Beginner which lens to buy for use on a D3100

Kingo46

Kingo46

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John
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hi All

my better half has said she buy me a extra lens for Xmas ( not long now :( )

I'm still leaning, so which lens to get ?

Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED VR DX or Sigma 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC, Nikon Fit
 
Not used the sigma but have the Nikon one and it is a good value for money lens.

I presume you will be using the lens outdoor?
 
Why do you need an extra lens? What do you want to use it for? Since you haven't told us, it just sounds like shopping for the sake of it.
 
droj said:
Why do you need an extra lens? What do you want to use it for? Since you haven't told us, it just sounds like shopping for the sake of it.
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hi I'm not shopping my better half is :) I'm thinking the lens would fit in with my 18-55mm & 70-300MM most of my photos are of family hols,
 
sep9001 said:
Not used the sigma but have the Nikon one and it is a good value for money lens.

I presume you will be using the lens outdoor?
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Hi Kev yes the lens would be use outdoors
 
You already have the 70-300, if that is the vr one I would not buy the 55-200 otherwise you are covering the same/similar focal range.
 
:agree: No point in a 55-200

I'd probably go for a tamron 17-50 2.8 to replace your kit lens. Make sure you're other half gets the one with the built in motor for your d3100
 
thanks everyone for your comments now off again to look what the better half can spend her money on ;)
 
Agreed that the 55-200 may be unnecessary given your current lineup, perhaps you could look for something else camera related, a tripod or an external flash maybe if you wanted something photography related? :)

A little off topic, but loving the avatar John :cool: Difficulties be damned indeed! Takes me back to my cadets days :(
 
andy1868 said:
? :)

A little off topic, but loving the avatar John :cool: Difficulties be damned indeed! Takes me back to my cadets days :(
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cheers mate I did 14 years with 1st Kings
 
Kingo46 said:
hi All

my better half has said she buy me a extra lens for Xmas ( not long now :( )

I'm still leaning, so which lens to get ?

Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED VR DX or Sigma 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC, Nikon Fit
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If it were me id put a few quid to it and get the 55-300mm nikon VR

I never found 200mm enough. Check digitalrev because they are pretty good and theres always a voucher knocking around the net
 
Leslie said:
Go for the Nikon 35mm f/1.8. A great lens paired with a D3100
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This. The first decent lens I bought was the 50mm equivalent and it opened a whole new world of shallow dof I'd only dreamed of with the kit lens. Whether you go for the 35mm or the 50mm is personnel preference, just set your kit lens to both focal lengths and see what you like best. Or if you use LR have a look at what the most common focal length you shoot at is.
 
When i was using a dx camera, i had the nikon 55-200, not a bad lens for the money, tbh though unless you need the reach then like posted above the 35 1.8 takes some beating. I had mine attached to my camera 99% of the time, very sharp and light......a great walkaround lens!
 
Presumably the D3100 has a good sensor ……. the more you spend on good glass the better the IQ will be ……. saying that you will be surprised how much fun you will have with a 50mm f1.8 G lens on a DX body (75mm) …… great IQ and a very good price ….. plus it's a good starting point into primes which are generally far better than zooms
 
The OP doesn't state what 70-300 lens he has, perhaps it's one without VR, one of the older G or D lenses. If it's one of the older lenses perhaps he would be better with a new VR lens? If you can afford it, I would get the Tamron 70-300VC if going this route, to me I prefered it to the Nikon 70-300VR which I have also owned.

Otherwise agree with the others, get the Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Nikon 35mm or 50mm.
 
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Kingo46 said:
hi I'm not shopping my better half is :) I'm thinking the lens would fit in with my 18-55mm & 70-300MM most of my photos are of family hols,
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I'd question yourself as to whether either lens you list adds functionality or performance to your current set-up. Or whether you've agreed a mutual budget for presents and the ones you've picked out are the most shiny-precious within that budget that catch your eye.

From the sounds of it, you've got the kit zoom and the kit tele-zoom. The usual path from their is either to add a fast prime (something around 35mm or something around 85mm, but probably not the 50mm focal length which vastly over-rated as a first prime lens for an APS-C camera) or to replace one of your current zooms with something with better image quality and a faster aperture.
 
Alastair said:
I'd question yourself as to whether either lens you list adds functionality or performance to your current set-up. Or whether you've agreed a mutual budget for presents and the ones you've picked out are the most shiny-precious within that budget that catch your eye.

