Lens Upgrade

[sA x sKy]

Alright guys, I'm in a bit of a ditch right now. I really need to upgrade the lens on my D60. Currently I'm using the regular kit lens with is an f/3.5-5.6 18-55mm. As the D60 doesn't have a built-in AF motor (which sucks...next camera upgrade will be from Canon for sure) I'd prefer that the lens have a built in one instead.

As for my preference on the lens here's a list of my styles.

- It seems that it can get troublesome whenever I try to zoom in only to find out I can zoom in far enough...

- I do/want to do portrait photography. Not the studio type of portraits but more of the documentary-like photos much like this one: 1x.com - Onexposure

That might be a bad example but I hope you guys get the jist of what I'm aiming for.

- I'm not really into macro photography but sometimes I'll be indirectly shooting a macro shot without actually noticing it (yeah I know...) and I'd really want to take a picture of an eye like this: Eye HDR 2 by ~ridethespiral1 on deviantART

- I take a lot of architecture-like shots of buildings (especially when I go down to NYC every 1 or 2 weeks).

- I occasionally shoot pictures of my friend outside so something that would help with quality?

Anyways...those are just stuff I thought out of my head without actually analyzing it thoroughly but yeah, I'd really appreciate it if I can get some helpful insight. PLEASE!!!

By the way, brand wise I'd prefer if it stays around Nikon & Sigma out of personal preference. My budget is from $100 - $400ish. I'm not looking for anything "pro" but something that helps me capture images just like those on http://1x.com more or less in the portrait section.

Oh and if there's a decent Speedlite I should be looking into, then I'm all for it!

By the way, I will be buying the stuff from B&H (not the online store, the retail in NYC) if that helps narrow anything down. Thanks!

 

[nickisonfire]

well first of all, if your planning to upgrade to a canon (or any other brand for that matter) don't go crazy on spending money on lenses, you'll just be wasting it when you finally switch.

if you want a portrait lens, a 50mm is obviously the way to go, however you said that you wanted to zoom so you'll probably rule that out.

for an picture like that eye one, your going to need a dedicated macro (1:1, none of that 1:2 bs)

it looks like your looking for a walkaround lens it seems, after all is said, so my suggestion would be to look for something around the 24-135 range

hope that helps, you have a lot that your asking for in one lens lol

 

[sA x sKy]

well first of all, if your planning to upgrade to a canon (or any other brand for that matter) don't go crazy on spending money on lenses, you'll just be wasting it when you finally switch.

if you want a portrait lens, a 50mm is obviously the way to go, however you said that you wanted to zoom so you'll probably rule that out.

for an picture like that eye one, your going to need a dedicated macro (1:1, none of that 1:2 bs)

it looks like your looking for a walkaround lens it seems, after all is said, so my suggestion would be to look for something around the 24-135 range

hope that helps, you have a lot that your asking for in one lens lol

Hahaha no, I meant that if I ever do a camera upgrade (not for another 2ish years) it'll be from Canon. And yeah, I did ask a little too much. I think I'll be leaning in more into portraiture though so do you have a specific lens I should look at in the 50mm range?

 

[nickisonfire]

umm. nikkor 50mm f/1.8 (or if you have the cash go for the f/1.4)

 

[sA x sKy]

umm. nikkor 50mm f/1.8 (or if you have the cash go for the f/1.4)

Thanks, looks like I'll have to settle for the f/1.4 anyways since it can support the AF in the D60. Appreciated Nick.

 

[table1349]

Hahaha no, I meant that if I ever do a camera upgrade (not for another 2ish years) it'll be from Canon. And yeah, I did ask a little too much. I think I'll be leaning in more into portraiture though so do you have a specific lens I should look at in the 50mm range?

Even so, it would be a waste of money to buy good quality lenses for Nikon only to change to Canon later. First I am a very satisfied Canon user. With that said, Nikon makes top quality equipment. There is nothing wrong with the in body AF motor system. The problem was getting into the bottom entry level body and realizing that you didn't get some of the features that you would have liked. Life is a learning process.

New top quality glass now would be greatly complimented 2ish years from now with a solid upgrade in body at a much cheaper cost than a total system switch. It is only money so you have to decide.

 

[EhJsNe]

I wouldnt waste my money changing from nikon to canon, especially after getting plenty of Nikon glass. Id say get a better Nikon body in the future, one with an AF motor, and save yourself the money of all new lenses.
You might just want to get a Canon camera just so you can get some of thier better lenses, but thats not the most practical thing to do.

It sounds like you want a walk around lens, the 55-200 is just like you 18-55, just with a little more zoom. If you had a little more, go for the 18-200, its a great walk around lens (athough its a few hundred out of your price range) and 2 of my friends parents have it, and they get very nice pictures with it.

The sigma 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 is pretty cheap (around 300 dolalrs) and takes good pictures too (My techer has the canon version and ive seen some of her prints)

 

[bdavison]

Id have to ditto that.
The AF-S 55-200mm VR DX would give you alot more range, you can reverse it for macro stuff, the distortion at 60-120 is low for your architectural shots, and in my opinion it makes a real good portrait lens.

Of course its not super fast, but its probably my current favorite walk around lens on my D60.

HDR isnt going to be easy with the D60, since it doesnt have bracketing, but it can be done.

 

[ANDS!]

Nikkor 35MM F/1.8. It will autofocus on your camera, and should you choose to upgrade (to a D90 perhaps or even a D80), it will also be compatible on that body. It has a focusing distance of about a foot in front of your subject, and could be a suitable portrait lens as well as a pseudo "landscape" lens (more so than the 50MM F/1.4, which you arent going to get for a bargain, ESPECIALLY if you are going for the G version).