Photography: Favorite Lens?

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What is your favorite lens for shooting shows with? I just picked up a D40 and love it, it takes great shots for what I need. I am looking to pick up a few pieces of glass, I would prefer to by non-DX glass. So.... whats in your kit and why?

[Grog12]

AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D from Nikon

For the price point you won't find a better/faster fixed lens out there. At 50mm its good for full stage and up close shots, and sure there's a 1.4 but the jump in cash doens't really cover it.

[seanandkate]

I'll shoot with two bodies (I've got a D80 and I'll steal my buddy's). Mine will have my AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED and the other will have a AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED. Both are monster expensive pieces of glass, but the images you get from the ED glass and the speed of a 2.8 is deliciously seductive (especially on a Nikon where I HATE the results of pushing the ISO past 800). The 50mm 1.8 is a very nice piece of fast glass. I've got the 50 1.4 because the bokah on it is great for portraits and the build quality it better (more plastic on the 1.8), but both are terrific pieces of glass. That's what I would recommend for shots in the darkened environment of the theatre. If you're looking for a general purpose lens, you can't go wrong with the AF-S DX VR Zoom-NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. It's a do-it-all lens for traveling and such. There is a newer version of the same lens out, so you might me able to get a good price on a used one. It IS a DX, but then again so is your D40. Are you just planning ahead for the purchase of a full-frame Kyle? A D3 in your future perhaps?

[dvsDave]

Having worked in a Pro Camera shop this is one of my forte's.

For the D40/D40x/D60 you can only use AF-S lenses, not AF lenses. So, if you want a 50mm for your camera, you have 2 choices, the AF-S Nikon 50mm f1.4G or the Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM

Yes, Nikon released their new 18-200VRII however, it's not in stores yet. I would keep an eye on craigslist and other sites for the first version, you may be able to pick it for 450-550 (retailed around 800, rebates would take it down to 650 or so on occasion. I'd wait a week or two before trying to get a hold of this lens, the deals will get better as more photogs try to unload this lens for the new one.

@seanandkate totally jealous of your 70-200VR and the 17-55. Both are incredible pieces of glass.

As far as hating to push above 800, you need to take a look at the D300 (soon to be the D300s and ideally, the D700. I can personally tell you that the ISO output of the D700 at 3200 is BETTER than the output of the D80 at ISO 640 (not to mention the dynamic range just has to be seen to be believed)

[seanandkate]

Originally Posted by dvsDave

. . .you need to take a look at the D300 (soon to be the D300s and ideally, the D700. I can personally tell you that the ISO output of the D700 at 3200 is BETTER than the output of the D80 at ISO 640 (not to mention the dynamic range just has to be seen to be believed)

Temptress . . .

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That would be a tempter, not a temptress... for that role, you'd have to talk to my wife, [user]mistressrach[/url]

[dvsDave]

Originally Posted by seanandkate

Temptress . . .

That would be a tempter, not a temptress... for that role, you'd have to talk to my wife, mistressrach

[icewolf08]

For theatre, my favorite lens is a Tamron 28-105mm f2.8. I have had it for a while and it is a pretty ideal focal range for the work that I do. I also have a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG HSM and a Nikon 80-200 f2.8ED (old style trombone zoom). All three are excellent pieces of glass, and none are inexpensive. By that token, I am shooting with a D700 so all of my glass now is full frame.

Unless you plan on upgrading to a full frame camera, there is no reason not to buy DX lenses. The night end DX lenses are just as good as their FX counterparts yet they are less expensive. Also, when you mount an FX lens on a DX camera you are increasing the focal length by 1.5x. So your 50mm lens becomes a 75mm, whereas if you buy DX glass, 50mm is 50mm. On the flip side, some people like the magnification factor.

I would seriously suggest looking at Sigma lenses, while they are not Nikkor, they are excellent lenses and usually half the price of their Nikon equivalents.

[dvsDave]

Originally Posted by icewolf08

Unless you plan on upgrading to a full frame camera, there is no reason not to buy DX lenses. The night end DX lenses are just as good as their FX counterparts yet they are less expensive. Also, when you mount an FX lens on a DX camera you are increasing the focal length by 1.5x. So your 50mm lens becomes a 75mm, whereas if you buy DX glass, 50mm is 50mm. On the flip side, some people like the magnification factor.

I would seriously suggest looking at Sigma lenses, while they are not Nikkor, they are excellent lenses and usually half the price of their Nikon equivalents.

I'm gonna take a moment to disagree with a couple of those statements.

1. DX lenses don't usually have the features of FX lenses, Nikon treats them as second-class citizens (18-200mmVR and the new 70-300mmVR aside) in the sense that they don't get the best glass and are not built nearly as tough as a better FX lens. Please don't get me wrong, they are still very sharp, but it's a world of difference between a new FX lens and a DX lens.

2. When you put a DX lens on a D700 or D3/D3x, yes you get the magnification factor, but you also lose the full-frame aspect as well and it uses less of the sensor so you lose some of the sensitivity as well.

3. Even DX lenses on non-full frame DSLRs (those sensors are APS-C sized) you still have the magnification ratio. The DX lenses are listed by their 35mm equivalent focal length. So, a DX 70-300mm lens on a D80 has a magnification ratio of 1.5x, so the effective focal length is 105-450mm.

4. Some, okay, a LOT of the NICER sigma glass is great! The cheaper stuff just isn't worth it. But the higher end stuff is great! I personally would stick to the shorter zoom glass like the 24-70mm f2.8, but for long glass, you just can't touch Nikkor optics. The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII is one of the most incredible pieces of glass around.

[rwhealey]

I love my Micro-NIKKOR 55mm 2.8 manual focus.

There's nothing better than that lens, a roll of black and white film, and a Nikon FM or FE.

Though my D200 is a lot easier to deal with...