Which lense to buy?

[Emson079]

Hello! I recently bought a d3300 with a 18-55mm kit lense and I'm feeling it's time for an upgrade. I mostly take nature photos, bokeh and close up shots. But i would also like to have the possibility to take and some amazing, sharp, clear city photos like these Jennifer Bin (@jenniferbin) • Instagram photos and videos and just have a generally useful lense for my type of photos that has good low light capabilitys and produces sharp photos. My budget is low at 200-250$ but since i mostly just post my pictures on sites like Instagram and Flickr i don't need stunning quality or anything. I don't mind buying used lenses so if there any any good ones for like 500$ please let me know so I can see if I can find a used low price one!

Based on this, which lense would you recommend me to get?

Also, how do I get this "cold" and clear look as she does in the Instagram link? I personally think they look much better then my "warm" photos,

These are the types of pictures i'll mostly take.Emil Alm

 

[Otto von Chriek]

What about the Tokina AT X 12-28mm f/4 for your cityscape photos?

Tokina 12-28mm Review

Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f/4 Pro DX: Digital Photography Review

 

[Emson079]

What about the Tokina AT X 12-28mm f/4 for your cityscape photos?

Tokina 12-28mm Review

Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f/4 Pro DX: Digital Photography Review

Yea that one seems quite nice! Although i live in quite a boring city without any skyscrapers or similar so a lense dedicated to just city shots wouldn't fit me that well since I'm on a tight budget and need a lense well suited for many styles of photography. I appreciate the suggestion though!

 

[Emson079]

Good telezooms are welcomed as well

 

[Otto von Chriek]

What about the Tokina AT X 12-28mm f/4 for your cityscape photos?

Tokina 12-28mm Review

Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f/4 Pro DX: Digital Photography Review

Yea that one seems quite nice! Although i live in quite a boring city without any skyscrapers or similar so a lense dedicated to just city shots wouldn't fit me that well since I'm on a tight budget and need a lense well suited for many styles of photography. I appreciate the suggestion though!

It is also suited to landscape photography... The trouble is that there isn't really a lens that does it all... the closest you will get to something that has a few uses is the Nifty Fifty (Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF) which can be used for portraits, landscape, cityscape and a few other things that all involve that sort of mm range.

Some reviews of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D Review

AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D from Nikon

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Review

Or there is the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC AF. Which is unarguably Nikons best lens when it comes to Bokeh and portraiture.

Nikon 135mm f/2 DC Review

The Best* Portrait Lens You've Never Heard Of: The Nikon 135mm f/2 | Fstoppers

But again... not a lot of versatility, although one can use portraiture lenses for things other than just people pictures but this is sort of the sad thing about lenses. As your interests expand so does your collection! Because you need a lens for this and a lens for that so.... maybe take a look at some other 50mm lenses if you don't like the 50mm f/1.8D AF. There is a reason why 50mm lenses are called the Nifty Fifty!

 

[Advanced Photo]

I always buy the lens I want and never the one someone thinks I should buy.

 

[Emson079]

What about the Tokina AT X 12-28mm f/4 for your cityscape photos?

Tokina 12-28mm Review

Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f/4 Pro DX: Digital Photography Review

Yea that one seems quite nice! Although i live in quite a boring city without any skyscrapers or similar so a lense dedicated to just city shots wouldn't fit me that well since I'm on a tight budget and need a lense well suited for many styles of photography. I appreciate the suggestion though!

It is also suited to landscape photography... The trouble is that there isn't really a lens that does it all... the closest you will get to something that has a few uses is the Nifty Fifty (Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF) which can be used for portraits, landscape, cityscape and a few other things that all involve that sort of mm range.

Some reviews of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D Review

AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D from Nikon

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Review

Or there is the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC AF. Which is unarguably Nikons best lens when it comes to Bokeh and portraiture.

Nikon 135mm f/2 DC Review

The Best* Portrait Lens You've Never Heard Of: The Nikon 135mm f/2 | Fstoppers

But again... not a lot of versatility, although one can use portraiture lenses for things other than just people pictures but this is sort of the sad thing about lenses. As your interests expand so does your collection! Because you need a lens for this and a lens for that so.... maybe take a look at some other 50mm lenses if you don't like the 50mm f/1.8D AF. There is a reason why 50mm lenses are called the Nifty Fifty!

Yea a prime lense might suit me the best! Although, since my camera uses a dx format wouldn't a 35mm be closer to "real" 50mm then a 50mm would?

 

[Emson079]

I always buy the lens I want and never the one someone thinks I should buy.

That's a good idea haha. Although I'm such a newbie when it comes to which lenses to buy so i hope i can learn more from pepole here!

