lens to buy for D40?????

th3_man89 · Nov 30, 2008

i just bought a D40 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm VR. those lenses works amazing for me. i wasn't just quite happy when i tried to shoot flying bird. since i'm just getting started, still can't find my preference though. i don't really like portraits, i don't find flowers that interesting also. i think i like shooting animals and landscape. and so, i was thinking of what lens should i aim next. I was thinking of 30mm or 50mm, a teleconverter, or a macro. can you guys help the beginner here??? ;p

do comment on my shot on www.flickr.com/photos/th3_man89/. thx.

p.s. D40 only works with AF-S, so... yeah. btw how to set signature?? i couldn't find it.

Markw · Nov 30, 2008

For a lens, I would suggest the Sigma 105mm, 150mm, or 180mm Macro. I, personally love macro work and everyone you show your pictures to will be amazed by the detail. For the signature, go to 'user cp' at the top left of any page in the forum. There is a tab on the left of the following page with all of your editing options. Click 'Edit Signature' and type what you would like there.

Hope this helps,
Mark

th3_man89 · Nov 30, 2008

how about teleconverter? i'm really tempted to buy it though.

passerby · Nov 30, 2008

th3_man89 said:
i just bought a D40 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm VR. those lenses works amazing for me.

Your shots are very good for my taste. I think you don't need any other lens or lenses for the time being. The greatest achievement is when you achieve greatness with humblest tools.

Can you do that?

Pure · Dec 1, 2008

Don't buy a teleconverter on an already slow lens. It'll drop your f-stop 1-2 making your lens even slower. Save your money and buy a better piece of glass if you really care, but yes, you are restricted to slower moving objects in lower light.

th3_man89 · Dec 1, 2008

Your shots are very good for my taste. I think you don't need any other lens or lenses for the time being. The greatest achievement is when you achieve greatness with humblest tools.

Can you do that?

thanks, passerby. i do agree with you. i can't do editting photos thats why all my photos are posted as originall except a few croppings. i believe in good shot. do comment on my photos though.

Don't buy a teleconverter on an already slow lens. It'll drop your f-stop 1-2 making your lens even slower. Save your money and buy a better piece of glass if you really care, but yes, you are restricted to slower moving objects in lower light.

can you recommend me a budget yet satisfying lens?

epp_b · Dec 1, 2008

i wasn't just quite happy when i tried to shoot flying bird.

I don't think the problem is your lenses. Flying birds are difficult subjects to capture.

What was your AF selection set to? For that kind of thing, you should be using "nearest subject" (the big square).

th3_man89 · Dec 2, 2008

epp_b said:
I don't think the problem is your lenses. Flying birds are difficult subjects to capture.

What was your AF selection set to? For that kind of thing, you should be using "nearest subject" (the big square).

i think i used dynamic area. and continuous focussing. thx for the advice. do you have any lens recommendation for d40?? rememberring its only adapted to AF-S but i dont know about other brand coz there is no AF-S stuff. only nikkor has it right?

why does teleconverter in general can cause VR and AF to be disabled?

Pure · Dec 2, 2008

The only good longer range tele zoom that's good for low light, is the 70-200mm f/2.8, however that'll cost $1700. The 80-200mm would be good, but the D40 does not have the old motor style screw to turn the AF.

th3_man89 · Dec 4, 2008

Pure said:
The only good longer range tele zoom that's good for low light, is the 70-200mm f/2.8, however that'll cost $1700. The 80-200mm would be good, but the D40 does not have the old motor style screw to turn the AF.

does sigma or tamron produces any of those kind of lens?? it might cost cheaper right?

bigtwinky · Dec 4, 2008

th3_man89 said:
does sigma or tamron produces any of those kind of lens?? it might cost cheaper right?

They both could have some equivalents, I'd suggest checking out their sites. Or head to amazon.com and search for 70-200 2.8 and see what comes up.

If you aren't into flowers and more into wildlife and landscapes, I don't think a macro is for you right now.

Landscapes would require a wider angle lens to capture the most possible in the photo (usually). So on a 40d, with a crop sensor, something around 17mm would be good (that would be 28mm on a full frame). So your 18-55 should be enough for the landscapes. Get a tripod if you don't have one

For flying birds, there are two things. You need a min of 300mm and a fast lens, preferably 2.8. And make sure thats a constant apeture. You can see some lenses that say 70mm-300mm 4 -5.6. So at 70mm you are at 4 but at 300mm, you are at 5.6. Too slow.

If your subject is flying, make sure you are properly panning to capture a still image with a movement blurred background. This is essentially following the animal with the camera and shooting while you both are moving in sync. Make sure you follow through with the shot and don't just end your movement when you click the button. I'm sure there are MANY articles on google, or hell, you probably already know

epp_b · Dec 4, 2008

ememberring its only adapted to AF-S but i dont know about other brand coz there is no AF-S stuff. only nikkor has it right?

You can mount any Nikon F bayonet lens on the D40, including old lenses before the 1970's and aperture indexing. It's a matter of what features you'll be able to use. A manual lens can only be used in manual mode. An AF lens (screwdriver AF) will meter in any mode but be limited to manual focus. An AF-S lens will be full-featured on the D40 with automatic metering and focusing.

why does teleconverter in general can cause VR and AF to be disabled?

VR: I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's probably to do that with that VR is related to the focal length. Because the teleconverter adds elements to the lens and doesn't have VR, those elements can't be compensated for.

AF: you can't use teleconverters on slow lenses. You can use 1.4x converters (one-stop penalty) on f/4 or faster and 2x converters (2-stop penalty) on f/2.8 or faster.

Teleconverters add focal length. Because aperture is a quotient of focal length, the maximum aperture size is decreased by a stop or more depending on the converter. A 2x teleconverter costs you two stops light. So, if you attached it to a 55-200 VR (which is f/4 - 5.6), it would effectively become a 110-400 f/8 - f/11, which would be basically useless.

AF typically works well until a maximum aperture about f/5.6, beyond which point the view through the lens becomes too dark and AF has difficulty locking focus.

sabbath999 · Dec 4, 2008

If you simply want a longer lens and don't want to spend much money, check out the Tamron 70-300 LD DI Macro... it is very sharp for a cheap lens, and be sure to get the one with the internal motor that will autofocus with a D40.

As far as manual focusing goes, not too many beginners will be able to manually focus a lens without a split screen prism to capture a flying bird.

th3_man89 · Dec 4, 2008

i am too planning to get a 70 - 200mm f2.8 before a teleconverter. for flowers or still object, i will borrow my friend's 50mm f1.8 nikkor. i will survive with it for capturing still objects. for me, with this little experience i have, i feel challenged to take photos of animals. in singapore, there aren't many places where i can get good landscape.

however i would love to get a 30mm, a 100mm macro and the 70-200m f2.8. so i would need to save up some money first.

:lmao: