d50 kit lens problems

chris02

chris02

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Chris
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Hi all

For some reason my D50 kit lens 18-50, has started playing up. Sometime ago it was failing to focus in low light, now fails to focus in daylight. Motor is working but usually comes to rest out of focus.

Swop to my 70-300 and thats working fine with the same camera settings so I assume the lens is at fault.

What are my options:

repair - probably cost more than a new lens
new lens - any suggestions less than £200?

Thoughts appreciated.

Chris
 
Stick it up on Fleabay "spares or repair", buy a minty secondhand Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 - should just about be within your budget and a much, much better lens than the kit one :)
 
checked fleebay and they cost around 270 and on the shopping comparison sites 300 plus.

An suggestions as to what I could ask for the kit lens?
 
chris02 said:
checked fleebay and they cost around 270 and on the shopping comparison sites 300 plus.

An suggestions as to what I could ask for the kit lens?
Click to expand...

Keep your eye on the sale section here on TP, the Tamron comes up fairly regularly at around the £200 mark.

As for the kit lens....it's worth whatever someone will pay for it, fully functioning ones only go for £50 or so...
 
chris02 said:
checked fleebay and they cost around 270 and on the shopping comparison sites 300 plus.
An suggestions as to what I could ask for the kit lens?
Click to expand...

any thoughts about the standard 18-55mm AF-S DX kit lens

i had one on my D40 - nice little lens and the VR version can be got for £90 !! at "Parks"..."here"
 
Thanks all of to the shops tomorrow
 
The 18-70 Nikon is a way better lens than the 18-55
 
PsiFox said:
The 18-70 Nikon is a way better lens than the 18-55
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Another vote for the above, probably Nikon's best budget zoom lens, decent build, and nice and sharp, i've seen them go on here for as low as £110, but in the main you can get them for £120ish :)
 
Is this the nikon you are talking about?

Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX NIKKOR
 
BKphotography said:
Not to be nasty but kit lenses are... well... nasty.
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Sweeping Statement...:shrug:

I suggested the kit lens because
1...its not a bad lens for the price VR @ £90 new
2...the OP had a budget of <£200

all to easy to get suggestions to "buy this Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX NIKKOR" .....RRP £300 MicroGlobe

and yes, I'm aware secondhand are less

FWIW .. I replaced my D40 kit 18-55 with a Sigma 17-70 as above
 
Tamron 17-50 mm SP F2.8 XR Di ll LD Aspherical (IF)
Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM
Nikon 16-85mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX NIKKOR
Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX NIKKOR

Down to this final list, I think......
What I need is a walk around lens plus the ability to do close up portrait picks.

All very subjective but what do you all reckon?

Thanks
 
BKphotography said:
Not to be nasty but kit lenses are... well... nasty.
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Not nasty, more a case of ignorance :p

The Nikon 18-70 kit lens is superb - far too good for a kit lens which is why Nikon no longer makes them.

The Nikon 18-55 VR is also very good.

Sony's 18-55 kit lens is also very very good.
 
Tried them all and this is the one wnet for

Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM
 
puddleduck said:
Not nasty, more a case of ignorance :p

The Nikon 18-70 kit lens is superb - far too good for a kit lens which is why Nikon no longer makes them.

The Nikon 18-55 VR is also very good.

Sony's 18-55 kit lens is also very very good.
Click to expand...

How so?:thinking:

Poor build, terrible optics, very slow and over priced.

Much better lenses can be had for the same amount of money.

Ignorance?

Only on your part I'm afraid.
 
Bardo said:
Get your hands on a Sigma 17-70mm - I've got one on my Nikon D300 and it's a superb lens! Tack sharp and great colour rendition - you won't regret it :)
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can,t disagree with that its a great lens on my camera as general use lens spot on :thumbs:
 
BKphotography said:
How so?:thinking:

Poor build, terrible optics, very slow and over priced.

Much better lenses can be had for the same amount of money.

Ignorance?

Only on your part I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

Love him or hate him, but Ken Rockwell rates the 18-55.
The only thing wrong with the lens is its plastic mount.

The only new lenses listed cheaper, in a similar range, on CameraPriceBuster are the Sigma 18-50 f3.5-5.6 and the Tamron 28-80 33.5-5.6 (Canon prices) and neither are rated as highly as the Nikon on Fred Miranda.

The 16-85mm lens is way outside your £200 budget Chris.
 
the nikon 18-55 is a lovely lens, i had a thread about it a year ago and all said it was under rated .:thumbs:
 
taz said:
Love him or hate him, but Ken Rockwell rates the 18-55.
The only thing wrong with the lens is its plastic mount.

The only new lenses listed cheaper, in a similar range, on CameraPriceBuster are the Sigma 18-50 f3.5-5.6 and the Tamron 28-80 33.5-5.6 (Canon prices) and neither are rated as highly as the Nikon on Fred Miranda.

The 16-85mm lens is way outside your £200 budget Chris.
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I quite like Ken actually but I take what he says with a pinch of salt.

Primes are cheaper and better in just about every aspect by the way.

Just my thoughts on the matter.
 
Kit lenses aren't as bad as people constantly say. Tests have been done for the Canon 18-55 IS and apparently it is very sharp, and gets really good when stopped down to around F/11.

I don't use mine anymore but I think kit lenses are a bit of a dark horse. Apart from the barrel distortion the 18-55 does well .
 
stating all kit lenses are nasty is just absolute rubbish...

I had the Nikon 18-55 for a long time and if your ok with the aperture it's a fine little lens. I have heard the 18-70mm is far better but have no experience with it so can't comment. Failing that I have had the Tamron 17-50mm and Sigma 24-70mm both of which were fantastic but if you don't need the faster aperture I'd stick with the either of the above kit lenses and a bit of cash in your back pocket. Or go for a prime ;)
 
chris02 said:
Tried them all and this is the one wnet for

Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM
Click to expand...

Good choice. Had one on my Canon. Very underated in my opinion. Super value for money.
 
chris02 said:
Tried them all and this is the one wnet for

Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM
Click to expand...

Good luck with your new purchase. It's a recently released lens and I haven't seen any reviews to date, but I suspect it's decent.

However, how did you manage to get one with your £200 budget? I thought they were nearly double that!

Would be good to see your results up on TP.

Cheers

Bruce
 
BKphotography said:
How so?:thinking:

Poor build, terrible optics, very slow and over priced.

Much better lenses can be had for the same amount of money.
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on which "much better lenses" your talking about :)
 
Lardinio said:
Good luck with your new purchase. It's a recently released lens and I haven't seen any reviews to date, but I suspect it's decent.

However, how did you manage to get one with your £200 budget? I thought they were nearly double that!

Would be good to see your results up on TP.

Cheers

Bruce
Click to expand...

Thanks for the good luck, afarid I went over my budget it will have to be next years Xmas pres as well.
 
Bardo said:
Get your hands on a Sigma 17-70mm - I've got one on my Nikon D300 and it's a superb lens! Tack sharp and great colour rendition - you won't regret it :)
Click to expand...

Do you have the HSM or none HSM version ?

been looking at this lens myself
 
BKphotography said:
All I have to say is ITS PRIME TIME BABY!

:thumbs:
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Well i guess that would be obvious, but where not talking primes here are we, where talking kit, and most kit lenses i know of are zooms, baby :p
 
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