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Which should I keep or sell? Lense gifts -purchases duplicated I think

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lensshake

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I recently started with a Nikon D80 which came with a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF lens and I bought a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F1.8G.

Then a family friend who had moved onto Canon many years ago, keeping the Nikon lenses stored "just in case" and never went back!

I did buy him a few drinks and made a small donation to his new lens fund. Yet there was a part of me which could not refuse, hence the question and request for help.
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
  • Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED AF
I understand I have duplicated lenses and also know some must go.

My photography is in its infancy, taking photos mainly of landscapes, city shots, plants, trees etc. It is not for business use, nor portraits -

I will after 12-24months get a new body as I learn how to use the lenses/camera settings and work through my course I have set myself for 2017.

In my head I was thinking of selling first:
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF
Then
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
Or would it be better to progressively swap all out for newer VR ? The 70-210 may be old but the weight gives you a feel of good construction ;-)
 
Solution
T
I would suggest keeping the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF. It's the only lens in the lot that has ultra-wide-angle settings.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to get rid of the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens, either.

With regards to the 70-(210/300) mm lenses, my understanding is that the 70-300mm VR lens is optically better than the non-VR ones. There is also a newer and somewhat less expensive 55-300mm VR lens for DX bodies. I'd be strongly tempted to sell the older lenses and put the proceeds towards one of the VR ones.
Manufacturer specific questions like this are probably best asked on the specialist forum, in this case 'Nikon SLR Lens Talk'. A lot of the experienced people don't necessarily look at Beginners Questions.
 
lensshake said:
I recently started with a Nikon D80 which came with a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF lens and I bought a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F1.8G.

Then a family friend who had moved onto Canon many years ago, keeping the Nikon lenses stored "just in case" and never went back!

I did buy him a few drinks and made a small donation to his new lens fund. Yet there was a part of me which could not refuse, hence the question and request for help.
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
  • Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED AF
I understand I have duplicated lenses and also know some must go.

My photography is in its infancy, taking photos mainly of landscapes, city shots, plants, trees etc. It is not for business use, nor portraits -

I will after 12-24months get a new body as I learn how to use the lenses/camera settings and work through my course I have set myself for 2017.

In my head I was thinking of selling first:
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF
Then
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
Or would it be better to progressively swap all out for newer VR ? The 70-210 may be old but the weight gives you a feel of good construction ;-)
Click to expand...
I'd suggest keeping all, at least for the time being. As time passes, you will no doubt gravitate towards certain types of photography and rely on certain lenses more than others, which should help guide you. The 12-24 is well regarded and built well - I'd certainly keep that. The others all have "issues" of one sort or another, but until/unless those issues impact your results, there is no reason to trim the collection now.

I think the impact with the greatest impact is replacing the camera. The D80 was fine in its day, but there has been a lot of progress in the past 10 years. If you know you're going to stick with photography, I'd look at upgrading the D80 once you feel you have it mastered.
 
"The D80 was fine in its day, but there has been a lot of progress in the past 10 years. If you know you're going to stick with photography, I'd look at upgrading the D80 once you feel you have it mastered."

Fair enough, but the D80 has an in-body AF motor so all the lenses quoted by OP will focus on it. "Upgrading" to anything modern below the D7*00 level will reduce the number of lenses OP can use as AF lenses to the AF-S ones.

To the OP, it's easy enough to get a good idea about out how much you can sell lenses for by looking at the "completed sales" listings on ebay.

And I agree with Albert - it's nearly always better to ask manufacturer related questions on the appropriate forum. I'm not far away from deciding to stay away from "Beginners questions" in future.
 
The 18-55 is a common kit lens and I'd rather use the longer zoom.

The 70-210 works well on a full-frame camera, but is disappointing on a crop camera.
 
John Michael Winterbourne said:
"The D80 was fine in its day, but there has been a lot of progress in the past 10 years. If you know you're going to stick with photography, I'd look at upgrading the D80 once you feel you have it mastered."

Fair enough, but the D80 has an in-body AF motor so all the lenses quoted by OP will focus on it. "Upgrading" to anything modern below the D7*00 level will reduce the number of lenses OP can use as AF lenses to the AF-S ones.
Click to expand...
Good point - thanks for the reminder.
 
lensshake said:
I recently started with a Nikon D80 which came with a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF lens and I bought a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F1.8G.
Click to expand...
Keep them.
lensshake said:
Then a family friend who had moved onto Canon many years ago, keeping the Nikon lenses stored "just in case" and never went back!

