Which lenses to invest in?

[Michel88]

I currently have a D3100, with the kit 18 - 55 nikkor lens, a 55 - 200 nikkor lens that came with it as well, and I bought a Tamron 70 - 300 F4-5.6 VR lens, for wildlife photography.

I want to challenge myself by trying perhaps some urban landscape, and some water/forest photography, as well as night photography..

What would be best to invest in? I've read quite a number of threads, and I've seen many lenses being mentioned, but at the moment I still can't make any sense of it all actually.

I will probably upgrade to a 5300 or a 7100 at the end of the year, or next year, so it is important that my lenses will be able to carry over as wel (I heard that some Tamron and Sigma lenses aren't always suitable for both the 3100 and other bodies, but not sure what truth there is in that)

 

[Designer]

For the money, you can't go wrong with the [h=3]Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR FX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras[/h]
and the
[h=3]Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras[/h]
Those two prime lenses will probably retain their value and give years of satisfying results.

 

[D-B-J]

Landscape wise? Hmm, that's a tough one. On DX (when I had my D7000) I loved the Tokina 11-16 wide angle for landscapes, sunsets, etc. But that may be too wide for you. If 18 is wide enough you could always try something like the 16-35 f4 VRII. I bought one recently and absolutely love it. Impressively sharp, and probably a good range for wide to walk-around length on a DX body. But if you're set on the night stuff, the Tokina is better for the faster aperture (2.8 vs 4). You're best bet is to narrow it down to two or three lenses and then walk around with your current lenses and set their focal lengths to that of the potential new lens and see how you like it. And in terms of the "suitability," AF-S lenses have a built in motor, which work with the 5xxx and 3xxx series bodies. The Tokina I mentioned? You'd need the Mark 2 or whatever their second iteration is called, as it has a built in motor. The first version does not.

Hope that helps a little!
Jake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CameraClicker]

Tamron, Sigma and Nikon all make DX and FX lenses, though the labels use different symbols. If you want to move to full frame, you want to get FX lenses. Sigma lenses are marked DG. Sigma's DC lenses are like DX lenses, made for crop sensors. But, lenses made for crop bodies can be smaller, lighter and less expensive. Sometimes a full frame body is helpful, sometimes it is just heavy to carry. It depends what you are shooting. Shooting with both body types, I have two sets of lenses so I can have a lighter bag when appropriate.

Your 18-55 is fine for urban landscapes, water, forests and night. You can use your longer lenses for any of those categories too, but the field of view is narrower. All your current lenses are for crop bodies? I think that's the case. In the Nikon world, I think you can use those lenses on at least some full frame bodies, but the body will crop to the DX format which leaves all the pixels around the edges unused. Nikon also has some lenses without a focus motor which requires the body to have a motor for auto-focus to work. Be aware and do your research.

For a crop body, I like a 10-20 mm zoom which gives an angle of view of about 90° with a crop body. Someone makes a lens that starts at 11 mm, but that is missing 10% of the short end, which can be a big deal.

Besides a really short zoom, other useful lenses are really fast prime lenses. Look at the EXIF data attached to your favourite photos. See what focal lengths might be used a lot. See how that matches with prime lenses.

If you are in a city, you can use and f/1.4 or f/1.8 lens with high ISO, and get shutter speeds around 1/60th to 1/125th, at night on streets with store and street lights. If your lens is 24, 35 or 50 mm, 1/60th is fast enough to hand hold without image stabilization.

 

[Ido]

Try the lenses you already have. If you want to do something that you can't manage, figure out if the lens can take the blame for it, and then find a lens that will let you achieve what you want.

 

[PaulWog]

I currently have a D3100, with the kit 18 - 55 nikkor lens, a 55 - 200 nikkor lens that came with it as well, and I bought a Tamron 70 - 300 F4-5.6 VR lens, for wildlife photography.

I want to challenge myself by trying perhaps some urban landscape, and some water/forest photography, as well as night photography..

What would be best to invest in? I've read quite a number of threads, and I've seen many lenses being mentioned, but at the moment I still can't make any sense of it all actually.

I will probably upgrade to a 5300 or a 7100 at the end of the year, or next year, so it is important that my lenses will be able to carry over as wel (I heard that some Tamron and Sigma lenses aren't always suitable for both the 3100 and other bodies, but not sure what truth there is in that)

Make a careful decision about the way you purchase. You say that you want to get a good lens now, then upgrade to a D7100 or a D5300 down the line. That likely means you'll be once again looking at another lens soon enough around that time. Evaluate what you have currently, and decide where you want to go with things; otherwise, photography can become very pricey if you keep buying something to replace something else's place within a 12 month period.

The cheapest route you can go is the Nikon 50mm f1.8g, and/or the Nikon 35mm f1.8g. Those two lenses are around the $200 price-point, they don't hurt the wallet much, and they do retain their resale value. That was already mentioned above, but it's worth reiterating and taking into consideration.

If you find yourself wanting more every time you buy, and your budget is stretchable, consider whether you will be switching to FX any time in the next couple of years. If you think you might want to do that, visit a camera store and get your hands on various DSLR's you don't have, lenses you don't have, etc. Physically touch the stuff you don't have, and you'll likely know where you want to put your money. If you want to stick with the more affordable DX option, figure out where you want to be with things. You say you want a D7100 or D5300, so it seems you're a middle-of-the-road, or best-value kind of buyer. The Sigma 18-35 f1.8 might be worth looking at, but you'd really have to know that's what you want... I just got one for myself. As far as urban, landscape, forest, water, night photography, etc, all that goes... the 18-35 Sigma f1.8 is a great performer for those tasks, if the zoom range fits your expectations.

It does sound like you're buying in a similar fashion to me. I originally picked up the D5200, and I intended to get the 18-55 and 55-200. I did get the D5200, but I got a 16-85 VR and subsequently sold it since I didn't like the slow aperture. I then went out and got myself a Nikon 70-300 VR, pretty much the same as your Tamron 70-300 VC. The types of shots you're interested in doing (from what you've mentioned) lead me to believe you want to shoot in the DX 10mm to DX 50mm range. That would really entail two to three different lenses, depending on your expectations. One would be an ultrawide, one would be a fast prime, and would could be your 18-55 to fit into the range you need. A lot of this can come down to your own creative needs, so there's certain things only you can answer for yourself. Some people do landscape shots at 200mm or 300mm and get amazing results, so never rule out any focal length for the job.

 

[Dao]

I agree with Ido, your current kit lens is good for "some urban landscape, and some water/forest photography, as well as night photography". If you want wider view than what your kit lens can offer, look for those ultra wide angle zoom lens such as the Sigma 10-20mm or Tokina 11-16mm. Also, do you have a tripod? it help quite a bit for the mentioned photography.

 

[Michel88]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Definitely put me a few steps in the right direction!

@Paulwog, yeah, I am that kind of buyer.. I mean, I wanna make sure that what I am playing with is good, but I know that upgrading to FX is definitely a few steps ahead as I don't have the skill to warrant such a camera (yet) either ;-).