Advice on lens for Nikon D300

Jao

Jao

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Adrian
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I'd be grateful for any comments and or advice about a walk about short zoom for a crop sensor Nikon (D300), I am about to give one of these a go. I don't shoot much digital and have very limited knowledge of Nikon AF glass.

I am considering a Nikkor 16-85 and would welcome views about this DX lens, but also any alternatives. My budget is around £400. I should say for the small amount of digital I shoot I am currently using a Canon 30D and EFS 17-85.

I shoot street and urban images, some landscape and some interior portait.

Advice and comments on the 16-85 and suggestions of alternatives all very welcome!
 
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16-85 is a good lens and balances fairly well on the D300. Try to buy second hand as new there a bit over priced I think. Another option is the 18-70 or possibly the 18-105.
 
Jao said:
I'd be grateful for any comments and or avice about a walk about short zoom for a crop sensor Nikon (D300), I am about to give one of these a go. I don't shoot much digital and have very limited knowledge of Nikon AF glass.

I am considering a Nikkor 16-85 and would welcome views about this DX lens, but also any alternatives. My budget is around £400. I should say for the small amount of digital I shoot I am currently using a Canon 30D and EFS 17-85.

I shoot street and urban images, some landscape and some interior portait.

Advice and comments on the 16-85 and suggestions of alternatives all very welcome!
Click to expand...

Save a little more and get the 17-55 f/2.8
 
a nikon 18-200 vr will cover all your base's you will never need to change it and is as good as them all except the 17-55which is built like a tank.
the 18-200 is also well within you budget second hand
i have this on my d300 90% of the time
 
Imho, the 16-85mm VR is the best lens for a Nikon DX camera for the combination of quality, range, size/weight and price.

It is wider than the average 18mm, which makes a surprisingly big difference. It has a longer zoom than the average kit lens, and it overlaps quite nicely with my 70-300mm lens which cuts down on the need to change lenses so often. It has a metal bayonet ring, which some lenses do not. It has VR, again which some lenses do not. It is a nice size which fits the camera well. I don't think I would want a larger general use/walkaround lens.

The 18-70mm is a great lens, but the 16-85mm was an improvement.

If you want f2.8 apertures, then this is not the lens for you, but what you would gain with aperture, you lose with zoom range and lens size/weight. :shrug: If I got a 17-55mm F2.8, that would leave a large hole from 55mm to the 70-300mm for me. :bang: Nevermind twice the hole in your pocket from the price too. ;) :lol:

As always, it depends on what you shoot, the focal lengths you use, and the apertures you use. Oh, and I forgot, how much you want to spend and how large a lens you want to carry. ;)

I do a bit of everything, that the 16-85mm fits me to a T. :D :thumbs: So much so that when I had a 16-85mm stolen, I had no hesitation in replacing it with a new 16-85mm. ;)
 
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Many thanks to all who have responded, lots to think about and always good to hear people's experience of different lenses.

At the moment a used 16-85 is looking like one of the main options, I think if funds permit and the price was right a 17-55 would be nice.

I must say I might also give the 18-70 kit lens a go as well if I can pick up a cheap enough one.

Again thanks for all the advice.
 
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