My next (second) lens...

b4rn5ey · Aug 10, 2016

Hi everyone,

Firstly apologies if this is in the wrong forum. Now i'm a beginner and don't know too much about DSLRs so please try not to be too technical with me hehe.

I recently purchased a Nikon D3300 with a 18-55mm lens. I love it, i'm taking far too many pictures to even look at them all, let alone edit them

but I have already stumbled across a problem.

I'm very into my landscape/wildlife photography, and as a result rely on zooming to get closer to the subject. With a 18-55mm lens this has obviously been a bit of a pain.

Therefore, was looking for any advice on which lens to look at next - obviously still being a beginner i don't want to fork out too much cash for one. (Maybe max £200). I'm also not sure if i should focus on buying a second lens to compliment my 18-55 (e.g 55-200mm) or to simply replace the 18-55mm with a 18-200mm. Bare in mind i'm someone who generally walks around and snaps what he see's, rather than someone who goes out with a specific photo in mind etc.

Hope this makes sense, and thanks in advance for any advice/help.

goooner · Aug 10, 2016

For what its worth, I would go the 55-200 (75-300) route. Generally the smaller your zoom range (18-200 is a 11X zoom), the less compromises on quality at the extremities there are.

That being said, I've been extremely happy with my 18-140mm 'kit' lens I got with my Nikon.

Designer · Aug 10, 2016

I'm sorry to say it's not a huge budget for your next lens. Neither of the two you mentioned are above the "cheap entry level" so I suggest you look for a Nikkor S 50mm 1.8 G. They're not terribly expensive new, and if you find a well-cared for used copy, you'll be money ahead.

Overread · Aug 10, 2016

A few thoughts:
1) 18-200mm lenses are nice all in one but masters of none. They offer a huge zoom range, but as a result of that and their price point they are optically not that outstanding. They are a nice one lens does all; they can do most things but not that well. They are the kind of thing good for a holiday or a trip where you won't be changing lenses and where most things will be landscape to people to scenery type photos.

2) A 50mm lens, whilst cheap and optically good quality, is not going to do you any favours in wildlife (well ok in theory you can but not if you're already having trouble getting close enough).

3) A 70-300mm lens would be a more suitable option. Wildlife "starts at 300mm" is a quotation that floats around and that will give you al ot more zoom to work with. Furthermore because its only 70-300mm instead of 18-200m the zoom range is far less. As a result you get a generally decent, but still not outstanding optical performance. However its certainly the direction I would (and did) take.
Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 APO Macro Super DG Lens - Canon Fit
Something like a Sigma 70-300mm APO macro would be a good choice; that gives you the long focal length and the macro mode (which is not true macro but really a close up mode) can be neat to play with and get a feel for close up photography (plants - kind of insects but won't do flies very well - dragonflies and butterflies though its more than capable).

robbins.photo · Aug 10, 2016

I'd have to go with Overread on this one. The big advantage of having a camera with an interchangeable lens system is that you can change lenses - and use the one that will give you the best performance for what your shooting at the time.

I'd recommend a Tamron 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 VR. It's a fantastic lens, if you can locate one used it should be well within your budget.

This is a sample shot taken with the Tamron 70-300mm VR

20160521 795 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr

I've always been very happy with mine.

Dave Colangelo · Aug 10, 2016

As mentioned the 55-200 is about all that fits in that price range. Its not a terrible lens but also as mentioned its not that great either. For you, as a beginner it will probably me more than enough. Ill offer up some other suggestions, please keep in mind these will take some learning to use right as they are older style lenses .

The Quantaray 70-300 (with the nikon F mount) will do the job. However on your D3300 it will not autofocus but the metering will work so you will still be able to shoot in modes other than manual. I found mine at a flea market for like $30 its fun to use some times but dont expect great things from it. It is however very cheap.

My personal Wildlife lens for my D3300 is the Nikon 300mm Ai-S its an old style manual focus lens that will take some trial and error to use right. It will require you to run the camera in full manual mode which takes some practice but its a great lens. They can be had on the used market in the 100$ range

Sample from the 300mm

Regards
Dave

b4rn5ey · Aug 10, 2016

Thanks for all the responses people, very informative and helpful.

