Nikon lens question

[avil]

I've been making a transition from film to digital and I have been struggling with how to proceed with my purchases. I have a Nikon D60 to use that we own at work and I have also borrowed my friends D90 from time to time, looking to get my own equipment.

I just bought the standard 50mm 1.8 prime last week and ran some test in our studio with the kit 18-55 lens and found the prime to be significantly sharper. This is the first time I have worked with a zoom lens and while it has lots of flexibility it still doesn't measure up to a prime lens. I have 2 questions:

I have a budget that I set for myself to get started and I have decided to buy a Nikon D3100 rather than the D7000 and spend the rest of my budget on lens. The D3100 seems to have excellent reviews and I would rather set myself up with lens first and get a better body second. I work in video production and no longer do professional photography, this is strictly for my own personal use. The D3100 seems like a good start.

I have very little experience with zoom lenses. The kit 18-55 lens makes nice images but it doesn't compare to the $120 prime lens. The kit lens is obviously an inexpensive lens so is their a significant difference in buying a more expensive zoom lens? 85mm is the max that I would ever need so it's a dilemma whether to invest in a top quality zoom lens or purchase a bunch of prime lenses and go from their. I just ordered the Nikon 35mm prime so I would have a standard lens in addition to the 50mm. Any recommendations on a good quality zoom. A 24-85 looks intriguing. I just shot a charity event with the 18-55 and I must say you have a lot of flexibility working with a zoom lens.

Thanks
Tom

 

[zoogirlbc]

I just ordered this lens:

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) AF09NII-700 B&H

It has gotten mixed reviews but most are good. I'll post some test shots when I get it. It's not a Nikon lens but I figured I'd give it a try since the Nikon version is 3 times more $$$.

 

[tirediron]

The gold standard of Nikon zooms in that range is the 24-70 2.8, but it comes with a hefty price tag. The24-85 and 24-105 are both good lenses but the slower apertures are less well suited for indoor work.

 

[Ken Rockwell Fan]

The D3100 is a decent camera but it will limit you as to which lenses you can autofocus with, since it has no internal focus motor to autofocus older AF (screw-type) lenses. That means the 50mm 1.8 lens you just bought will not autofocus with the D3100, unless you do it manually.

I think once you get your 35mm f/1.8 you'll be more than happy. I have one myself and love it. It's by far my favorite DX lens. If you are on a budget and want a decent midrange zoom, similar in range to the 24-85 for the D3100, then try the 18-70. It's better made than the plastic 18-55 kit lens and comes with a metal mount. You can pickup a used 18-70 in "like new" condition for $200 from KEH

Nikon Digital 18-70 F3.5-4.5 G ASPHERICAL ED INTERNAL FOCUS DX AUTO FOCUS-S (67) WITH CAPS, CASE, DIGITAL SLR ZOOM SUPER WIDE ANGLE LENS - KEH.com

Then sell your 18-55 kit lens and the 18-70 will cost you almost nothing.

 

[IgsEMT]

The24-85 and 24-105 are both good lenses but the slower apertures are less well suited for indoor work.

I hope you're speaking about new 24-105 and not the older one, because first generation is that's just a paper weight

 

[ann]

A kit lens is not going to compare to a prime lens or a high end piece of glass. (There are exception , not all glass is created equally, all makers have awful lense and all makers have great lens, but kit lenses usually are not a the terrific end of the scale.)

 

[avil]

The D3100 is a decent camera but it will limit you as to which lenses you can autofocus with, since it has no internal focus motor to autofocus older AF (screw-type) lenses. That means the 50mm 1.8 lens you just bought will not autofocus with the D3100, unless you do it manually.

I think once you get your 35mm f/1.8 you'll be more than happy. I have one myself and love it. It's by far my favorite DX lens. If you are on a budget and want a decent midrange zoom, similar in range to the 24-85 for the D3100, then try the 18-70. It's better made than the plastic 18-55 kit lens and comes with a metal mount. You can pickup a used 18-70 in "like new" condition for $200 from KEH

Nikon Digital 18-70 F3.5-4.5 G ASPHERICAL ED INTERNAL FOCUS DX AUTO FOCUS-S (67) WITH CAPS, CASE, DIGITAL SLR ZOOM SUPER WIDE ANGLE LENS - KEH.com

Then sell your 18-55 kit lens and the 18-70 will cost you almost nothing.

I am not worried about the prime lens having autofocus capabilities. Autofocus is foreign to me so I don't use it anyway. I would be nice to play with on a zoom lens which I am assuming does not have capability issues.

I think I am going to get the 24mm prime as well and than I am set with prime lenses. The 24 and 35 seems to have alot good reviews and you certainty can't beat the prices.

The D3100 comes with the 18-55 so I will probably just use it for a while.
I am going to look at buying a zoom lens as a one time investment so I would rather wait and pay more one time than buy something inexpensive and have to sell and upgrade.

I don't see the Nikon 18-70 listed for sale new, is that an older lens? KEH is an interesting site.

Thanks.

