Nikon D3200 lens question
Discussion
Hello chaps, a friend at work has asked me which lens he should buy as a telephoto for his new purchase/foray into digital Photograhy. If it was a Canon I'd recommend a 24-105 but, I know sod all about NIkon. I'm trying to get him to join PH as it is the best attitude free camera forum I've come across.
In the meantime are there recommendations for a cheapish lens?
In the meantime are there recommendations for a cheapish lens?
Without knowing his budget and what type of things he wants to photograph, it is difficult to suggest anything.
You can go from a £100 55-200 which everyone will say is rubbish, right up to fast lenses costing four figure amounts.
Although if he wants autofocus he will need an AF-S lens.
You can go from a £100 55-200 which everyone will say is rubbish, right up to fast lenses costing four figure amounts.
Although if he wants autofocus he will need an AF-S lens.
Well I did buy the 55-200 lens and I have not seen any particular reason to call it rubbish. It has internal focus, Vibration reduction and the auto focus works fine. I'm using it on a D5100 and have had good results, I've noticed no aberrations and images are sharp.
Now the qualifier. When considering something as "rubbish" look at what use it was being out too at the time, yes there will be much better lenses out there ( with corresponding rise in cost) and yes it might not be a professional choice but it's aimed more at the general consumer market.
So this comes back to what he wants it for, his future photographic equipment intentions, budget etc.
I'm assuming with a D3200 he's at the hobbyist, enthusiast end of the the camera user so in my experience that lens would be worth considering as an option.
Now the qualifier. When considering something as "rubbish" look at what use it was being out too at the time, yes there will be much better lenses out there ( with corresponding rise in cost) and yes it might not be a professional choice but it's aimed more at the general consumer market.
So this comes back to what he wants it for, his future photographic equipment intentions, budget etc.
I'm assuming with a D3200 he's at the hobbyist, enthusiast end of the the camera user so in my experience that lens would be worth considering as an option.
Well said Steve it depends on what the user wants out of a lens. Yes there are more expensive versions and with price (usually but not always) comes better quality. Likewise some cheaper lenses can be amazing quality for the price - take the 18-55 VR kit lens which is sharp as. Also the 50mm 1.8D which for about £100 results in the most amazing looking portraits on a DX sensor.
Going back to the topic I assume he has some sort of kit lens already? The 55-200 is of course an option for price but he will probably feel restricted by it depending on what he is taking photos off. Perhaps a 55-300 VR or better still the 70-300VR would be better but his budget has of course just gone up.
There are also the travel zooms to think about (again depending on budgets) - the 18-200 and the 18-300 are meant to be pretty good for extreme focal lengths but come with a price tag too. However if he doesn't want to ever change a lens again then they are probably worth it.
For the price he should also check out the 35mm and 50mm prime lenses.
Going back to the topic I assume he has some sort of kit lens already? The 55-200 is of course an option for price but he will probably feel restricted by it depending on what he is taking photos off. Perhaps a 55-300 VR or better still the 70-300VR would be better but his budget has of course just gone up.
There are also the travel zooms to think about (again depending on budgets) - the 18-200 and the 18-300 are meant to be pretty good for extreme focal lengths but come with a price tag too. However if he doesn't want to ever change a lens again then they are probably worth it.
For the price he should also check out the 35mm and 50mm prime lenses.
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