Seems to be a fair few Tamron 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 VR knocking around on ebay etc, some going for less than £100 so seems like I might be in luck

The price really seems to vary so may have to read into it more and try and understand why. Guess i'll have to stop being lazy and enjoy the fact i have the option of so many different lenses to pick/purchase to get those perfect pictures

I play around a lot in manual anyway, figured its a good way to learn all about aperture, shutter speed etc.

So would things like this be okay?

Sigma DG 70-300mm F/4-5.6 DG Lens Nikon

Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 DiLD Macro Autofocus Lens for Nikon + 62mm Accessory Kit

robbins.photo · Aug 10, 2016

b4rn5ey said:
Thanks for all the responses people, very informative and helpful.

Seems to be a fair few Tamron 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 VR knocking around on ebay etc, some going for less than £100 so seems like I might be in luck The price really seems to vary so may have to read into it more and try and understand why. Guess i'll have to stop being lazy and enjoy the fact i have the option of so many different lenses to pick/purchase to get those perfect pictures

I play around a lot in manual anyway, figured its a good way to learn all about aperture, shutter speed etc.

So would things like this be okay?

Sigma DG 70-300mm F/4-5.6 DG Lens Nikon

Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 DiLD Macro Autofocus Lens for Nikon + 62mm Accessory Kit

Tamron made several different versions of the 70-300mm, the older non-vr versions are not as good as the newer VR version, so the newer versions will probably be more expensive.

goooner · Aug 10, 2016

Just make sure the lens has a focussing motor, as your D3300 does not have one. I'm not sure what the abbreviation on the Tamron is for it.

robbins.photo · Aug 10, 2016

goooner said:
Just make sure the lens has a focussing motor, as your D3300 does not have one. I'm not sure what the abbreviation on the Tamron is for it.

BIM = Built on Motor. Sigmas will use the designation HSM, HyperSonic Motor.

goooner · Aug 10, 2016

robbins.photo said:
goooner said:

Just make sure the lens has a focussing motor, as your D3300 does not have one. I'm not sure what the abbreviation on the Tamron is for it.

Click to expand...

BIM = Built on Motor. Sigmas will use the designation HSM, HyperSonic Motor.

In the older lenses? I just checked my signature and I guess the usd is the newer designation (ultrasonic silent drive)-lol

robbins.photo · Aug 10, 2016

goooner said:
robbins.photo said:

goooner said:

Just make sure the lens has a focussing motor, as your D3300 does not have one. I'm not sure what the abbreviation on the Tamron is for it.

Click to expand...

BIM = Built on Motor. Sigmas will use the designation HSM, HyperSonic Motor.

Click to expand...

In the older lenses? I just checked my signature and I guess the usd is the newer designation (ultrasonic silent drive)-lol

Could be, I'm generally running about 10 years behind the curve.. lol

b4rn5ey · Aug 10, 2016

haha this is all far too confusing. So on the two examples above, there seems to be nothing mentioned about a focusing motor within the name or description - simply says "autofocus"..does this just effect auto focus, and not manual?

goooner · Aug 10, 2016

b4rn5ey said:
haha this is all far too confusing. So on the two examples above, there seems to be nothing mentioned about a focusing motor within the name or description - simply says "autofocus"..does this just effect auto focus, and not manual?

Not sure about the Sigma, but the Tamron has USD in the description so you should be fine.

Some AF lenses uses the camera motor to focus. The entry level cameras do not have this motor-like your D3300.

robbins.photo · Aug 10, 2016

b4rn5ey said:
haha this is all far too confusing. So on the two examples above, there seems to be nothing mentioned about a focusing motor within the name or description - simply says "autofocus"..does this just effect auto focus, and not manual?

On Nikor lenses some will have a focus motor built into the lens, some older models will not. They instead rely on a focus motor that is built into the body and drives the lens via a screw type drive.

Your particular model of Nikon, the D3300, doesn't have a focus motor built into the body, so only lenses with their own independent focus motor will autofocus using your Nikon body.

If your get the VR version of the Tamron lens, (Vibration Reduction), it will have the built in motor. Some older versions of the 70-300mm will not. So look for listings with VR mentioned in them.