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What 1st lense for D-80?

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wazzou

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I'm looking to purchase a new D-80 Body only, mainly due to the bundled lenses in most cases not being the most appropriate choice...or are they?

If you were to get one, fairly fast, versatile (wide to relatively long, not super zoom) lense with an infinitely useable range...what would it be? In other words, I'd like it to be just as functional at the tele end as the wide end and in between.

Most likely, the first thing will be candid shots of my girls at Christmas follwed by some shots of 1st grade basketball and soccer and likely some landscape and railroad photography?

I don't mind a second lense down the road, but I'd like to start off with a sweet one and also an SB-600.

Thanks,
Bryan
 
I bought the kit with the 18-135 lense. So far, the lense has served me well, I would have liked to have had VR but so far, I haven't found any situation that really demanded it.
 
I would buy the D80 bundled with the 18-135 and the 70-300VR. Its got great range, enough overlap to stop excessive lens changes, and you can currently get $100 off when you purchase a second lens.
--
Snapshott
 
wazzou said:
I'm looking to purchase a new D-80 Body only, mainly due to the
bundled lenses in most cases not being the most appropriate
choice...or are they?

If you were to get one, fairly fast, versatile (wide to relatively
long, not super zoom) lense with an infinitely useable range...what
would it be? In other words, I'd like it to be just as functional at
the tele end as the wide end and in between.

Most likely, the first thing will be candid shots of my girls at
Christmas follwed by some shots of 1st grade basketball and soccer
and likely some landscape and railroad photography?
Click to expand...
No lens will do all of this well, basketball requires fast glass, soccer long reach and decent speed, landscape and railroad wide and sharp etc.

An 18-200 vr will do ok at most things but may be a little short for soccer (and slow when light fades) and will be no good for basketball.
wazzou said:
I don't mind a second lense down the road, but I'd like to start off
with a sweet one and also an SB-600.
Click to expand...
A tough choice really, and no real answer (besides a few different lenses) to do all that you want, either;

Get something like the 18-200 but be aware it will not do all that you want, or

Get 2 lenses like an 17-50 tamron or 18-50 sigma with f2.8 and a 70-300 vr to do most of what you want much better, or

Something like the 18-135 + a 50mm f1.8 prime that will do the general stuff portraits and basketbell (if you can get courtside) but not the soccer at minimal cost and then add the right lenses later on down the track.

Just depends what your priorities are, and your budget both now and in the future, the best thing about a dslr is the ability to get the right bit of glass to do specialised shooting (sport / portraits etc), to try and do everything well with one lens is not realistic. Of course for general better ligh photography you can get by with a one lens solution.

--
Gerry,
http://gerryd.smugmug.com/ discount code on homepage

 
Is the 18-135 a pretty solid lense then? I have seen a pretty mixed bag of results from some of the posters with some having sold these lenses and moved on to others.

I'd like to limit the number of times, initially anyway that I would need to change lenses.

Keep in mind that both the soccer and the basketball at this junture is kind of the bumblebee variety with first grade athletes moving in unison.

Thanks,
Bryan
 
I have used a Tamron 28-300mm lens which translates to a 42-450mm lens. It has been useful for travel family situation and shoting nature. This forum has inspired me to get a macro lens..
--
Les W.
 
wazzou said:
Is the 18-135 a pretty solid lense then? I have seen a pretty mixed
bag of results from some of the posters with some having sold these
lenses and moved on to others.
Click to expand...
There is always something better till you get to the top of the tree :)

Many posters are also happy with the results they get from this lens, depends though how much you want to outlay up front.
wazzou said:
I'd like to limit the number of times, initially anyway that I would
need to change lenses.
Click to expand...
Generally speaking when I go out to shoot a specific thing I put on the right lens, ie for sport the 80-200 goes on with or without the TC, thats it for the day, for a party the 17-50 etc. Not many days I go out and need to do frequent lens changes, when I'm just out for a day with the family I'll use the 28-200 and throw the 17-50 in the bag just in case.

Point I'm making is if you have lenses with good ranges and some overlap you do not need to change often, and it only takes 30 seconds to do, no biggie.

If you had say 18-135 and 70-300 vr the overlap in focal length would mean very few changes, and maybe one fast prime for the basketball. If you want higher quality up front you need to give up some range and go for one of the faster / better 17/18 to 50/70 lenses. Unfortunately there is no free lunch as far as all in one, its a tradeoff of convenience v quality/speed, you need to decide which way you want to lean,
wazzou said:
Keep in mind that both the soccer and the basketball at this junture
is kind of the bumblebee variety with first grade athletes moving in
unison.
Click to expand...
Soccer would be ok if you are close, 135mm does not go far when they are across the field, as an example standing right outside the first base line in softball I can only get the infield in without it looking like a very distant shot with 135mm, so about 30 or so yards. For basketball you are talking indoors, no getting around the lack of light, unless flash is allowed, that means fast glass which no all purpose lens is. Vr helps shooting at slower shutters in low light, but it will not freese the motion of the players, you may get the occasional ok shot but will likely want a little more :)

--
Gerry,
http://gerryd.smugmug.com/ discount code on homepage

 
What about the Tamron 28-75mm? I have heard good things about it but don't see much comment about it here. I like it because it has similar size and build quality to 17-50mm, it is 2.8 and also can shoot in macro mode.

How about it?

Thanks,
Bryan
 
wazzou said:
I'm looking to purchase a new D-80 Body only, mainly due to the
bundled lenses in most cases not being the most appropriate
choice...or are they?
Click to expand...
For most people they are, that's why they're bundled. They cover the focal lenght range that people are most likely to use, and are very moderately priced. I consider Nikon's kit lenses amazing value for money.
wazzou said:
If you were to get one, fairly fast, versatile (wide to relatively
long, not super zoom) lense with an infinitely useable range...what
would it be? In other words, I'd like it to be just as functional at
the tele end as the wide end and in between.
Click to expand...
When I bought my D80, I picked the Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 AF-S G ED instead of the kit lens. It covers about the same focal length range as the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED, but gives me f/2.8 - which is very handy for low light. I knew that this was the focal length range I would be using most of the time, and wanted the fastest and sharpest zoom for the D80 that money can buy. Note: This is not a cheap lens. You don't say anyting about price in your question, but if a moderate price is one of your selection criteria - get one of the kit lenses instead, or the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 that some others have suggested.
wazzou said:
Most likely, the first thing will be candid shots of my girls at Christmas
Click to expand...
Get the SB-600 and learn to use bounce flash before Christmas.
wazzou said:
followed by some shots of 1st grade basketball and soccer
Click to expand...
Indoor sports are difficult because of the low light, and while VR is handy in low light (somebody suggested the 18-200 VR), it is not going to help you capture fast acton. I am not a sports shooter, so I don't know how the 18-200 lens will work out here, but I suspect it will struggle. You may need to buy a fast tele zoom made for sports (i.e. not a all-round zoom like the one you are asking for here) to get good images of indoor sports.
wazzou said:
and likely some landscape and railroad photography?
Click to expand...
The kit lens will handle that fine.
wazzou said:
I don't mind a second lense down the road, but I'd like to start off
with a sweet one and also an SB-600.
Click to expand...
I think that is a good strategy. I would recommend that you get the kit, and learn to use it. Your second lens will depend in what you find lacking in the kit. The SB-600 is an excellent flash.
--
 
If it weren't for the slight tilt to the left, it'd be perfect. But you already know how to fix that ;).

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Test everything; hold on to the good.

 
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