On a scale of 1 - 10....

Newbie here....

I purchased a Nikon D50. It came with a DX 18-55 MM 3.5 5.6 ED lens.

I wanted a zoom, so I tried a SIGMA lens for a while (forget which one), but
ended up getting a Nikon ED 70-300 1.4 5.6 D zoom.

On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate my zoom lens at? I just wanted a
general purpose zoom for outdoor use. I understand there are other Nikon
lens lines other than "ED". What are they? Where does the ED line stand?
In the middle?

I won't ask for a 1-10 rating on the D50 because I'm sure that will start a
huge debate.

Thanks all...

"BingBangBoing" wrote in message
...
Newbie here....

I purchased a Nikon D50. It came with a DX 18-55 MM 3.5 5.6 ED lens.

I wanted a zoom, so I tried a SIGMA lens for a while (forget which one),
but ended up getting a Nikon ED 70-300 1.4 5.6 D zoom.

On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate my zoom lens at? I just wanted a
general purpose zoom for outdoor use. I understand there are other Nikon
lens lines other than "ED". What are they? Where does the ED line stand?
In the middle?

I won't ask for a 1-10 rating on the D50 because I'm sure that will start
a huge debate.

Thanks all...




I'd give it a 9. It's an excellent lens, just a little slow for low light
situations.

Bill Crocker

"BingBangBoing" wrote in message
...
Newbie here....

I purchased a Nikon D50. It came with a DX 18-55 MM 3.5 5.6 ED lens.

I wanted a zoom, so I tried a SIGMA lens for a while (forget which one),
but
ended up getting a Nikon ED 70-300 1.4 5.6 D zoom.

Not a bad choice, if you can handle that focal length.


On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate my zoom lens at? I just wanted a
general purpose zoom for outdoor use. I understand there are other Nikon
lens lines other than "ED". What are they? Where does the ED line stand?
In the middle?

"ED" isn't a line, it's a type of glass (Extra-low Dispersion glass) which
Nikon uses in many of its better lenses. It helps reduce or eliminate
chromatic aberration, which tends to be especially a problem in long lenses.
I don't know how you'd apply a 1-10 scale for your lens, since some Nikon
lenses of the same f.l. range are far more expensive. If you bought your
70-300 f/4-5.6 at a good price, you got your money's worth. If you'd bought
a much more expensive lens, you'd probably have something better optically
but much bigger and heavier. "Ye pays yer penny and ye takes yer choice."


I won't ask for a 1-10 rating on the D50 because I'm sure that will start
a
huge debate.

On a 1-10 scale, all Nikon digital SLRs rate 10. But of course some are a
higher 10 than others. ;-)

Neil

Bill Crocker wrote:
"BingBangBoing" wrote in message
...
Newbie here....

I purchased a Nikon D50. It came with a DX 18-55 MM 3.5 5.6 ED lens.

I wanted a zoom, so I tried a SIGMA lens for a while (forget which one),
but ended up getting a Nikon ED 70-300 1.4 5.6 D zoom.

On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate my zoom lens at? I just wanted a
general purpose zoom for outdoor use. I understand there are other Nikon
lens lines other than "ED". What are they? Where does the ED line stand?
In the middle?

I won't ask for a 1-10 rating on the D50 because I'm sure that will start
a huge debate.

Thanks all...

I'd give it a 9. It's an excellent lens, just a little slow for low light
situations.

9 might be just a little bit high. I'd give it an 8.743226.

Another Newbie replying... I bought the same lens; 70 - 300. It's
excellent, but I don't know enough to compare it to others.
All told, the D50 is a great package.

I'm now searching for a speed light, but can't really figure if the
extra money is worth buying a sb800 over the less expensive sb600.

Comments on these flash units?

Rivets, Vancouver Canada

"BingBangBoing" wrote in message
...

I wanted a zoom, so I tried a SIGMA lens for a while (forget which
one), but ended up getting a Nikon ED 70-300 1.4 5.6 D zoom.

On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate my zoom lens at?

I'm picky about image and lense quality, so I'd give it a lower rating
than you'd probably like. But if it does what you want and gives you
good enough images, then a rating doesn't matter.

I just wanted a general purpose zoom for outdoor use. I understand
there are other Nikon lens lines other than "ED". What are they?
Where does the ED line stand? In the middle?

The ED label means the lense contains "Extra-low Dispersion" glass.
This is glossary at Nikons site for more info:

http://www.nikonimaging.com/global/p...lossary.htm#ed

"rivets" wrote in message
oups.com...

Another Newbie replying... I bought the same lens; 70 - 300. It's
excellent, but I don't know enough to compare it to others.
All told, the D50 is a great package.

I'm now searching for a speed light, but can't really figure if the
extra money is worth buying a sb800 over the less expensive sb600.

Comments on these flash units?

I have both, and both are great.

If you're just looking for a single flash unit to put on the camera, the
SB-600 is fine. I would buy that first in any case, since you can still use
it if you ever decide to get into Nikon's very sophisticated multi-flash
system, for which you'd want the SB-800 as a controller.

The SB-600 is really a terrific bargain at the price.

Neil

"BingBangBoing" wrote in message
...

Newbie here....

I purchased a Nikon D50. It came with a DX 18-55 MM 3.5 5.6 ED lens.

I wanted a zoom, so I tried a SIGMA lens for a while (forget which one),
but ended up getting a Nikon ED 70-300 1.4 5.6 D zoom.

On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate my zoom lens at? I just wanted a
general purpose zoom for outdoor use. I understand there are other Nikon
lens lines other than "ED". What are they? Where does the ED line stand?
In the middle?

I won't ask for a 1-10 rating on the D50 because I'm sure that will start
a huge debate.

Thanks all...

I think the main differences between Nikkor "consumer" zooms and "pro" zooms
is more to do with *what* they will do rather than just that they take
better photos. If you are happy not to have those extra couple of stops
that the expensive lenses give you then there is no big reason to spend the
extra cash, especially if you are just getting started in DSLR photopraphy.

Cheers - Adrian www.boliston.co.uk

"BingBangBoing" wrote in message ...

I purchased a Nikon D50. It came with a DX 18-55 MM 3.5 5.6 ED lens.

I wanted a zoom, so I tried a SIGMA lens for a while (forget which one), but ended up getting a Nikon ED 70-300 1.4 5.6 D zoom.

On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate my zoom lens at? I just wanted a general purpose zoom for outdoor use. I understand
there are other Nikon lens lines other than "ED". What are they? Where does the ED line stand? In the middle?

I won't ask for a 1-10 rating on the D50 because I'm sure that will start a huge debate.

This lens is rated at my www.ferrario.com/ruether/slemn.html, along
with MANY others. I down-graded it compared with the earlier
75-300mm due to its unexceptional edge performance when used
full-frame (all of the lens ratings are full-frame, on film) - but used on
the smaller digital frame, it should perform quite well at any but the
smallest stops (due to diffraction). Others described the meaning of
"ED" - but it refers to the use of low-dispersion glass, used to reduce
chromatic focus errors.
--
David Ruether


http://www.ferrario.com/ruether