 

[SquarePeg]

If you're interested in night photography your money may be better spent on a good tripod and a remote shutter release. I've only recently started taking nighttime cityscapes and the sharpest shots I get are with the 35mm 1.8. This type of shooting has also exposed my cheap tripod's flaws.

For the cool look, that can be done in post using the sliders or with filter presets.

 

[Otto von Chriek]

What about the Tokina AT X 12-28mm f/4 for your cityscape photos?

Tokina 12-28mm Review

Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f/4 Pro DX: Digital Photography Review

Yea that one seems quite nice! Although i live in quite a boring city without any skyscrapers or similar so a lense dedicated to just city shots wouldn't fit me that well since I'm on a tight budget and need a lense well suited for many styles of photography. I appreciate the suggestion though!

It is also suited to landscape photography... The trouble is that there isn't really a lens that does it all... the closest you will get to something that has a few uses is the Nifty Fifty (Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF) which can be used for portraits, landscape, cityscape and a few other things that all involve that sort of mm range.

Some reviews of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D Review

AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D from Nikon

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Review

Or there is the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC AF. Which is unarguably Nikons best lens when it comes to Bokeh and portraiture.

Nikon 135mm f/2 DC Review

The Best* Portrait Lens You've Never Heard Of: The Nikon 135mm f/2 | Fstoppers

But again... not a lot of versatility, although one can use portraiture lenses for things other than just people pictures but this is sort of the sad thing about lenses. As your interests expand so does your collection! Because you need a lens for this and a lens for that so.... maybe take a look at some other 50mm lenses if you don't like the 50mm f/1.8D AF. There is a reason why 50mm lenses are called the Nifty Fifty!

Yea a prime lense might suit me the best! Although, since my camera uses a dx format wouldn't a 35mm be closer to "real" 50mm then a 50mm would?

I am not sure... I will have to look it up as I am not that sure on my DX converstions.

 

[Emson079]

If you're interested in night photography your money may be better spent on a good tripod and a remote shutter release. I've only recently started taking nighttime cityscapes and the sharpest shots I get are with the 35mm 1.8. This type of shooting has also exposed my cheap tripod's flaws.

For the cool look, that can be done in post using the sliders or with filter presets.

Yea I was thinking of buying a 35mm f/1,8 too! I already have a decent tripod so I'm good there. A remote shutter release might be something to consider. So far I've used the 10 sec timer haha.

 

[Emson079]

Haha no probs. I'm leaning towards a 35mm f/1.8 at the moment. Not sure which one to choose though.

 

[Braineack]

Also, how do I get this "cold" and clear look as she does in the Instagram link? I personally think they look much better then my "warm" photos,

These are the types of pictures i'll mostly take.Emil Alm

She takes pictures of cold white buildings, with geometric shapes/patterns, from unusual angles and applies instagram filters, you take pictures of nature and warmth. I prefer your warm images that look realistic over a trendy instagram filter. I understand why you like the crispness of the photos, but her subject matter is a polar opposite of yours, it has a lot fo do with how small they are resized for Instagram. When viewed larger here, they aren't as crisp and some even look blurry: Meet Your New Favorite Photographer, Rising Star Jennifer Bin

If you look at real webiste hosting her pictures, you can see she's shooting a sony A7 with a 10-18mm lens, about $2000 worth of equipment. And sometimes a Ricoh GR II.

 

[Otto von Chriek]

Haha no probs. I'm leaning towards a 35mm f/1.8 at the moment. Not sure which one to choose though.

Oh good cause google is not helping me one bit! It just won't tell me what I need to know!

As to which one... The only advice I can give is to read lots of reviews about the lenses you are thinking of. Every review will have noted something different and the more you read the better!

 

[Emson079]

Also, how do I get this "cold" and clear look as she does in the Instagram link? I personally think they look much better then my "warm" photos,

These are the types of pictures i'll mostly take.Emil Alm

She takes pictures of cold white buildings, with geometric shapes/patterns, from unusual angles and applies instagram filters, you take pictures of nature and warmth. I prefer your warm images that look realistic over a trendy instagram filter. I understand why you like the crispness of the photos, but her subject matter is a polar opposite of yours, it has a lot fo do with how small they are resized for Instagram. When viewed larger here, they aren't as crisp and some even look blurry: Meet Your New Favorite Photographer, Rising Star Jennifer Bin

If you look at real webiste hosting her pictures, you can see she's shooting a sony A7 with a 10-18mm lens, about $2000 worth of equipment. And sometimes a Ricoh GR II.

Aha yeah that make sense! Thanks a lot for the explaination!