objective is to take landscape, close-ups, portraits and wild life. I am looking for something that is reasonable (range of $200 - $300). Also, I came to know that AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-85mm f / 3.5-4.5G (3.5x) or AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f / 4-5.6G (4.3x) are not that good in terms of quality. Appreciate for suggestions on the models to look for as I am not too sure of them as there are too many.

I've always heard that the 24-85 AF-S is a very sharp lens, but never used it myself. Moose Peterson, a wildlife shooter, actually went to that lens instead of the 28-70 f2.8. That lens is one of Nikon's best and about four times the price - to give you an idea of his opinion on the 24-85.

I've had the 28-105 f3.5-4.5 for a few years and been very happy with it. It's excellent in it's price range, probably the only down side with the lens is that it's almost impossible to manually focus it (if that's even a concern).

The 24-85 is a great lens (sharp + nice color rendition) however the one that I have does vignette at 24mm when I am using Cokin P series filter.

If you are looking for a wide angle lens, I would recommend getting the fixed F2.8 24 mm. It's a fantastic optic and clearly my most beloved lens. Do not plan to take any wildlife with it though! I use it mostly for street photo + urban/nature landscapes.

Cheers,

Steph.

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Originally Posted by Steph_B

does vignette at 24mm when I am using Cokin P series filter

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Sorry to hijack the thread, but you might try either using a little Gaffer's tape to hold the filter on the lens (instead of the holder) or cutting down the holder. I think the holder has three slots for filters on it - start by cutting the outer two slots off. Then grind down the corners so that the holder only contacts a small area of the filter (all you need anyway). This was a Galen Rowell trick...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by another view

Sorry to hijack the thread, but you might try either using a little Gaffer's tape to hold the filter on the lens (instead of the holder) or cutting down the holder. I think the holder has three slots for filters on it - start by cutting the outer two slots off. Then grind down the corners so that the holder only contacts a small area of the filter (all you need anyway). This was a Galen Rowell trick...

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Thanks for the tip AV!

Actually, I already went through the exercice of cutting the holder down to two slots (one for the pola and one for the ND filter). But since I still had some vignetting, I mounted the adapter ring directly around the UV filter. This makes you gain another couple of mm. Since then, I do not have any vignetting problem with my fixed 24mm, but I still do with my 24-85mm.

I remember that T. Fitzharris also recommended Gaffer's tape. However, it's a lengthy process which can scratch your filters quite easily if you rub them on the UV filter ring. But I do agree that this is probably the ultimate way of using filters with wide angle lenses.

Ahhh.... the tricks of the trade!

Cheers,

Steph.