Lens Recommendations

eniven · Sep 9, 2009

Hey,

I`m looking to get into digital photography with my wife. My wife already has a Nikon D60 with the 18-55 kit lens that came with it. She wants to get the Nikon AF-S 55-200mm VR DX Zoom-Nikkor F/4-5.6G ED - so I`ll probably get her that for her birthday, which is coming up soon.

Since she`s already on the Nikon system, I will probably be getting a Nikon D90 in the near future, that way, we can more or less share lenses with each other.

My question is: given that we will already own the 18-55 and 55-200 lenses, which ones should I be looking at to expand our lens collection? I`d like to get one (or maybe two) good quality lenses to complement our collection. I don`t need any more zoom at this point.

I was thinking about one or two of the following:

A wide angle zoom lens of some sort
Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.8 G DX for walk about and indoor / lower light conditions
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 for walk about
Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 DC MACRO for walkabout / macro

Any recommendations?

Antithesis · Sep 9, 2009

If you get the D90 I'd recommend looking at the 50mm f1.8 or other cheap, AF-D lenses because they will focus on that body. With primes, it's nice to have a large collection so you don't have to restrict lens choice for the situation.

Your choice of the 35mm is probably good as its a "standard" focal length for a smaller, DX sensor. The sharpness doesn't seem spectacular from the reviews I've read, but it seems decent for the price. I will probably pick one up as soon as I get another camera.

Wide angles are a ton of fun as well, and I always tend to recommend them. If you keep the D60, look at the Sigma 10-20 HSM, as it is super wide and sharp. If you get the D90, you can get the Tokina 12-24 for $100 less. I've owned both lenses and they are both good. The HSM will autofocus on the D60, whereas no Tokina lenses will.

KmH · Sep 9, 2009

I have both of those, plus a couple of others models.

The D60 and the D90 differ in a significant way. The D60 doesn't have a focus motor in the body, the D90 does.

The 50 mm f/1.8 recommended to you won't AF (auto focus) on the D60. It will manually focus just fine and it will light up the in-focus indicator in the D60's viewfinder when focus has been achieved so the D60 shooter still gets focus help from the camera.

Only Nikon AF-S and AF-I lenses will AF on the D60. Other lens brands like Sigma have an equivelent. Sigma calls it HSM.

The D90 on the other hand can AF any Nikon lens so designated . So, a Nikon AF 24-85 mm f/2.8-4D will AF on the D90, but not the D60.

I mentioned that lens in particular because it also has the macro feature that lets you take extreme closeups (1:2) from 35mm to 85mm. As you've already thought, it's a very handy feature to have. I found the barrel distortion at the short (17mm) end of the Sigma to be to much for my tastes.

The Nikon AF-S 55-200 Vr is a nice little lens as is the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm VR. Both are pretty much limited to ouside daylight operation. The extra 100 mm odf reach with the 300 mm comes in handy and a short gap from 55 to 70mm in your lineup would barely be noticeable.

Hopefully, that will help you decide the route that's best for you and welcome to The Photo Forums.

PhotoXopher · Sep 9, 2009

I have a D90 and a D60 with the Sigma 18-250, 50mm, and 18-55. My next purchase will most likely be the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 with built in auto focus motor for use on the D60 as well as the D90.