a little help with a telephoto plase!

sburatorul · Jul 4, 2008

i want to buy a telephoto lens to complete the kit lens and i am in a bit of a doubt. i have several options within my budget. these include the tamron 70-300mm, the nikkor 55-200mm VR, the nikkor 70-300mm, all are af-s so there should be no problem in focusing with the d60. i am kinda leaning towards the nikkor 55-200mm vr but i really don't know at the moment so some advice would sure help me.

tirediron · Jul 5, 2008

What is the most important factor for you? Is it quality, focal-length, minimum apeture or price? My personal recommendation would be for the Nikon 70-300, but make sure you don't get the one with the plastic lens mount!

sburatorul · Jul 6, 2008

i would love myself the nikon 70-300 if it was the VR version but that one is considerably more expensive and i do want a VR unit on it as i am quite lazy sometimes and don't always carry my tripod around (bad tripod anyway, it shakes and moves if i even touch the camera)

sabbath999 · Jul 7, 2008

There are 2 Nikkor 70-300's... the VR version and the D version. Make SURE you get the VR version for autofocus on your D60.

Additionally, the Tamron needs to be the AF 70-300MM F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro version with the built in motor (this is critical for your D60). They have made a version of this lens for years without the internal focusing, so be SURE you get the internal motor version.

The 70-300 VR is a nice lens, but for the money I would start with the 55-200 VR which is unbelievably sharp for a $200 lens... AND has VR.

The Tamron is a great lens, though... I have the non-internal motor version and it is really excellent for the price.

Sw1tchFX · Jul 7, 2008

I opt for the 55-200 as well. The 70-300 doesn't balance as well on the D40/60.

sburatorul · Jul 7, 2008

of course no matter the lens i chose it will be AF-S (internal motor for AF on d60). in the meantime i had the oportunity to play with a fellow forum member's tamron 70-300mm. his was the AF Canon mount as he was using it on a 40d (great camera) but it left a bit of a bad impression on me, i especially don't like the little trepidation at the end of the slow focus, the entire camera(and the 40d is not small)was shaking in my hands while the lens struggled to focus. it is great for macro though but not action. that and the lack of vibration reduction eliminated the tamron from my list of choices.

i do have the budget to get the nikkor 70-300mm vr but i think i'll be better off with the 55-200mm and a sb-600 on the same budget. what do you think?

@Sw1tchFX what do you mean "doesn't balance as well on the d40/d60"?

Village Idiot · Jul 7, 2008

Some one help me out here. How many 70-200 are there that are made by Nikon. Canon makes the 70-200 f/4L which is about $550ish new and is an amazing lens for the price. In fact, it's one of the sharpest telephoto zoomz they make.

What does Nikon have that's close to this? I know they make an 80-200, but what's the price/quality. I know they also make at least one 70-200, but it's the 70-200 f/2.8 VR which is probably about $1700.

Sigma also makes a 70-200 f/2.8 that's pretty good for the price.

Any ways, I'd prefer to aim for sharpness and better IQ with a faster aperture rather than focal length range and image stabilization/vibration reduction/etc...

Mike_E · Jul 7, 2008

The 80-200mm f/2.8 is a good idea. Nikon or Sigma. I own a Tokina 80-200mm f/2.8 and I wouldn't give it away but I wouldn't suggest it to friends either.

The 70-300mm VR...

eh, not so much.

I shot with one the other day and was underwhelmed. It might have been a bad copy but on the easy shots it was ok.

Village Idiot · Jul 7, 2008

Mike_E said:
The 80-200mm f/2.8 is a good idea. Nikon or Sigma. I own a Tokina 80-200mm f/2.8 and I wouldn't give it away but I wouldn't suggest it to friends either.

The 70-300mm VR...

eh, not so much.

I shot with one the other day and was underwhelmed. It might have been a bad copy but on the easy shots it was ok.

Most "cheap"(I know, very subjective) 70-300's are pretty soft at one end of the spectrum or sometimes all the way across.

sburatorul · Jul 7, 2008

well you are going in another league there... i'm looking for a budget telephoto at around 200 euros and those (the 80-200 and the 70-200) are way past a thousand :mrgreen:. Right now the best buy for me seems the 55-200 nikkor vr.

Village Idiot · Jul 7, 2008

sburatorul said:
well you are going in another league there... i'm looking for a budget telephoto at around 200 euros and those (the 80-200 and the 70-200) are way past a thousand :mrgreen:. Right now the best buy for me seems the 55-200 nikkor vr.

Is the 55-200 constant aperture? What is the aperture on it?

The Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 that I mentioned above is a sound buy as well.

sburatorul · Jul 7, 2008

its f4-5.6. i like the sigma 70-200 2.8 and i think its a pretty fast lens if we consider the wide aperture but at almost 1000 euros i can't really afford it and even if i could i don't think i am ready to invest that much in a lens right now, after all, i've just update from a fuji 5700 a month ago and i am pretty new at this. thanks for the advice but i think i'm going to stick to the nikor 55-200mm

or if someone has some other suggestion within 250 euros

icassell · Jul 7, 2008

How much do you have to spend? I love my Sigma 50-150 f2.8. Sometimes I use it with the 1.4X or 2X TC.

pm63 · Jul 7, 2008

I can't speak for the 70-300, but I have the AF-S 55-200 (non VR) and it serves as a great accompaniment to my 18-55 kit lens.

Is is great for portraits (see my flickr for a photo called 'Kareem', about 4 photos down, that I used it on), very good for action. I was shooting a soccer game the other day and autofocus is lighning fast... easy to lock on and quickly fire the shutter, capturing the players sharply. Note, however, that as it is not "fast" glass, you will only really be able to use it in bright sunlight for fast sports.

It has a non-rotating front element, so using filters such as polarisers is possible. Construction is plastic and not the best, though certainly better than the kit lens, but after all it is s budget zoom so what to you expect? Having said that it did take a hard knock recently from an eccentric friend of mine and I am happy to report that it is fine :mrgreen:

I say go for it. For the price it can't be beaten.

MyNameIsChris · Jul 7, 2008

My first camera was the canon rebel xt with the 18-55 kit lens. I bought the tamron 70-300 as my second lens and I really don't regret it at all. It's a great lens, as long as a semi-loud focus doesn't bother you. For the price, it's a great lens.