D90...18-200 or 18-105 & 70-300 package?

av8er79 · Nov 13, 2008

I have decided to get a Nikon D90 in January 09. I am still contemplating several lenses combinations. I am undecided on the following.... Please Help?

I am sort of leaning towards the 18-200mm vr to avoid swapping lenses frequently.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=workaround.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=408518&is=USA

But i could get a package that includes the 18-105mm vr & 70-300mm vr for about the same price.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/588977-REG/Nikon__D90_DIGITL_CAMERA_KIT.html

From what i have read the two separate lens will provide me with a little better images when shooting at both extremes. I understand that the 18-200 has some distortion when used towards the wide end. Any opinions or recommendations?

Thanks,

dEARlEADER · Nov 13, 2008

i'd go with the split lens combo... you end up with an extra 100mm and you have decent over lap between the two lenses which will cut down your swapping... as a bonus you will encounter less distortion and sharper images...

the 70-300 will smoke the 18-200 in the 200 to 300mm range any day of the week...

tenlientl · Nov 13, 2008

i own the nikon d90 with the 18-105mm. im currently trying to get myself a nikkor 24-70mm because im not that satisfied witht he 18-105mm. the VR is nice though.

i wish i just got the d90 body and bought the 50mm f/1.8 instead(nice to play with) or one of the 3rd party lenses such as the sigma 24-70mm. i personally havnt used that, but i have tried the tamron 28-75mm recently while trying to shop for a new lens, and i like ti better than the 18-105mm.

but thats all based on my opinion and shooting preference

av8er79 · Nov 13, 2008

tenlientl can you expand a little on the 18-105? Exactly what are you not satisfied with? I also plan on getting the 50mm f/1.8

skiboarder72 · Nov 14, 2008

I would go with the 18-200... having to not change lenses is worth its weight in gold, especially if you are shooting people, or events photography where you can't wait to swap

av8er79 · Nov 14, 2008

I believe that the 18-200 would work pretty well for me.
From what I have read it seems that the distoration is fairly
Minimal for amature use. Granted most photographers are
Quite nit picky perfectionist. It would be nice to rarly swap lens.
There is probaby only rare circumstances when I would us the
Extra 100mm anyways. However I am thinking of adding a wide angle zoom
To my package. Both tamron & sigma make a superwide zoom
But have not decided on that either. Would like a 10-20 range lens
Thanks for the advice.

P.S. Sorry for the misspellings typed on my phone.
y

TamiyaGuy · Nov 15, 2008

I would go with the 18-105 and 70-300 kit. In general, two lenses are better than one, and although it can be annoying having to change lenses sometimes, in my opinion it's worth it. Also, I've heard very good things about the 18-105, people have said that it's very sharp, little distortion, and a good price.

But I would recommend you try out all three lenses before you do anything at all. Test to see how they feel, weigh up the pros and cons of both each individual lens and the kits as a whole, THEN whip out your wallet

.

av8er79 · Nov 15, 2008

I have used all of them in stores which gives you some feel for them. My wedding was shot with the 18-200 on a D300 and I am satisfied with the pics. If I really want a telephoto one day I could splurge for the 70-400mm?????

Stranger · Nov 15, 2008

thats odd, i never thought the 18-200 to be a wedding lens :-X..

I would personally buy the D90 body only and get the tamron 28-75 2.8 (extremely sharp lens) or the nikon 16-85VR, (another excellent lens)

edit: to answer your options though i would get the 2 lens combo. 70-300vr is a great lens and I am also not a fan of 18-200

av8er79 · Nov 15, 2008

skiboarder... are most of the shots on your website shot with the d300 / 18-200? you have some very creative works.

av8er79 · Nov 15, 2008

amazon has the 35-105 package for 1190.00 with free shipping.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D90-Digital-18-105mm-3-5-5-6G/dp/B001ENOZY4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1226789603&sr=1-1[/ame]

I think that I may just get that and see how i like it and decide if i would like to purchase the 18-200 or probably more likely 70-300. I was going to wait until January but I do not see the package price falling below that....

Drucifer · Nov 20, 2008

Yeah, I'm looking to get a D90 too. Plus some lenses as well - a fixed 50mm-ish f/1.4, a macro and a wide angle/short telephoto zoom.

But where to purchase online is my question. I'm finding bargain sites putting Nikon D90 Camera into Google, but don't know which one to trust. :pimp:

Please PM any you have dealt with if public posting of stores is not allowed here.

Oh my budget is $2500. So the more I can save on the above four items, means I may have money for a power grip or a telephoto lens. :thumbup:

av8er79 · Nov 20, 2008

I would recommend that you stick with venders such as B & H Photo and Amazon. Amazon has better prices on some of the items and offer free shipping as long as you are actually ordering from amazon.com..... other venders advertise and sell on amazon as well.

JerryPH · Nov 20, 2008

dEARlEADER said:
the 70-300 will smoke the 18-200 in the 200 to 300mm range any day of the week...

Considering that the 18-200 stops at 200, that isn't a real achievement... lol

However, I highly doubt that the 70-300 is as sharp as a Nikkor 70-200 F/2.8 VR at F7-F11 between 70-150mm, because the 18-200 is.

There are good points on each side... time to make a decision as to what is more important for you.

potownrob · Nov 20, 2008

I haven't tried the Nikkor 24-70 or other higher end Nikkors but I still recommend looking into the Tamron 17-50 or 28-75 f/2.8. I also have and can recommend the 55-200 VR. The 70-300 has better VR and full-time manual focusing (you can manually focus it while it's in auto focus mode) but costs a few hundred more.