Newbie's next lens - DPChallenge Forums

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

01/02/2008 04:34:24 PM · #1

I have recently got a Nikon D40 kit which came with the 18-55mm lens. So I am looking to get another lens in a couple of months and don't know what to go for.

I want an all puropse lens such as the Nikon 18-200mm VR tele, but also want to be able to take close shots with a relatively short DOF. Can you do that with this lens? Is is called bokeh?

Do I need a lens that goes down to a relatively low f/number for a good bokeh effect? Am I asking too much, a good zoom (there is no way I need more than 200mm) and good bokeh?

Also some lenses seem to have a very small aperture range, whereas I see other people using f/8 to f/22, a lot of the lenses I am looking at only seem to go from f/3.5 - f/5.6.

Also does anyone know what ED, AF-S, and DX mean in non-Nikon terminology?

Lots of questions...

chris48083

Pentax K10D

01/02/2008 04:38:23 PM · #2

i bought a quantaray 70 - 300mm telephoto and i love it. For under $200 you get a pretty decent lens. its closet focal point is 1.5 meters, unless youre in macro mode (which you can switch into between 180 - 300mm) you can get as close as .95 meters. which is pretty awesome.

for under $200, id highly recommend it.

SamDoe1

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/02/2008 04:43:17 PM · #3

I do Canon, but I'll do my best here:

Originally posted by rob_smith:

I want an all puropse lens such as the Nikon 18-200mm VR tele, but also want to be able to take close shots with a relatively short DOF. Can you do that with this lens? Is is called bokeh?

Sure, you can do it with any lens. A wider aperture (low number) can give you a much shallower DOF though. And bokeh is the appearance of background blur.

Originally posted by rob_smith:

Do I need a lens that goes down to a relatively low f/number for a good bokeh effect? Am I asking too much, a good zoom (there is no way I need more than 200mm) and good bokeh?

You don't need one so to speak, but it's nice to have for low light situations to begin with and not so much with bokeh. Bokeh depends on the lens and varies from model to model. A zoom like the 18-200mm will have many compromises because of it's massive range. The best lenses are primes, zooms just add complications (and also ease of use). When you get lenses with massive ranges like that, you can pretty much forget about large apertures.

Originally posted by rob_smith:

Also some lenses seem to have a very small aperture range, whereas I see other people using f/8 to f/22, a lot of the lenses I am looking at only seem to go from f/3.5 - f/5.6.

The f/3.5-5.6 just shows the range of max aperture from full wide angle to full telephoto. It doesn't have anything to do with the min aperture of the lens. So, for example, the 18-200 would have a max aperture of f/3.5 at the wide (18mm) end and f/5.6 at the long (200mm) end of the zoom.

Originally posted by rob_smith:

Also does anyone know what ED, AF-S, and DX mean in non-Nikon terminology?

ED: Extra Low Dispersion lens elements
AF-S: Autofocus that doesn't need the drive screw in the body. Your D40 doesn't have a drive screw to begin with so you can only use AF-S lenses if you want Autofocus
DX: Digital crop sensor lens. The lens will throw a smaller image circle than a 35mm film frame. You can use these no problem.

Message edited by author 2008-01-02 16:45:05.

brownt

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

01/02/2008 04:56:34 PM · #4

Not really got an answer to your lens question, but your own website's homepage is probably one of the best I've seen :-)

//www.smithathome.com/

Ann

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

01/02/2008 06:30:56 PM · #5

The 18-200 VR is a nice all around lens, and if I could only have one lens, it would be my choice. It will focus down to 18", even zoomed to 200mm, so you can definitely do closeups with shallow DOF. In general, I'd rather use my macro lenses for that kind of photography, but when I'm traveling and only have one lens, the 18-200 does just fine.

The downside of the 18-200 is that it's pretty expensive for what you get. You might consider adding two lenses, a 60mm macro, and the 70-300mm VR. For almost the same price, you cover the focal lengths from 18-300, and have an excellent macro lens. With your D40 you'll need to focus the macro lens manually, but most people use manual focus for macros anyway.

wavelength

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

01/02/2008 06:33:26 PM · #6

Please note - You cannot use any after-market lenses that do not have an internal focus motor. The D40 series does not have a focus motor on the body.

Meaning, that Quantaray is unuseable. It's crap anyways, IMO.

read up:
//www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=2&productNr=25420

01/02/2008 06:36:11 PM · #7

Ha ha thanks Terry. As you can see by my current photos on there, it's a bit snappy snaps. Hoping to get better quickly!

Thanks SamDoe, just had a play with Aperture Priority and I see now, I can get f/3.5 to f/22 woohoo!

Any Nikon fans on here recommend anything?

wavelength

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

01/02/2008 07:01:10 PM · #8

Here's a good list. I did not know that Sigma has so many compatible lenses..

//www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=read_count&om=16715&forum=DCForumID201

That one Tamron 18-250, is a quality, low-cost alternative to the 18-200 Nikon, but it does not have VR.

Message edited by author 2008-01-02 19:01:21.

Creature

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

01/03/2008 11:25:13 AM · #9

I think the Nikon 55-200 VR would be an excellent 2nd lens to your kit lens, since you're still starting out. It's very inexpensive for a VR AF-S ED lens (~$210) and it focuses down to 1 meter. Also, it has the same filter size as your kit lens so if you've bought any 52mm filters they'll still work (although the general rule is to buy the largest filter you can anticipate needing and buy inexpensive step rings for your various filter attachment diameters).

Message edited by author 2008-01-03 11:26:08.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

01/04/2008 02:19:21 PM · #10

Thanks everyone, I have decided on a Nikon 55-200mm VR as mentioned above, and also a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro (non-VR) when I can afford it.

Does anyone in the UK know where I can get the older non-VR one from, no website seems to stock it?

frisca

Nikon D70

01/04/2008 02:31:23 PM · #11

Originally posted by rob_smith:

Great choices. I have the nikkor 105mm and I LOVE IT. And also let me sing the praises of the "nifty 50" 50mm/1.8 nikkor lens. Its cheap (I got mine for under $100 cdn) and SOO sharp and fabulous.

SteveJ

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

01/04/2008 02:46:08 PM · #12

Originally posted by rob_smith:

Have you checked out Warehouse Express website, they have a large range of Nikon lenses?

//www.warehouseexpress.com/

carbon451

Nikon D200

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Nikon

01/04/2008 03:19:47 PM · #13

I also have the D40 and went with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 as my second lens. It's around $400, but I absolutely love it! At f/1.4, you can get great bokeh, as well as great indoor/night shots. 30mm is also wide enough that I can capture nice shots indoors, although you may have to get a bit close to the subject for portraits. The lens also has HSM, so it will autofocus (very quickly, might I add) with the D40.

I would highly recommend the Sigma for a second lens!