Lense question

[nightangel73]

Say I have a choice of buying a wide angle lense 18-55mm and a telephoto 55-200mm OR a 18-105mm lense. Which would be better? I would like opinions on advantages and disadvantages

 

[Dao]

First, I believe the 18-55mm is usually referred as Standard Zoom lens while the 55-200mm should be telephoto zoom.

In general, it is really a personal preference. If I do not want to carry multiple lens and the focal length I use for most of the photos I take fall within 18mm and 105mm, then of course I will choose the 18-105mm lens.

However, if I often heading to the zoo and would like to take some photos of the animals, 105mm seems too short. so I will opt for the combo.

Are you planning to buy a DSLR with the kit lens(es)?

 

[sleist]

All 3 are kit lenses, but are considered to have good image quality, despite being slow and having plastic mounts.

I have a D90 that came with the 18-105.
I just bought my son the D5000 which came with the 18-55.

He's currently using the 18-105, but my plan is to give him back the 18-55, buy him the 55-200, and give him my 35mm1.8. I think that will give him an excellent kit to start with, with a low light normal prime and 18mm - 200mm covered, provided the lighting is good.

I will keep my 18-105 which has given me some excellent results. If it was one or the other, I would take the 18-55 plus 55-200 over the 18-105 just to get the extra reach. Image quality is comparable between the 3 lenses. You will need/want to add a prime at some point.

HTH

 

[Robin Usagani]

18-105mm.. what is the aperture? 18-55mm is always good but I wouldnt pay more than $80 for it.

 

[Neil S.]

Say I have a choice of buying a wide angle lense 18-55mm and a telephoto 55-200mm OR a 18-105mm lense. Which would be better? I would like opinions on advantages and disadvantages

Do you have any other gear at all? Knowing that would help.

I started with a 30D and the EF-S 17-85mm kit lens. My 2nd lens was the EF-S 10-22mm, and 3rd was EF-S 18-55mm 2.8.

I don't recommend people do what I did. I had far too many wide lenses, and no long ones. It was limiting my ability to take certian types of shots.

I just rescently bought my first long lens, the 70-200mm 2.8L IS II. I realized I should have bought something around this focal length for my 2nd lens.

So my advice is get a lens that covers 18-XXmm for 1st, and then get one that covers XX-200mm or XX-300mm for 2nd. I am assuming you have no other gear here.

This is the best way to do it when getting started, unless you really need a super wide lens for your 2nd. I personally find that I don't use my 10-22mm that much, it is very nice to have though.

Hope this helps.

 

[kundalini]

The 18-55mm plus the 55-200mm consumer grade lenses are a really decent buy and covers focal lengths you are most likely to want. That combination with VR on the 55-200mm was my choice when I first started out.

 

[IgsEMT]

go for 18-105, boost the sharpness to about 6-7 and enjoy it. If you can, get an 18-200 and boost the sharpness to about 4-5.
But if you want a really good glass with medium focal range and not to heave on the $, its 24-85 f/2.8-4

 

[SwiftTone]

go for 18-105, boost the sharpness to about 6-7 and enjoy it. If you can, get an 18-200 and boost the sharpness to about 4-5.
But if you want a really good glass with medium focal range and not to heave on the $, its 24-85 f/2.8-4

What do you mean by "boost the sharpness". Do you mean the setting in the camera??

 

[Rosshole]

What do you normally take pictures of?

 

[SwissJ]

Get the 55-200, cause I don't have any lenses in that focal range.

 

[KmH]

Say I have a choice of buying a wide angle lense 18-55mm and a telephoto 55-200mm OR a 18-105mm lense. Which would be better? I would like opinions on advantages and disadvantages

Better for what kind of photography?

 

[nightangel73]

Yes, I'm going to buy new camera (nikon) so I'm at ground zero.

I never found myself taking too many wide angle shots. My thing is more of portraits and I do want a lense with big aperture because I find myself shooting with available light and low light most of the time. So one lense I want for sure is the a 50mm/1.8. Then I would like to have a telephoto lense and well wide angle shots are nice for traveling and group shots.

 

[Derrel]

I bought the Nikon 18-105mm lens for my wife, who shoots it on a D40. It's a reasonably decent lens,actually! I prefer it,and she prefers it quite a bit over the 18-55 kit lens. Better zoom range on the bigger lens is obviously the main selling point.

As far as the 18-55 versus 18-105 Nikkor battle, the wider-range zoom is "the better lens" for almost all uses--except that it can block the pop-up flash beam,so...

 

[IgsEMT]

What do you mean by "boost the sharpness". Do you mean the setting in the camera?? __________________

In picture control, boost the sharpness.