On 2007-04-29 01:39:07 -0700, "Gary Seven" said:
Hello all. Can some of you good folks here help me out here? I am thinking
about buying the Nikon D80. I don't want to start or hear flames either for
or against Canon/Nikon, just looking for some advice here.
I will probably go for the D80 mostly because it fits my hand much better
than say, the Canon 30D. There are other little "pleasantries" I like,
especially the viewfinder. I'm at a loss though, of the type of lens or
lenses to purchase with the body. There are two types of shooting that I
do: (1) family shots of my two little girls (indoor and outdoor) and (2)
landscape style photography, mostly of my vineyards here in Priorat (Spain).
Along those lines I like to do shots of vines, overall vine/row shots,
background "mountain" shots, and I would also like to do very close-up
(macro?) shots.
So what to do here? I have the feeling that buying just one lens (I assume
a tele-wide) will NOT be a one-size-fits-all solution. I get the feeling I
will need two, but simply don't know which way to go here. Of course, my
budget is not unlimited and I simply can't plop down another $2000 in glass
on top of the $900 I will be spending on the body.
Thoughts anyone? TIA.
G7
I think you have to first ask yourself exactly what you plan on doing the most.
I also like the 18-200mm VR lens. It focuses closely enough for light
macro work. It has enough telephoto to bring the mountains closer for
those background mountain shots. It has decent mid-range zoom for
portraits. It goes wide enough for landscapes.
The 18-135mm lens is neither fish nor fowl. Thom Hogan is probably the
most respected reviewer of Nikkor lenses. Check out his review of the
18-135mm lens he
http://www.bythom.com/18135lens.htm
Thom does not show you a lot of charts or test patterns in his reviews.
Instead, he talks about lenses and how they handle and perform in the
real world of photography. A lens may be great at shooting test
patterns, but if it is so awkward that it stays in the bag all the
time, what good is it?
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor