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Stick to 2.8 aperture, or go for Nikon brand at all price ?

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Claire Dupuis

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Here's my dilemma, some might have an opinion on this :

I'm looking for a lens to shoot indoor, mostly dogs and people (both living, hence moving subjects). I hate to use a flash, and I don't want to be cranking ISo up like crazy, I use a D50 so I'm pretty much stuck with 400 if I want to keep noise down.

Should I rather get the Tamron 28-75 XR Di (which I previously owned and was DUMB enough to sell, great lens), or trust Nikon eyes closed and get a 24-85mm F 1:3.5-4.5 Does NIkon glass quality seems to you more important that larger aperture ? I'm pretty scared of the G (digital only) series, I had a 28-200MM G once and it was a real lemon...
What do you think ??

Claire
 
For indoor shooting without a flash I do not think f/2.8 is fast enough and if you want faster you will have to use a prime lens. I would use either the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 or the 35mm f/2 depending on which focal length fit your needs better.
Claire Dupuis said:
Here's my dilemma, some might have an opinion on this :
I'm looking for a lens to shoot indoor, mostly dogs and people
(both living, hence moving subjects). I hate to use a flash, and
I don't want to be cranking ISo up like crazy, I use a D50 so I'm
pretty much stuck with 400 if I want to keep noise down.
Should I rather get the Tamron 28-75 XR Di (which I previously
owned and was DUMB enough to sell, great lens), or trust Nikon eyes
closed and get a 24-85mm F 1:3.5-4.5 Does NIkon glass quality seems
to you more important that larger aperture ? I'm pretty scared of
the G (digital only) series, I had a 28-200MM G once and it was a
real lemon...
What do you think ??

Claire
Click to expand...
--
Edward

Lenses listed in profile

 
Claire Dupuis said:
Here's my dilemma, some might have an opinion on this :
I'm looking for a lens to shoot indoor, mostly dogs and people
(both living, hence moving subjects). I hate to use a flash, and
I don't want to be cranking ISo up like crazy, I use a D50 so I'm
pretty much stuck with 400 if I want to keep noise down.
Should I rather get the Tamron 28-75 XR Di (which I previously
owned and was DUMB enough to sell, great lens), or trust Nikon eyes
closed and get a 24-85mm F 1:3.5-4.5 Does NIkon glass quality seems
to you more important that larger aperture ? I'm pretty scared of
the G (digital only) series, I had a 28-200MM G once and it was a
real lemon...
What do you think ??

Claire
Click to expand...
Well, some of the Nikon glass is good enough to make you not want anything less. Unfortunately, not much out there to compete at that performance level, including most of the Nikon glass.

I hear that the Tamron is good but not ledgendary.

It's just money:-) Consider these:
50 mm f1.8 or 1.4
85 mm f1.8 or 1.4
17-55dx f2.8
28-70 f2.8
17-35 f2.8
70-200vr

--
Scott
 
have a zoom you should consider the Nikon 35-70 f/2.8. it is an excelent lens and not much more money than the Tamron 28-75. I had the Tamron and replaced it with the 35-70 which was much sharper wide open.
--
Edward

Lenses listed in profile

 
Well, 2.8 served me well enough, even though I did have 1.8 50mm before and they are fantastic. I also had this 28-75 by Tamron before and I was very pleased with it. Is the Nikon 35-70 2.8 good enough to give up the extra range ?? I can't afford a lens beyond 400 $ by any means, unfortunately...

Claire
 
Don't be worried about the G, its not "digital only". That's DX. It just means you don't get an aperature ring. so it won't work with a really old Nikon or if you want to reverse the lens.

My vote would be to get the 50mm f1.8. It is only around a $100, so the price is perfect. It will give you just about all the light needs that you want. The 50 1.4 has a better reputation when used wide open and it is also a great lens, but gets more toward the higher side of your budget. I think the less expensive lens and then saving toward a better Nikon lens makes sense. (Also if you can find the 1.8 used, then it will super cheap. Best bet is to find a friend that upgraded and will let you have the old lens for a song.)

Best of luck,
Adam
 
Thanks to you all !

Great to hear someone who compared the Tamron 28-75 and Nikon 35-70, I'm very willing to trust you on this and give up the focal range for overall sharpness and quality.

Thanks !!