I did buy him a few drinks and made a small donation to his new lens fund. Yet there was a part of me which could not refuse, hence the question and request for help.
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF
Click to expand...
A keeper.
lensshake said:
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Click to expand...
A keeper because of VR that you don't have on 18-135 mm.
lensshake said:
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
Click to expand...
Not a well regarded lens. I would get rid of it.
lensshake said:
  • Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED AF
Click to expand...
One of the worst Nikon lenses. I would get rid of it.
lensshake said:
I understand I have duplicated lenses and also know some must go.

My photography is in its infancy, taking photos mainly of landscapes, city shots, plants, trees etc. It is not for business use, nor portraits -

I will after 12-24months get a new body as I learn how to use the lenses/camera settings and work through my course I have set myself for 2017.

In my head I was thinking of selling first:
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF
Then
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
Or would it be better to progressively swap all out for newer VR ? The 70-210 may be old but the weight gives you a feel of good construction ;-)
Click to expand...
 
I would suggest keeping the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF. It's the only lens in the lot that has ultra-wide-angle settings.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to get rid of the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens, either.

With regards to the 70-(210/300) mm lenses, my understanding is that the 70-300mm VR lens is optically better than the non-VR ones. There is also a newer and somewhat less expensive 55-300mm VR lens for DX bodies. I'd be strongly tempted to sell the older lenses and put the proceeds towards one of the VR ones.
 
Solution
Appreciate this feedback and reply, it is early days and will keep them all for a few months yet. Ebay has a glut of lenses for sale after Christmas so prices have reduced a little and I want to avoid the temptation of making my problem worse by buying more!

Definitely take onboard comment re replacing D80. Thanks
 
John Michael Winterbourne said:
"The D80 was fine in its day, but there has been a lot of progress in the past 10 years. If you know you're going to stick with photography, I'd look at upgrading the D80 once you feel you have it mastered."

Fair enough, but the D80 has an in-body AF motor so all the lenses quoted by OP will focus on it. "Upgrading" to anything modern below the D7*00 level will reduce the number of lenses OP can use as AF lenses to the AF-S ones.

To the OP, it's easy enough to get a good idea about out how much you can sell lenses for by looking at the "completed sales" listings on ebay.

And I agree with Albert - it's nearly always better to ask manufacturer related questions on the appropriate forum. I'm not far away from deciding to stay away from "Beginners questions" in future.
Click to expand...
Will take on board comment re manufacturer and appreciate the D*700 pointer. Thank you.
 
baloo_buc said:
lensshake said:
I recently started with a Nikon D80 which came with a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF lens and I bought a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F1.8G.
Click to expand...
Keep them.
baloo_buc said:
Then a family friend who had moved onto Canon many years ago, keeping the Nikon lenses stored "just in case" and never went back!

I did buy him a few drinks and made a small donation to his new lens fund. Yet there was a part of me which could not refuse, hence the question and request for help.
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF
Click to expand...
A keeper.
baloo_buc said:
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Click to expand...
A keeper because of VR that you don't have on 18-135 mm.
baloo_buc said:
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
Click to expand...
Not a well regarded lens. I would get rid of it.
baloo_buc said:
  • Nikon Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED AF
Click to expand...
One of the worst Nikon lenses. I would get rid of it.
baloo_buc said:
I understand I have duplicated lenses and also know some must go.

My photography is in its infancy, taking photos mainly of landscapes, city shots, plants, trees etc. It is not for business use, nor portraits -

I will after 12-24months get a new body as I learn how to use the lenses/camera settings and work through my course I have set myself for 2017.

In my head I was thinking of selling first:
  • Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF
Then
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 70 - 210mm 1:4-5.6 D
Or would it be better to progressively swap all out for newer VR ? The 70-210 may be old but the weight gives you a feel of good construction ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Tom_N said:
I would suggest keeping the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF. It's the only lens in the lot that has ultra-wide-angle settings.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to get rid of the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens, either.

With regards to the 70-(210/300) mm lenses, my understanding is that the 70-300mm VR lens is optically better than the non-VR ones. There is also a newer and somewhat less expensive 55-300mm VR lens for DX bodies. I'd be strongly tempted to sell the older lenses and put the proceeds towards one of the VR ones.
Click to expand...
Thanks, noted, I have a trip to the USA planned for the end of the year so will look into the swap out and replacement 55-300mm VR.
 
Honestly, I would sell all of them and replace with a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR II.

I use this on my D5200. It covers all the focal lengths that you have, plus it has VR. It's very sharp as well.

You'd give up the 300mm range, but that lens does not have VR, so you'd need a tripod anyway.
 
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