Railfan Technology > Recommendations for a good wide angle to short telephot

Dear fellow photographers:

I'm thinkin about either buying a good wide angle to short telephoto (...say 20 to 70...) fast lens for my Nikon D80; or buying a 1.8 to 2.0 by 85 prime lens... What are your recommendations?...

leroy

In a heartbeat, I'd repurchase my Nikkor 28-70 f2.8. I've got an older one without the VR (vibration reduction.)

HTH.

John.

You don't mention if price is an issue. I use the Nikon 18-105mm and am very happy with it. A friend likes the more expensive and sharper 16-85mm. Then there's the "do everything" 18-140mm that Nikon recently released.

KG

leroy82646 Wrote:
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> Dear fellow photographers:
>
> I'm thinkin about either buying a good wide angle
> to short telephoto (...say 20 to 70...) fast lens
> for my Nikon D80; or buying a 1.8 to 2.0 by 85
> prime lens... What are your recommendations?...
>
> leroy

Go to B & H use their screening/search function Nikon mount, short tele to see your choices and then you can do some google and read thru some of the forums. /without getting into price it is even hard to start. Hate to put this out there but the best deal around is the 1.8 50mm fx lens, so cheap and good it is hard to justify not having.

You didn't ask but might be time to start thinking about that D80 replacement. Many of the newer cameras come in a kit form with lens in your area. Certainly not top of the line lenses but very functional for most uses.

Bob

An excellent zoom lens for the Nikon APS-C sensor body D-80 is the Nikon 18-200 mm VR (both VR & VRII versions). This lens is designed specifically
for the smaller sensor Nikon bodies. It is not designed for the FX sensor. This lens will produce great results from wide angle to telephoto shots.

TOM

Thanks for all the recommendations.... I appreciate them.... Keep 'me commingled....

leroy

The recommended 28-70 F2.8 is a sharp fast lens but when coupled to your crop sensor body becomes like a 42mm-105mm lens which is not wide.

I own and have used the Nikon 16-85 f3.5-4.5 which is nicely wide and about 127mm long. It has nice colors. If I need something faster than f3.5 I bump the ISO to 800 which your body handles quite nicely. If you upgrade the body later there will be bodies which are clean out to ISO 4000.

The Sigma 24-70 f2.8 has good reviews but it is still not as wide as you are looking for.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

fbe Wrote:
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>
>
> I own and have used the Nikon 16-85 f3.5-4.5 which
> is nicely wide and about 127mm long. It has nice
> colors. If I need something faster than f3.5 I
> bump the ISO to 800 which your body handles quite
> nicely. If you upgrade the body later there will
> be bodies which are clean out to ISO 4000.
>
> The Sigma 24-70 f2.8 has good reviews but it is
> still not as wide as you are looking for.
>
> Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

I think this is a good idea (...the bumping the ISO thing...) that i hadn't thought of... I'm so used to shooting in the bright light; i never set it to more than 400, even at dusk; and that's my problem... I may need to do what ya say and spring for a later model body as well... Which one do ya like???

Thanks for the idea...
leroy

If you are upgrading from the D80 you will like the D5300 or D7100. Both are 24 mpix bodies and that will just blow your sox off. Sure it is more than you need for Internet use and 8X10 prints but mpix are addictive.

You can save some money by finding last year's models like the D5100, D5200 or the D7000. Thom Hogan's DSLR website has good in the field reviews of the bodies and lenses while www.dpreview.com has more technical reviews.

Good luck.

arb

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

I wouldn't be too quick on pushing the D80 to 800 ISO. Not a noise champ.

Bob

Here is the link to Thom Hogan's camera reviews. If you poke around a bit on his site you can find the lens reviews.

robj is correct, your D80 is a better sunny day camera than a low light screamer. Any newer body will beat it there. I would certainly keep it around as a second body and for back up if needed.

http://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/current-nikon-dslr-reviews/

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

robj Wrote:
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> I wouldn't be too quick on pushing the D80 to 800
> ISO. Not a noise champ.
>
> Bob

I understand... We've got a refurbished 3100 that we keep in the son's vehicle... It will whoop the pants of the D80 in low light... It didn't dawn on me as to why until you guys mentioned the "low light" thing...

Yall have got me to thinkin about a new body...
leroy