Jul 11
I am getting a nikon D80 this weekend. I want to know what brands (other than nikon) are really good brands of lenses. eventuly I am going to be getting a lens for every kind of shot, from wide-angle to telephoto and every where inbetween. so what brands do you trust?
Well I also own a D80 along with a D50. I have a range of Tamron and Nikon Lenses. I can say with certainty that the Nikon lenses are sharper. If you are taking only close up portraits, sharpness may not be all that important to you, but if you are shooting landscapes as I do, then you want all the sharpness from the lens that you can get. Trying to add sharpness later in software is a very poor second best.
Of course if you are poor like me, after springing for the D80 in the first place it took some time to be able to extend the collection. Both of my cameras came with the Nikon 18-55mm “kit” lens. This lens is not too bad at all. I do notice some softening at the edges at 18mm but you have to look closely to see.
I have a Tamron 70-300 and Nikon 70-300mm F3.5-5.6 lens. The Nikon is by far the better lens. It’s sharper across the range and far less prone to purple fringe in high contrast situations. This is not a terribly expensive lens, but don’t buy it if the next paragraph appeals to you.
Recently I added the 70-300 VR (vibration reduction) lens to my collection, and I must say it was worth the money. I like VR on telephoto lenses but I do not regard it as being so important on normal to wide angle lenses. This VR lens allows me to shoot at long focal lengths hand held with much more success than I used to achieve.
Also don’t be too frightened of second hand lenses. Do you homework first because you can get caught out, not every lens works on the D80. But I have a 1994 model 28-200 AF-D lens which has produced some breathtaking photos on the D80. This is still the lens that stays on the camera by default. If considering a second hand lens, check that the lens is compatible with the D80 and then check its condition. older lenses can tend to get scratched if not looked after and can also grow fungus on the glass internally. Sometimes this cannot be economically removed.
You’re going to love the D80, great choice! Have fun with it.
Personally, I think it’s a good idae to get the basic 18-55 kit lens with this camera, because it is actually one of the best quality lenses you can get for so little money. If you want to investigate other brands, in spite of ten people here telling you not to, go to http://www.kenrockwell.com and use his search feature.
Enter the following brands:
Sigma
Tamron
Tokina
You will find several hits with his reviews of various lenses of these brands.
You can also go to B&H Photo and many of the lenses have reviews from buyers.
Here are several additional review sites for lenses for Nikon cameras:http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.h…http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htmhttp://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/index…http://www.nikonlinks.com/equipment_lens…http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.…http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum…http://www.nikonusa.com/fileuploads/pdfs…
If you want a “superzoom” lens, consider the Tamron 18-200 Lens.
The Tamron Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Lens has been reviewed as a decent lens. The major advantage over buying a Nikon 18-200 (for instance and if you could find one) is that it has vibration reduction in the lens. The Tamron is about half the price, though. It is not quite “official” macro at 1:3.7, but it has a very close focus of 1.5 feet throughout the range, so you can some very macro-like images. It’s at B&H for $389 and you are not going to find better quality for cheaper.
See:http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/305…http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/133…
Rockwell is kind of lukewarm on the lens, though:http://www.kenrockwell.com/tamron/18200.…
Tamaron, Vivitar, Sigma, Tokina.
So thats why Canon has a bigger share of the market….
Anyways, Nikor glass (Nikon’s Glass) is the best for the D80. For wide angle lenses go for Nikon lenses without a dought. Getting up to the telephoto their 70-200mm is a great lens. Now for like 100-400mm lens, I would change over Sigmas pro series, if you want the best quality. I personally do not go outside Canon myself because 1) Warrienty is automatically void if the your camera accidently breaks whether it being Nikon had a faulty part or its just plaining your fault. No questions asked 3rd party lenses will AUTOMATICALLY void warrienties if it breaks with it on. 2) Most 3rd lenses cut corners to keep it cheap. Tamrons 24-70mm f/2.8 for example, its not even usuable at f/2.8 you have to bring it up to f/4 to be usuable pictures. Not saying all them are bad, just do your research. 3) Most of Nikon/Canon lenses are of the highest quality, and you know you will be getting it.
Just do your research on the type of lenses you will need. I own 2 lenses for my Canon, 24-105mm for general purpose, not as verstile as the Nikons 18-200mm but I still love it. For telephoto, I needed a fast lens for sport action shots. So I decided on a 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikon has an equivalte. Only reason that threw me over to Canon is that they do have faster autofocusing than Nikon which is nessary for me at sporting events in low light. And Canon has a huge range of lenses that are of a constant aperuture of f/2.8
canon top of the line
The D80 is really good, have fun with it.
I find that the best brands are Nikon, Sigma, and some of Tamron.
Some good starter lenses are the Nikon 50mm 1.8 D. Its $100. Sigma has a 30mm 1.4 for $500<–It’s amazing!
Yeah, but definatly look at Nikon or Sigma first.
Hope this helped.
For the Nikon ’system’, Nikon lenses are most of the time, the sharpest, and often times, for less than double the sharpness, they charge double the price.
Sigma is pretty much the only alternative brand of lenses I trust. Their lenses are very well built, they usually have HSM (or SWM in Nikon terms), and sharpness is fair. I know a friend who dropped their camera from shoulder-height, and their camera landed lens-first, and their Sigma is still fine, it’s also worth noting the lens hood was on.
Tamron charges too much for their pretty poorly built lenses, and the problem with Tokina is that they don’t have SWM, so that their lenses focus slowly with the D80’s built-in AF motor.
I trust Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Canon lens in no particular order.
Edit: Since you’re getting a Nikon D80 why not buy Nikon glass? It may be more expensive but the quality is as good as anything out there.
i trust canon all the way