help needed choosing another lens

[juniec]

i need some advice in choosing another lens. i already have a sigma 105, sigma 10-20 and a nikor 70-300. i have given my standard lens 18-70 to my husband to use with my old D70. the question is do i buy another lens the same as my standard or do i buy a prime or do i buy something else to compliment the other lenses. i'm just confused and need some advise.:shrug:

[hypnotic]

You have most focal lengths covered apart from the 20-70 range.

It all depends on what type of photography you want to be doing really.

[Matt Charlton]

Well in terms of focal length coverage, you're missing 21mm-69mm.

It depends on what type of photography you're wanting to do, I'm not sure on what Nikon lenses are available being a canon user myself but I have all focal lengths from 10mm-400mm completely covered.

Sigma 10-20
Canon 28-105
Canon 18-55 (kit lens if I really need 21mm-27mm)
canon 50mm
Canon 100-400L
Tamron 90mm macro.

It depends entirely on what you're wanting to take pictures of, you're basically missing a general walkabout lens, so you're looking for something that'll take you from around 20mm-100mm. Another 18-70 would do you fine.

Hope that helps.

[Marcel]

What sort of photography do you prefer doing? Would a prime suit your needs? Primes aren't to everyone's tastes unfortunately.

Which focal length have you found yourself using mostly in the past?

[juniec]

i like doing close up macro stuff but i like to try my hand at everything as i'm still learning. i have looked at the Nikon 50mm 1.8 and i have read the thread which goes into detail about it, do you think i should give that a go? sorry if i put this in various times and got told off for it !! but i'm told you are the best site to be on and i was only getting frustrated. i just want to get better.

[juniec]

forgot to say thankyou for all your answers.

[hypnotic]

You should be fine with the 50mm f/1.8

It will give you a better chance of getting a good shot in low light.

Good value for money as well

[moomike]

When we talked at the Zoo last time Junie I suggested a prime lens - & based on what we talked about I still think thats definately the way to go for you (although others may disagree)
You have a good selection of lenses to cover different ranges so just go with whichever lens you will use the most.
I would personally go for a good prime lens & possibly a teleconvertor to increase the range that you can cover should you so choose. Sharpness & speed of prime lenses far outweigh the cons for me & it has helped improve my shooting style dramatically by forcing me to think more about my shots composition, etc.
Failing that, have you considered different equipment such as a ringflash for your macro work or a studio lighting setup, etc?
Good luck with your choices :thumbs:

[juniec]

i take it all on board, i know you have been a great help to my mate pikeman, he was singing your praises yesterday.

[Marcel]

Youre very welcome junie :) (In response to your thanks above).

If moomike thinks you'll benefit from a prime, then he could very well be right. I just said be cautious, because some people can find it way too limiting with the set focal length.

For macro work, I think a dedicated prime/macro is ideal, so he's bang on the money there.

[juniec]

so do you think i should get the 50mm and get [another standard lens? I just want to take good photos but i get too critical of my efforts,i need all the help i can get. thanks fo your advice :)

[mij]

To be honest it sounds like you want to buy a lens just for the sake of it. If there is nothing at the moment where you feel you are missing out then I would put that money aside until you do begin to feel limited. That way you can get something you know you will need and use rather than having something sitting around doing nothing.

There is a big chunk of your range missing but if you are only shooting wide, long, and macro then that is perfectly okay. Would you be able to borrow your 18-70 back if there were the odd-times you would like to use it?

Michael.

[juniec]

yes i could borrow it if i wanted it, but you know how it is ... you always want to use the lens which isn't in your kit bag at the time !! perhaps i'm just blaming my work on not having the right lens rather than concentrating on what i have got with me. i dont know , its getting late and my head is starting to go :bonk: fuzzy.

[CT]

Mij is right, humping a bagful of lenses around gives you big thighs, but doesn't make you a better tog. :) I think you're worrying about nothing - use the lenses you have. I think the advice earlier about getting a 50mm standard lens is sound. It's the lens that produces the size and perspective in the viewfinder which you see with your naked eye so it's a great lens for learning to 'see'.

[juniec]

thanks to everyone for all your help... they were right you know..... you are a very friendly bunch:thumbs: :thankyou: :nikon:

[grumpybadger]

I think the advice earlier about getting a 50mm standard lens is sound. It's the lens that produces the size and perspective in the viewfinder which you see with your naked eye so it's a great lens for learning to 'see'.

This confuses me. Does this still stand on a crop body, or is something like a Sigma 30mm prime a better bet?

[CT]

This confuses me. Does this still stand on a crop body, or is something like a Sigma 30mm prime a better bet?

It still stands on a crop body. The lens still records the subject matter at the same size as the focal length doesn't change. What does change due to the crop factor is the FOV which is obviously narrower. I'd dearly love to use my 50mm on a full frame body for that reason - there isn't a huge FOV with a 50mm lens to begin with so the crop factor is a limitation. They're still enormously useful lenses on a crop sensor for their fast low light ability and their very limited DOF when you want to take advantage of it.

A 30mm lens used on a 1.6X crop sensor would give you 48mm, as near as damn it the FOV you'd get with a 50mm lens on a full frame camera. Unfortunately (in some circumstances) you also gain the greater DOF which wider angle lenses possess as they get wider. Also wide angle lenses work by distorting or shrinking the image to fit into the viewfinder so you wouldn't get the same FOV and natural perspective you'd get with a 50mm lens.

I wouldn't obviously advocate a 50mm prime as a replacement for a 30mm, or a zoom encompassing that length, they're too different lenses with different uses. Given the relatively inexpensive cost of a 50mm it makes it a must have lens in my view. :)