 

[Patrice]

Avil,

Don't discount autofocus quite so rapidly. These cameras don't have the big bright viewfinders like the slr's of old. Slow aperture lens, dark-ish room, focusing screen not optimized for manual focussing, small tunnel like viewfinder, and manual focussing quickly becomes a real chore. These modern little marvels of engineering that is an entry level dSLR can be really good at focussing once you figure out how to optimize their abilities.

 

[djacobox372]

If you like prime glass, then keep in mind that most primes aren't available in AF-S versions, and those that are are $$ (way more the price difference between a d3100 and d90).

 

[avil]

If you like prime glass, then keep in mind that most primes aren't available in AF-S versions, and those that are are $$ (way more the price difference between a d3100 and d90).

I am kinda lost with the whole autofocus compatibility issue. I am assuming the AF-S lenses will work with all the bodies? I was just fooling around with the autofocus on the D60 and I must say it is very accurate.

When I did a comparison between the 18-55 zoom and the 50mm the prime lens is much better, but what surprised me is how good the image quality is with a $100 zoom lens and the D60 camera. I took a picture of a building and we made a poster size print and I was stunned at how good it looked. I also made an 18 x 24 and their is no grain whatsoever. When you shoot in the RAW mode and edit in 16 bit the image quality really holds. That's why I am excited about shooting with the prime lenses.

You made a point about the difference in price between the D3100 and a D90. I used my friends D90 a few times and it a great camera, but he told me to buy the D3100 because it's newer technology. I noticed that you can get a D90 body at a discount and they also have refurbs on sale. Thoughs.

 

[avil]

Avil,

Don't discount autofocus quite so rapidly. These cameras don't have the big bright viewfinders like the slr's of old. Slow aperture lens, dark-ish room, focusing screen not optimized for manual focussing, small tunnel like viewfinder, and manual focussing quickly becomes a real chore. These modern little marvels of engineering that is an entry level dSLR can be really good at focussing once you figure out how to optimize their abilities.

I just fooled with it a bit and yes it is very accurate and I can see how it could be really helpful in low light. I've worked with so many video cameras that have lousy viewfinders that I'm almost programmed to manual focus in bad conditions.

 

[orb9220]

"I used my friends D90 a few times and it a great camera, but he told me to buy the D3100 because it's newer technology. I noticed that you can get a D90 body at a discount and they also have refurbs on sale. Thoughs."

Well your friend is doing you a disservice with that kind of thinking. As having a D90 will open the world of many AF and AF-D lenses. Also bigger viewfinder more dedicated controls so less stopping and menu digging to make changes to the camera and missing the shot. Can use a real battery grip if need arises. Built in commander mode for the popup flash to control your speedlights wireless. Faster FPS for countinous shooting.

Ohh here is a thread that discusses that very issue of D3100 vs D90.
and there is always google with d3100 vs. D90 searches.

I like many grew out of the entry models less than a year. Lack of dedicated controls & features being the reason. Way to many put way too much on sensor performance and little in consideration of the rest of the camera.

 

[avil]

Well your friend is doing you a disservice with that kind of thinking. As having a D90 will open the world of many AF and AF-D lenses. Also bigger viewfinder more dedicated controls so less stopping and menu digging to make changes to the camera and missing the shot. Can use a real battery grip if need arises. Built in commander mode for the popup flash to control your speedlights wireless. Faster FPS for countinous shooting.

I think what I need is a little education. At this point my applications are strictly non-professional but I want to eventually work up to a real good package. It's strictly recreational at this point but I don't want to make mistakes. Need to find a good reference and figure this all out, AF, AF-D, AF-S and so on. I got the Nikon 50 1.8 and I ordered the 35 1.8, am I OK with these two lenses? The 35 could go back.

The difference in price between the D3100 and D90 is next to nothing. They have refurbs for $700.

 

[flatflip]

Well your friend is doing you a disservice with that kind of thinking. As having a D90 will open the world of many AF and AF-D lenses. Also bigger viewfinder more dedicated controls so less stopping and menu digging to make changes to the camera and missing the shot. Can use a real battery grip if need arises. Built in commander mode for the popup flash to control your speedlights wireless. Faster FPS for countinous shooting.

I think what I need is a little education. At this point my applications are strictly non-professional but I want to eventually work up to a real good package. It's strictly recreational at this point but I don't want to make mistakes. Need to find a good reference and figure this all out, AF, AF-D, AF-S and so on. I got the Nikon 50 1.8 and I ordered the 35 1.8, am I OK with these two lenses? The 35 could go back.

The difference in price between the D3100 and D90 is next to nothing. They have refurbs for $700.

The D90 has a motor for focusing, the D3100 does not. The D3100 needs a AF-S (built in motor) lens. I have a D5000 and would love to have some D90 features; Focus motor, high res screen, larger viewfinder, more dedicated controls, xtra screen / display for adjustments, more portrait grip / battery options and external flash commanding.

 

[djacobox372]

The ONLY thing better about the d3100 is 1080p HD instead of 720p HD.

The d90 is as good or better in every other way.