Claire
 
I'll go to 2.8 AND flash. In my opinion zoom is essential for shooting dogs, cats and children who move back and forth. You will not be able to frame instantly such moving objects with prime lenses. Also, flash is essential to my shooting style otherwise exposure times will be too long to freeze motion. As of hating flash - I'm using reflected flash only with only small amount of light directed forwards.
Claire Dupuis said:
Here's my dilemma, some might have an opinion on this :
I'm looking for a lens to shoot indoor, mostly dogs and people
(both living, hence moving subjects). I hate to use a flash, and
I don't want to be cranking ISo up like crazy, I use a D50 so I'm
pretty much stuck with 400 if I want to keep noise down.
Should I rather get the Tamron 28-75 XR Di (which I previously
owned and was DUMB enough to sell, great lens), or trust Nikon eyes
closed and get a 24-85mm F 1:3.5-4.5 Does NIkon glass quality seems
to you more important that larger aperture ? I'm pretty scared of
the G (digital only) series, I had a 28-200MM G once and it was a
real lemon...
What do you think ??

Claire
Click to expand...
--
Rumpis :o)
 
Claire Dupuis said:
Well, 2.8 served me well enough, even though I did have 1.8 50mm
before and they are fantastic. I also had this 28-75 by Tamron
before and I was very pleased with it. Is the Nikon 35-70 2.8 good
enough to give up the extra range ?? I can't afford a lens beyond
400 $ by any means, unfortunately...

Claire
Click to expand...
If I were in your shoes, I'd look for a used 85mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8. You should be able to pick them up for around $400 or maybe a bit less.

--
Dave
http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=587727
 
I agree with Rumpis.

No kind of fast lens will fix poor lighting. Being able to work quickly and effectively with flash is the key here. You'd use a diffuser or small reflector, but all this takes practice. Even outdoors, using flash for a fill light is the most underestimated tool. Most photographic challenges come down to working out the lighting. Get a SB600 and try to use it for every shot you take.

Watching a good wedding photog at work is good training.
--
Bill K.
http://www.pbase.com/augenblick
 
I agree that bounce flash indoors is an option, expecially with a low, preferably light or white colored ceiling. But if you don't have these conditions, it's nice to do existing light with a fast, inexpensive prime such as 50 1.8, 85 1.8 or 35 2.
 
Wow guys, you really go me reconsidering the whole flash issue ! I suppose if I did get a proper flash and learn how to use it, it'd do a world of good to shooting my dogs. It's out of sheer laziness that I have not been wanting to learn flash technique, what flash would you advise using on a D50 (that will soon become a D200, lol), and I don't understand A THING when it comes to flash modes, synchro, TTL ??? Can anybody explain to me like I was three years old ?

Claire
 
people here seem to recommend the SB800. personally unless you plan on getting into using multiple flashes I think the SB600 is sufficient
Claire Dupuis said:
Wow guys, you really go me reconsidering the whole flash issue ! I
suppose if I did get a proper flash and learn how to use it, it'd
do a world of good to shooting my dogs. It's out of sheer laziness
that I have not been wanting to learn flash technique, what flash
would you advise using on a D50 (that will soon become a D200,
lol), and I don't understand A THING when it comes to flash modes,
synchro, TTL ??? Can anybody explain to me like I was three years
old ?

Claire
Click to expand...
--
Edward

Lenses listed in profile

 
I own a D70s

I've just sold my Tamron 28-75..
Why ?
I have the 35 2.0 the 50 1.8 and the 85 1.8
Those tree lenses cover about the same range, but, boy, are they ever sharp !
The Tamron was very good, but not as good as my primes.

Furthermore, these lenses are faster than the Tamron.. so you can use them in low light situations..

I have the SB-600.. it's more than enough for all of my work.. and does a great job used with an omni-bounce diffuser !

hope this helps,
Lionel P
 
I've said it before, and maybe I got a really good copy, but I find the Tokina 28-70 ATX Pro gives stellar image quality and clarity. I'd find it a great lens at any price, but especially so for its very reasonable price!

Lee
 
I'd like to hear more about your dislike of a flash, and see if I can talk you out of this. Is it that your intimidated by the learning curve or that you hate the look of the pics? What about bounced flash?

I say this because flash gives you so many advantages indoors you should really consider trying to do the best you can with flash. You freeze the subject (the subject is frozen even if he's moving all around), the iso is 200 if you want it to be, the depth of field is deep (if your worried about the focusing being a little off) because you can use a small aperture. I hate to be difficult, and I'm not against low light no flash photography, but you can get some really great indoor pics with flash and you gain SO MUCH, you might want to rethink your position. I'll try to submit some flash pics later. Don't rule it out - or you may be limiting yourself more than you know. Just my opinion.
 
Flash technique for you wont be as complicated as you think. The sb800 does so much for me! I use TTL and I'm no expert, and it does the thinking. It's worth learning. Do a search for samjstern posts to start with. Good luck.
 
These aren't that terrible are they:





Believe me I'm no genius with my sb800. Flash is low light photography (except in you have as much light as you could want) Baby didn't cry at all. He was very cooperative.
 
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