Lens query - Nikon D5100

[Abhi_UK]

Hi All
thanks for all your valuable input.
Nikkor 18-200mm is ia good lens but out of my budget. I can spend around £800. So along with D5100, I'm thinking to buy Nikkor 35mm F1.8 AF-S and 55-300 mm AF-S. I'm happy with the teleport coverage but little bit concern about the wide angle (I'm planning for a Switzerland trip and want to capture great landscape pics as well). Do you think 35mmwill be enough for good landscape pics.
Also I’ve heard that D5100 is DX format camera and it will crop the image by 1.5x. That means 35mm will work as 52mm (approx) and 55-300mm will work as 82-450mm. Is it true? Is it applicable for all lenses for D5100?

Also I'll be grateful if you can suggest any other lens combination fitting my budget.

 

[Infinite_Day]

First - the 55-300mm lens is a DX lens. If a lens has DX in it's name then it is designed to work with a crop sensor camera to produce images at the listed focal length. So it will function as a 55-300mm lens on a D5100. I believe the 35mm lens you have listed is the same as well. If a lens is not specified as "DX" then it is designed for a full frame or "FX" sensor (or 35mm film) and the effective focal length if used on a "DX" sensor body will then be 1.5 times the lens' listed focal length due to the crop factor of the smaller sensor. That being said, the 18-105mm kit lens that you could also get is not a bad beginner's walk-around lens. It will allow you to get pretty good wide-angle shots so I would not discount it as a possibility. I still use it as I have not had the free funds to purchase a replacement or two for it yet. 35mm may be wide enough for you - I think it's really dependent on location. The two lenses you have lsited are not bad beginners lenses if that is what your budget allows.

 

[Abhi_UK]

Thanks Infinite...that's a very useful piece of info...having learnt that I'd like the go through the Nikon Lens list again.
One question...for third party lens like Sigma or Tamron how do u know it's a DX or FX? do they use a different name for it?

 

[EchoingWhisper]

No, infinite, I don't think you're right. 55mm on a crop sensor is 55mm on a full frame sensor. Unless they specify *equivalent*, chance are they are the real focal length, not the effective focal length.

 

[Infinite_Day]

Honestly, I'm not sure if Tamron or Sigma make any lenses specifically for DX sensors. I know that Tokina does as I am considering their 11-16mm DX wide-angle lens. I did a search for Tamron and Sigma DX and recieved no results and also looked at some lens selections and did not find any that stated they were DX specific. Also keep in mind that any DX lenses you buy will not be as functional if you upgrade to full frame (FX) at any point. They will work you just may have vignetting issues, etc.

 

[Infinite_Day]

No, infinite, I don't think you're right. 55mm on a crop sensor is 55mm on a full frame sensor. Unless they specify *equivalent*, chance are they are the real focal length, not the effective focal length.

I am confused with this. I'm not the best with the discrepancies between equivalent and effective, etc. Essentially all I was trying to impart is that a 50mm FX lens will have a 50mm focal length and produce a 50mm image on an FX sensor. If you put it on a DX body the focal length of the lens is still the same, of course, but the cropping due to the smaller sensor will yield and image that is the same as if a 75mm lens were being used on an FX body. I think I see what you are saying my error was now. I am sorry if I had something incorrect. I figure as long as you understand what's going on and you're not a pro then the semantics don't have to be perfect. Just trying to help.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

No, infinite, I don't think you're right. 55mm on a crop sensor is 55mm on a full frame sensor. Unless they specify *equivalent*, chance are they are the real focal length, not the effective focal length.

I am confused with this. I'm not the best with the discrepancies between equivalent and effective, etc. Essentially all I was trying to impart is that a 50mm FX lens will have a 50mm focal length and produce a 50mm image on an FX sensor. If you put it on a DX body the focal length of the lens is still the same, of course, but the cropping due to the smaller sensor will yield and image that is the same as if a 75mm lens were being used on an FX body. I think I see what you are saying my error was now. I am sorry if I had something incorrect. I figure as long as you understand what's going on and you're not a pro then the semantics don't have to be perfect. Just trying to help.

You're right now, the 55-300mm is indeed supposed to work at listed focal length, but it's equivalent focal length is around 80-450mm. I don't like the word 'effective' though, since it's not really the same perspective, depth of field etc.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Honestly, I'm not sure if Tamron or Sigma make any lenses specifically for DX sensors. I know that Tokina does as I am considering their 11-16mm DX wide-angle lens. I did a search for Tamron and Sigma DX and recieved no results and also looked at some lens selections and did not find any that stated they were DX specific. Also keep in mind that any DX lenses you buy will not be as functional if you upgrade to full frame (FX) at any point. They will work you just may have vignetting issues, etc.

You can always crop, and a lens designed for a full frame sensor may not be as functional for a DX camera too, since DX lenses are lighter, full frame sensor may not be as functional in its size and weight.

 

[Infinite_Day]

I think you're taking what I mean in functionaity and interpreting it as user-friendliness. By functionality I just meant that an FX lens may vignette on a DX body. I'm not sure if the FX bodies will automatically compensate for a DX lens these days or not since I don't have a full frame camera. An FX lens will function with no issues on a DX body other than the crop factor.

 

[Abhi_UK]

.

You're right now, the 55-300mm is indeed supposed to work at listed focal length, but it's equivalent focal length is around 80-450mm. I don't like the word 'effective' though, since it's not really the same perspective, depth of field etc.

Does it mean 55-300mm will work as a 80-450 on D5100. then why DX is written on this lens? i'm confuse now.

 

[Abhi_UK]

Honestly, I'm not sure if Tamron or Sigma make any lenses specifically for DX sensors. I know that Tokina does as I am considering their 11-16mm DX wide-angle lens. I did a search for Tamron and Sigma DX and recieved no results and also looked at some lens selections and did not find any that stated they were DX specific. Also keep in mind that any DX lenses you buy will not be as functional if you upgrade to full frame (FX) at any point. They will work you just may have vignetting issues, etc.

So all Sigma and Tamron are FX (full framed) type lens. That means if I use them on D5100 the focal length will me magnified by 1.5x. Is it correct?

 

[Infinite_Day]

No - it is a 55-300mm lens on a D5100. The semantics are confusing is all. That's why I tried to avoid it some.

 

[Infinite_Day]

Honestly, I'm not sure if Tamron or Sigma make any lenses specifically for DX sensors. I know that Tokina does as I am considering their 11-16mm DX wide-angle lens. I did a search for Tamron and Sigma DX and recieved no results and also looked at some lens selections and did not find any that stated they were DX specific. Also keep in mind that any DX lenses you buy will not be as functional if you upgrade to full frame (FX) at any point. They will work you just may have vignetting issues, etc.

So all Sigma and Tamron are FX (full framed) type lens. That means if I use them on D5100 the focal length will me magnified by 1.5x. Is it correct?

Not magnified exactly - an FX lens projects an image circle designed to be captured by a larger sensor. If you use a smaller sensor you are capturing less of what the lens is capable of and essentially end up with a cropped image. Hence, the 1.5 crop factor generates an image that would be the equivalent to one taken with a 1.5 times longer focal length lens on a full frame camera.

 

[Abhi.Naik]

The Nikon lenses you mentioned you want to buy, are they both VR?

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Nikkor 24-70 and a 70-200 VRII, those work great for me as a student.