Should I sell a lens?

Michiyo-Fir · Feb 8, 2011

I'm a little short on money recently so I'm wondering if I should sell one of my lenses.

What I have right now is

D7000
Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VRII
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.4
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 macro (just arrived, will be picked up tm)

I really want to sell one but can't seem to bear to part with any of them. What should I do?

I'm really leaning towards selling the 50mm since the 28-75 already covers the 50mm range and it's relatively fast.

Otherwise I can sell my 18-200mm because I really don't like the bokeh or speed of the lens but the large zoom is useful... I don't use it all that much unless it's sunny and I want action shots.

Any other suggestions?? What would you do?

Edit: I shoot mainly animal portraiture/action. And portraits, almost never landscapes or scenery. Some macro.

eric-holmes · Feb 8, 2011

What would people do now days without being to ask every question they ever wanted on the internet and not making decisions theirselves?

Michiyo-Fir · Feb 8, 2011

Well the problem is I can't decide. I don't know which I should sell.

I thought that perhaps the people with more experience can help me out. But I guess not.

eric-holmes · Feb 8, 2011

If you're short on money and need to sell a lens, then sell a lens.

Edit: I am not trying to be a prick, but it sounds like you know the answer to this in your first post.

Michiyo-Fir · Feb 8, 2011

The problem is I don't know which one to sell. Which one would you sell in my situation?

The 18-200 or the 50mm?

eric-holmes · Feb 8, 2011

I would sell the prime. I would keep the 18-200 because the longer length of that lens is more flattering for portraiture.

Marc-Etienne · Feb 8, 2011

Depends a lot on what you shot. You do portrait? Sell the 18-200. You do everything without asking for tack sharp pictures? Sell the 90 macro. You need more money? Sell a Nikon, 3rd parties lenses have less of value on the used market. You rarely shot inside? Sell the 50. Covers pretty much all the options, now it's up you to pick 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Good luck!

Josh66 · Feb 8, 2011

LOL, if it was me, I'd find something else to sell before I started getting rid of camera gear.

flatflip · Feb 8, 2011

Needing money, I'd sell the 18-200. There's one on craigslist now for $500 with signs of wear. You can get another longer zoom later that doesn't overlap your 28-75 as much.

RJT · Feb 8, 2011

O|||||||O said:
LOL, if it was me, I'd find something else to sell before I started getting rid of camera gear.

Yeah , I agree , eat sketti and beans....things will get better...why loose your investment ,and you will on the used market.

RJ

Ginu · Feb 8, 2011

Michiyo-Fir said:
I'm a little short on money recently so I'm wondering if I should sell one of my lenses.

What I have right now is

D7000
Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VRII - Awesome all around all purpose lens; I love throwing mine on and take it everywhere I go and sometimes a 200 doesn't feel enough.
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.4 - exceptional prime... why sell? Perfect for low light situations
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro - very close to the 28-75 and with zoom
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 macro (just arrived, will be picked up tm) - awesome range for just about anything

I really want to sell one but can't seem to bear to part with any of them. What should I do?

I'm really leaning towards selling the 50mm since the 28-75 already covers the 50mm range and it's relatively fast. Nowhere near the speed of a 1.4 though

Otherwise I can sell my 18-200mm because I really don't like the bokeh or speed of the lens but the large zoom is useful... I don't use it all that much unless it's sunny and I want action shots.

Any other suggestions?? What would you do?

Edit: I shoot mainly animal portraiture/action. And portraits, almost never landscapes or scenery. Some macro.

For sports you need a 70-200 2.8 or a fixed 300/400 f4 and so on depending on what sports you shoot.
For portrait you need a 50mm prime or a 24-70 or equivalent 2.8 or lower
For macro work it seems you have two lenses 28-75 and a fixed 90. I've never used any so I can't comment on the quality of these lenses.

I used to have a Nikkor 105 2.8 macro lens which I loved but it was used very rarely it and always felt it didn't have enough zoom as a tele, but exceptional for macro work.

usayit · Feb 8, 2011

Most of consumers would probably sell everything keeping just the 18-200mm in their obsession to makes sure every "mm" of the widest range is covered.

Me... I'd sell both zooms and keep the 50mm f/1.4 and 90mm Tamron (great lens).

So I guess it depends on the person.. which boils down to eric-holmes point.

I do like the suggestion to tighten your belt or sell something else... seller's remorse sucks. I recently sold around $12k of stuff... It was hard to decide but it came down to simply looking through my photos. Examine the EXIF data and see which stuff didn't see much use over the last year.

Michiyo-Fir · Feb 9, 2011

Thanks everyone.

I'm not going to sell my 90mm macro because I love that lens to death. It's my absolute favorite.

After I've gotten the D7000, I just find that I rarely use the 50mm wide open and often only use it at 2.8 or higher because I rarely find myself needing the f/1.4. As long as I don't crop much, I find the D7000's ISO 6400 performance to be acceptable for up to 8x10 prints so I'm pretty much leaning towards the 50mm going.

The 18-200 I've always used for animal action in the summer under great lighting conditions. It's versatile for sure but I'm not 100% sure I really need it. Plus I may pick up a 70-200 2.8 lens in the future (probably 3rd party, can't afford the Nikon one) when I have a bit more money.

Gah it's so hard to decide.

The other option I have is to sell one of my headphones which is worth a lot of money but I think I love my headphones more than my photography equipment.

It's not that I absolutely have to sell, I can go into my savings and take out some of the emergency money to use for now....decisions, decisions...

Another reason I'm not too worried about selling off camera equipment is that I work in a camera store and I can buy stuff again for pretty cheap.

I think I will be letting go of the 50mm if there's any interest from other ppl.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I can use my SB-600 for indoor portraiture if stopping the Tammy down to f/2.8 isn't enough. Although I have the feeling that with the ISO performance of the D7000, it should be ok.