Where to begin... Lenses, maybe? lol

[Wiljo_5]

Ok, I have a Nikon d60 with the standard 18-55 lenses. But in my opinion, it doesn't have THAT MUCH zoom. So I need a lens with a better zoom. But I have 2 problems... I dont know a lot (basically anything lol) about lenses. And I am on a budget of about 300 dollars. Please help me out here people lol. Could you sugest good lenses for my to buy and why?


Thanks, William

 

[bigtwinky]

For what uses?
What are you trying to photograph with your current lens that you feel a longer telephoto would help you with?

There are some ok lens for about $300, but depending on what you want to do, they could be limiting.

 

[Sherman Banks]

There is another kit lens that many of us D60/D40 users have here: [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-55-200mm-4-5-6G-AF-S-Nikkor/dp/B000O161X0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239736206&sr=8-5[/ame]. It is in your budget and you may find a good used one on craiglist or ebay. I have it and it is a pretty good lens, although I don't use it too much. There is also a Sigma 70-300mm here: [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-70-300mm-Motorized-Telephoto-Including/dp/B0016N17ES/ref=pd_cp_e_1?pf_rd_p=413862901&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0012UUP02&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0SWMMKPESR3X69BQCG28[/ame] that a lot of people use.

 

[sburatorul]

i had the same setting as you and i too was feeling i needed a little more reach. recently i got the 55-200mm vr for about 150 euros. i am very happy with it and it gets the job done very nicely.

 

[EhJsNe]

The Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Lens is around 200 dollars. Its plenty of zoom, and Id probaly use it more than an 18-55.

I plan on getting the 18-55 and/or the 55-200 for my trip to arizona.
The 18-200 is a good option, but its very expensive and its a DX lens, so it wont work with my film.

 

[bdavison]

Id have to agree, the 55-200mm AF-S VR is a good choice, anything beyond that is going to go out of your price range with the exception of the Sigma 70-300. The nikon 70-300 VR is upwards of 500 bucks. Nikon does make a non-vr version of the 70-300 that fits within your price range, but it wont AF on the D60 so you will have to manually focus it. They have yet to make a AF-S version without VR in the 70-300mm size.

 

[Wiljo_5]

I am planning on using this lens for sports photography (skateboarding, surfing and motocross mostly).

 

[Sherman Banks]

Here is a photo I took of a surfer with the 55-200mm lens, fully extended at f5.7. Focus isn't the sharpest it could be but I was satisfied with the results. Should be a good lens for surf and motocross, but skateboard shots are normally done at a shorter focal length with you getting your camera up in the action.
http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/shoda81/DSC_0800edit-1.jpg