Help with choosing my next lens?

Niz · Oct 30, 2011

Hey everyone,

Iv'e got a d90 and a 50mm 1.8D lens at the moment hopefully soon ill be purchasing my 2nd lens. I want to mainly do live music photography so im thinking a 70-200mm and a 17-35mm(maybe even a 10.5 fisheye?) will be a must for this type of photography. My question is should i get a 70-200mm first or maybe a 17-35mm first to get some wide photos of the whole band? Im just not sure which one to get first, if you have any advice or help that would be appreciated!

Thanks Ben

tirediron · Oct 30, 2011

First of all, what is your budget? Are you doing this professionally, such that you can rely on being close to the action, or are you shooting from the cheap seats as John Q. Public?

Niz · Oct 30, 2011

I can get close, im just shooting local bands at the moment for cheap, i can't afford the Nikkor 70-200mm but i have a budget of around $1000.00-$1200.00 for a new lens.

KmH · Oct 31, 2011

Take a look at the Nikon 12-24mm f/4G ED IF Autofocus DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for close in work with little distortion.

Or the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras in lieu of the 70-200.

tirediron · Oct 31, 2011

What Keith said! ^^

Niz · Oct 31, 2011

I'm going to be shooting alot of bands in very low light and no flash, do you think the 12-24mm with a max appature of F.4 will be alright?

Niz · Oct 31, 2011

Also what is the benifit of a 12-24 over a 10-24 in the Nikon range?

RichardsTPF · Oct 31, 2011

Fixed aperture f4 VS f3.5-4.5

KmH · Oct 31, 2011

Well, constant aperture anyway.

Fixed aperture and constant aperture are not the same thing.

Fixed aperture means the aperture is not adjustable at all.

The 10-24 is only f/3.5 at 10 mm. As the lens is zoomed towards 24 mm the aperture gradually changes until it is f/4.5 just before you get to 24 mm. That is known as a variable aperture lens.

F/3.5 to f/4.5 is only 2/3 of a stop, 1/3 stop faster than f/4, and 1/3 stop slower than f/4, so you could save about $300 by getting the 10-24, while sacrificing 1/3 of a stop from 15 mm or so to 24 mm.

Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Wide-Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras