What lens should I use with my Nikon D300

lookhartphotography · Jan 17, 2009

I do mostly weddings and engagements. After reading reviews (and many hours of frustration with the camera) I found out it is because of my lens I have now. I have a tamron 28-200 and a sigma 18-200. I have had wonderful pictures from these lenses on my nikon d50 but not with the D300. So.... what lenses should I invest in for my D300? When I shoot I do lots of quick and candid shots. So please help this frustrated photographer who is learning. I want to use my D300 so much but everything is always so dark! Thanks! Happy shooting!

Pure · Jan 18, 2009

lookhartphotography said:
I do mostly weddings and engagements. After reading reviews (and many hours of frustration with the camera) I found out it is because of my lens I have now. I have a tamron 28-200 and a sigma 18-200. I have had wonderful pictures from these lenses on my nikon d50 but not with the D300. So.... what lenses should I invest in for my D300? When I shoot I do lots of quick and candid shots but I need good wide angles too. So please help this frustrated photographer who is learning. I want to use my D300 so much but everything is always so dark! Thanks! Happy shooting!

The 70-200mm f2.8 because.....f/2.8, quiet [for churches/ceremony], VR [for low light], and quality of glass.

And then a wide angle?

lookhartphotography · Jan 18, 2009

thank you for your help!

epp_b · Jan 18, 2009

You'll want a wide-to-mid range like the 17-55 / 2.8 as well.

Captain IK · Jan 18, 2009

lookhartphotography said:
I do mostly weddings and engagements. After reading reviews (and many hours of frustration with the camera) I found out it is because of my lens I have now. I have a tamron 28-200 and a sigma 18-200. I have had wonderful pictures from these lenses on my nikon d50 but not with the D300. So.... what lenses should I invest in for my D300? When I shoot I do lots of quick and candid shots. So please help this frustrated photographer who is learning. I want to use my D300 so much but everything is always so dark! Thanks! Happy shooting!

Does anyone know why there is a lens issue between these two cameras?

Mike_E · Jan 18, 2009

There shouldn't be.

The OP might make sure that the EXP COMP is zeroed and that the meter selector is not on spot.

As to the other, I have a 28-80mm f/2.8 that I'm fond of. Some like a shorter range but I find that standing back and using a little longer range keeps the faces from being noticeably distorted. I would rather stitch photos together and resize than have to try and repair a nose that's 1 1/2 times as long as it should be. (shooting in full manual with a set WB helps in doing this as well)

$0.02