My current lens kit is a Tamron 12-24, a Nikkor 50mm, and a Sigma 70-300.
I'm thinking of upgrading the long zoom lens.
The options I'm considering are the Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR and the Nikkor 80-200 2.8.
The 18-200 is supposed to be a very good lens, it's portable, and I can leave it on the camera almost all of the time
The 80-200 2.8 though is supposed to be a great lens. But it's heavy, and I do lots of traveling.
Any advice? If I get the 18-200, will I just lust for the better sharpness of the 80-200?
posted by:
|
SF Bay Area
|
-
Re: 18-200 vs. 80-200
Thu, May 1, 2008 - 10:44 PMMaybe you really need to think about how and what you shoot.
While the 18-200 sounds pretty darned appealing, I wonder about whether that lens aspires to be the be-all, end all, all in one kinda deal that affects other aspects of quality, or more specifically, affecting the quality of images that you "typically" take
?
~V~ -
-
Re: 18-200 vs. 80-200
Fri, May 2, 2008 - 1:54 AMones all plastic, ones all metal and glass. How hard are you on your equipmnet?
-
-
Re: 18-200 vs. 80-200
Fri, May 2, 2008 - 6:37 AM> My current lens kit is a Tamron 12-24, a Nikkor 50mm, and a Sigma 70-300.
> I'm thinking of upgrading the long zoom lens.
> The options I'm considering are the Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR and the Nikkor 80-200 2.8.
> The 18-200 is supposed to be a very good lens, it's portable, and I can leave it on the camera almost all of the time
> The 80-200 2.8 though is supposed to be a great lens. But it's heavy, and I do lots of traveling.
WHY are you upgrading the Sigma? In what way(s) is it inadequate?
I note your plans only include going up to 200mm... what proportion of your shots are in the 250-300 range?
> Any advice? If I get the 18-200, will I just lust for the better sharpness of the 80-200?
The sharpness, and/or the low-light capability... but really, only YOU can answer these questions !
One thing: can you go down to a local camera-store and try these lenses? Or maybe go to a Nikon-rep demo near you?
- Steve
-
-
Re: 18-200 vs. 80-200
Fri, May 2, 2008 - 12:57 PM
> ones all plastic, ones all metal and glass. How hard are you on your equipmnet?
I'm hard on equipment. I take them through deserts and jungles and volcanoes and things.
I've destroyed my d70. The off-switch doesn't work, the flash doesn't work, and the memory card slot is coming loose. Surprisingly, all of my lenses still work.
Very soon, I'm upgrading to a d200. Upgrading a lens at the same time just seemed to make sense.
> WHY are you upgrading the Sigma? In what way(s) is it inadequate?
The 300mm not as useful as it could be since it's only F5.6. But also, I hear rumors of these plastic lenses dying after a while.
Mostly, I'm heading out of America for an extended period (probably years), so now is my opportunity to buy camera gear cheaply. Everything is far cheaper in America, than in Europe or the 3rd world.
Basically I need to decide if I want the convenience of a light lens with a huge zoom range. Or, if I want to upgrade to a professional quality lens.
Just hearing your followup questions, has helped me clarify my thoughts.
I'm going to do some more research. If anyone else is curious, there is a bunch more info here, including review from people who've owned the lenses:
photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg
-