From the sounds of it, you've got the kit zoom and the kit tele-zoom. The usual path from their is either to add a fast prime (something around 35mm or something around 85mm, but probably not the 50mm focal length which vastly over-rated as a first prime lens for an APS-C camera) or to replace one of your current zooms with something with better image quality and a faster aperture.
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If you can persuade her to buy you an 85mm f1.4 that would be a "score"
 
thanks all I went for the 35mm F/1.8G I couldn't wait till Xmas ;)

still might talk the mrs in spending on me
 
BillN_33 said:
If you can persuade her to buy you an 85mm f1.4 that would be a "score"
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no chance on that lens now she's just spent out on new windows :(
 
Kingo46 said:
thanks all I went for the 35mm F/1.8G I couldn't wait till Xmas ;)

still might talk the mrs in spending on me
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Sounds like a good choice - I moved exclusively to primes after about 6 months of zoom use and never looked back :cool:

Confusingly Nikon currently produce 2 types of 35mm f/1.8g lens, one about £150 the other about £425, the latter only recently introduced.
 
minnnt said:
Not really confusing, ones DX and the other is FX...
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I agree not confusing just stupid. Nikon lenses are so much more expensive than cacon lenses!

Plus the dx 35mm can be used on ff
 
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barratt1988 said:
I agree not confusing just stupid. Nikon lenses are so much more expensive than cacon lenses!

Plus the dx 35mm can be used on ff
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I'd always thought prices were much of a muchness. Which ones are much more out of curiosity?

The dx 35mm can be used on ff in crop mode. In fx mode, the vignetting is pretty extreme at wide apertures.
 
If you plan a future with Nikon and may upgrade your camera then stick with Nikon lenses or compatibiliy will be an issue .Had to sell all my Sigmas as they dont work properly with D7100 and Nikon could cut you off with a twist of the firmware,,They say invest in glass I say invest in Nikon glass

Barrat ...Nikon 28-300 ..£600 Canon 28-300 £1700 and less IQ
 
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Pistnbroke said:
Nikon 28-300 ..£600 Canon 28-300 £1700 and less IQ
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I agree with you, buy the best lenses you can and that certain Nikon Canon lenses definitely hold their value, so it's a good investment, but as for your lens example, your comparing apples and pears, the canon lens is a completely different animal, weather sealed for a start, but personally not a great lens, the 28-350mm was a better lens, but never been impressed with the image quality of any of these hyperzooms when you really challenge them under less than perfect conditions, unless you happy for a one lens holiday snapper.
 
I think once you go beyond 150mm on DX with a zoom then the quality goes down and you are better cropping .That is why I find the 18-140 so usefull.
I could not run my wedding business without using a zoom just not practical . I do think some get locked into this prime mentality but for me I have no use for a bag of lenses ,the time to change them or bad back to carry them. Once you start on this 18-55 55-200 zoom or 35-50 -85 300 prime its a downward spiral for me and expensive.

In the end its what makes you happy
 
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Pistnbroke said:
I think once you go beyond 150mm on DX with a zoom then the quality goes down and you are better cropping .
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Anyone throwing a 200-400 F4 away on this peice of advice, chuck it my way please.
 
Pistnbroke said:
I do think some get locked into this prime mentality but for me I have no use for a bag of lenses ,the time to change them or bad back to carry them. Once you start on this 18-55 55-200 zoom or 35-50 -85 300 prime its a downward spiral for me and expensive.
In the end its what makes you happy
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That's why I've got 2 bodies and a mixture of prime and zoom lenses ranging from 17-500mm, but its only a hobby, although an expensive one, but most lenses and camera bodies bought secondhand, so made some saving.
Also depends what you want to take photos of, me, its wildlife, Motorsport and aviation, so they require the +200mm lenses

Canon 200-400mm f4 would be a great addition
 
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damianmkv said:
:agree: No point in a 55-200

I'd probably go for a tamron 17-50 2.8 to replace your kit lens. Make sure you're other half gets the one with the built in motor for your d3100
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that - theres no point in covering the same range twice , may be get her to get you a macro lens, or a nice prime, or a flash gun - basiically anything that expands the capailities of what you've already got
 
Pistnbroke said:
I think once you go beyond 150mm on DX with a zoom then the quality goes down and you are better cropping .That is why I find the 18-140 so usefull.
I could not run my wedding business without using a zoom just not practical . I do think some get locked into this prime mentality but for me I have no use for a bag of lenses ,the time to change them or bad back to carry them. Once you start on this 18-55 55-200 zoom or 35-50 -85 300 prime its a downward spiral for me and expensive.

In the end its what makes you happy
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I didn't know they made a 18-140 f2.8 or f1.8 - not that its germane to the OP but the reason most wedding shooters carry a 50mm or a 85mm is the maximum apperture. - the 18-140 is a nice enough basic lens, but its an f3.5-f5.6 so it would be bugger all use in a dark church or dimly lit reception. (likewise no serious pro would be using the 18-55 or 55-200 for the same reason)

I agree about the need to use zooms , but I generally use a 17-50 f2.8 and a 70-200 f2.8 with an f1.8 50mm and an f1.8 85mm for back up and dark venue capability
 
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