Glass (lense) question and terminology

[crazyy]

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[kundalini]

Don't know very much about what makes a good piece. Macro and fixed f-stop are still terms that somewhat confuse me.

Macro (or Micro in Nikon speak) is a lens that will get you down to a 1:1 (or more) ratio of your subject. It's those amazing close-ups of bugs that you see.

There is not a fixed f-stop lens (sorry, there certainly could be, but ignore them for now)... what you mean (I think) is a fixed focal length or better know as a prime lens. This has one focal length, i.e. 50mm, and they are usually faster (larger aperture), better build quality and better optics over zooms.

Speaking of zooms, the one you linked is a variable zoom, which in this case means that at the short end of the focal length (28mm), you have a max aperture of f/2.8 and at the long end (70mm), the max aperture is f/4. The max aperture is key because it determines the amount of light the lens will let in to the sensor / film plane. All things being equal, a constant aperture will be your better zoom lens.

 

[Josh66]

Correct.

 

[kundalini]

Again, yes. Did you notice the price difference? I don't know anything about the lens, but price is a general indicator.

A couple of place I like to check for lens reviews:
photozone.de
thomhogan.com
fredmiranda.com
dpreview.com

You can also check out some Nikon forums like NikonCafe.com........ crap, losing my mind..... Google.

 

[KmH]

There are fixed aperture lenses but they are usually very inexpensive, novelty lenses. Like a $60 1000mm f/11 lens. Essentially useless. :greenpbl:

 

[Jaszek]

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...ery/167288-camera-terms-acronyms-dummies.html

It did take me over an hour to put it all together, and it's still not finished. I think we need a sticky to inform people about reading stickies ;P

 

[musicaleCA]

There are fixed aperture lenses but they are usually very inexpensive, novelty lenses. Like a $60 1000mm f/11 lens. Essentially useless. :greenpbl:

Ya know, I'd get that just to say that I had a 1000mm, for the sheer hilarity of it (and the "aaahhh" factor I might get from friends who don't know any better; most of my family seems to know something about photography). I don't think I'd use it for any more than a few novelty shots.

Maybe CSIS would use it, if they're on a budget.