New D50 owner seeks reasonably good lens selection to collect over time...
 

Hi Everyone,

I recently purchased a Nikon D50, and I'm thrilled with it thus far. I
bought it with two kit lenses, taking me from 18 mm - 200 mm. However,
these lenses have a somewhat cheap feel to them, and I'm not sure how good
they are optically. So, I would appreciate a list of lenses that I could
collect over time (Nikkor lenses). First off, at the super-long focal
length end (1500-2000 mm), I'll use a 6" or 10" maksutov-cassegrain
telescope, so I'm basically looking for lenses that would take me from
close-up macro photography out to about 400 or 500 mm. Also, I'm NOT into
VR lenses -- I typically use a tripod most of the time, and I'm not into
action photography where I have to be holding the camera to recording my
images.

One thing I enjoy is night-time photography, or low-light photography in
museums. So I'm wondering about "fast short focal length" lenses.

Also, I'm on a budget here -- I might spend $1,000 on, say, one lens in my
collection (if it were really something I needed), and a good bit less on
the others. In other words, there's no way I can afford a $3,000 or $5,000
lens...

If anyone could offer me a 3 or 4 lens collection of non-VR Nikkor lenses
that might fit my price range, that would at least be a starting point for
me. There are so many lenses out there, and I don't want to underbuy,
overbuy, or re-buy the same capabilities in multiple lenses. I'm hoping for
lenses with a good solid weight and feel to them, like the lenses I once
used on my now handed-down Nikon film SLR.

Also, I'm not acquainted with the "third party lenses" as far as optical
quality and robustness of construction are concerned. I'm open to such
lenses if they're really good, but not interested if they're not.

Thanks for any thoughts,
Scott Speck

New D50 owner seeks reasonably good lens selection to collect over time...
 

Hi Scott,

I am in the same dilemna with my D70s. If you are on a budget, the one
lens that I can recommend for low light photography is the AF Nikkor
50mm f/1.8 It is very inexpensive and is my favorite lens for low
light applications.

Here are a few Nikon lens links that I have used in the past:

http://www.nikonlinks.com/equipment_lenses_general.htm
http://www.digital-images.net/Lenses/lenses.html
http://home.aut.ac.nz/staff/rvink/nikon.html
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/
http://www.nikonimaging.com/global/p...lens/index.htm
http://www.dcviews.com/lenses/Nikon-lenses.htm
http://www.cctv-information.co.uk/cg...lightrans.html
http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/fast.html
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography...tos/400mm1.htm

I hope that this helps. Nikon lenses are expensive, so choose your
lenses wisely. Try before you buy is my motto.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Scott Speck - Sun, Apr 30 2006 5:40 pm

Hi Everyone,

I recently purchased a Nikon D50, and I'm thrilled with it thus far. I
bought it with two kit lenses, taking me from 18 mm - 200 mm. However,
these lenses have a somewhat cheap feel to them, and I'm not sure how
good
they are optically. So, I would appreciate a list of lenses that I
could
collect over time (Nikkor lenses). First off, at the super-long focal
length end (1500-2000 mm), I'll use a 6" or 10" maksutov-cassegrain
telescope, so I'm basically looking for lenses that would take me from
close-up macro photography out to about 400 or 500 mm. Also, I'm NOT
into
VR lenses -- I typically use a tripod most of the time, and I'm not
into
action photography where I have to be holding the camera to recording
my
images.

One thing I enjoy is night-time photography, or low-light photography
in
museums. So I'm wondering about "fast short focal length" lenses.

Also, I'm on a budget here -- I might spend $1,000 on, say, one lens in
my
collection (if it were really something I needed), and a good bit less
on
the others. In other words, there's no way I can afford a $3,000 or
$5,000
lens...

If anyone could offer me a 3 or 4 lens collection of non-VR Nikkor
lenses
that might fit my price range, that would at least be a starting point
for
me. There are so many lenses out there, and I don't want to underbuy,
overbuy, or re-buy the same capabilities in multiple lenses. I'm
hoping for
lenses with a good solid weight and feel to them, like the lenses I
once
used on my now handed-down Nikon film SLR.

Also, I'm not acquainted with the "third party lenses" as far as
optical
quality and robustness of construction are concerned. I'm open to such
lenses if they're really good, but not interested if they're not.

Thanks for any thoughts,
Scott Speck

New D50 owner seeks reasonably good lens selection to collect over time...
 

Buy_Sell wrote:
Hi Scott,

I am in the same dilemna with my D70s. If you are on a budget, the one
lens that I can recommend for low light photography is the AF Nikkor
50mm f/1.8

And if you're not on a budget, the 50mm f/1.4 is the next obvious
choice at about 2.5X the price and nearly twice as fast. (Ok, I did the
math and it's 65% faster.)

I can't comment on the long lens plans as my plans are for something on
the wide end, but that's based on my experience and desires.

Don't fret the cheap feel of the kit lenses. I have the 18-55 and feel
that it does very well for the money invested. At some point if I
decide I need better, I will upgrade. It will likely cost much more
than the ~$100 I have invested.

-hank

New D50 owner seeks reasonably good lens selection to collect over time...
 

Hank, I also have the 18-55mm lens as well as the 70-300mm lens. They
were both very inexpensive and worth the money if you have adequate
lighting. My only disappointment was using these lenses in low light
photography without the use of a tripod or flash. The 50mm f/1.8 was
my third lens purchase and it works very well in low light. I have
been pondering the idea of purchasing the new 18-200mm VR lens. I'd
really like to try it first.

---------------------------------------------------
HankB - Mon, May 1 2006 4:06 pm

Buy_Sell wrote:
Hi Scott,

I am in the same dilemna with my D70s. If you are on a budget, the one
lens that I can recommend for low light photography is the AF Nikkor
50mm f/1.8



And if you're not on a budget, the 50mm f/1.4 is the next obvious
choice at about 2.5X the price and nearly twice as fast. (Ok, I did the

math and it's 65% faster.)

I can't comment on the long lens plans as my plans are for something on

the wide end, but that's based on my experience and desires.


Don't fret the cheap feel of the kit lenses. I have the 18-55 and feel
that it does very well for the money invested. At some point if I
decide I need better, I will upgrade. It will likely cost much more
than the ~$100 I have invested.


-hank