Which lens for an incompetent amateur?

[breamster]

Hi All,

Looking to treat myself to a new (budget) lens for Xmas and was thinking of a 300mm zoom with macro.

Have been googling and getting generally confused about what is available. Any recommendation?

Camera is a Nikon D80. The only lens I have is the kit 18-135.

Budget is cheap as possible!! ~£100 so that rules out VR lens unfortunately.

Curently I'm an incompetent amateur. Like to take photos of anything and everything. Primarily want the extra range but I'm also very keen to play around with macro photos.

Any suggestions?

I was thinking of a SIGMA 70-300/4-5.6 APO DG if I can find one cheap enough?

Would this be a good upgrade? Am I right in thinking this doesn't have an AF motor?

Thanks.

Also going to be buying a cheap tripod and a CPL filter if that makes a difference.

[thinfourth2]

How about getting a prime (fixed zoom) lens not too expensive and lots of potential also being a fixed focal length you are forced into working round the lense

[gingerpaul]

I realise it's a Canon lens but I got my dad the 50mm f/1.8 prime for christmas last year and it's had a lot of use. You can do nice depth of field stuff with it and even in the high street you would get it under your budget. Perhaps there is a Nikon equivalent of this lens. Obviously not much good if you want a zoom though!

[Simpo Two]

breamster said:

Looking to treat myself to a new (budget) lens for Xmas and was thinking of a 300mm zoom with macro.

Camera is a Nikon D80. The only lens I have is the kit 18-135. Budget is cheap as possible!! ~£100 so that rules out VR lens unfortunately.

Like to take photos of anything and everything. Primarily want the extra range but I'm also very keen to play around with macro photos.

I think a 70-300 is a good second lens for general work, but the 'macro' won't be the same magnification as a true macro lens (which would be out of your budget). However 1:2 isn't at all bad.

breamster said:

I was thinking of a SIGMA 70-300/4-5.6 APO DG if I can find one cheap enough? Would this be a good upgrade? Am I right in thinking this doesn't have an AF motor?

If it doesn't say HSM then assume not. A D80 can still focus it (using 'screwhead' in lensmount) but it won't focus as quickly as an HSM (AF-S) lens. However it's over-budget; you'd need to consider the non-APO version or Tamron.

The other obvious contender is the Nikon 70-300mm 'G' but it seems to have been discontinued - at least it's not here: www.warehouseexpress.com/search/Default.aspx?q=70-...

Also, consider looking on eBay for good s/h lenses.

Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 29th November 12:28

[Eggman]

I've just bought a Nikon 50mm f1.8 from Jessops for £109. I haven't had time to use it much, but first indications are that it's a cracking lens and one that'll spend a lot of time on the camera. I believe these make very effective macro lenses when used with a reversing ring and extension tubes, not that I have any interest in doing so - I bought it for the fast maximum aperture and huge control over depth of field. Personally, I think I'll use it much more than a very long lens which imho are rather special purpose and best mounted on a very sturdy (i.e. not cheap) tripod.

However, the OP was after suggestions for getting very long lenses on a limited budget. Mine would be to buy an (infinity-focussing) adaptor from Ebay to mount M42 lenses onto his Nikon body and then buy up some old screw fit lenses for 35mm film cameras. These can be had very cheaply indeed so you can easily experiment with different ones. Or you could just look out for old Nikon fit lenses, but the cost per lens will be higher. Either way, you'll have no autofocus and will need to set the aperture manually - a bit of a faff, but you'll learn lots. I haven't bought one of the adaptors yet so would be all ears if somebody here has tried them.

[breamster]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've ordered a Sigma 70-300 APO DG which hopefully is the right choice.

The M42 lenses - I'm wary about buying lenses second hand. I've viewed a couple in local shops and realised I've no idea what I'm looking at. I could end up with all sorts of crap. I don't want to make it too complicated too soon.

The Prime lens - Whilst I think I would learn alot by getting one of these it won't help with the photos I'm trying to take.I can see one of these being next on the list though!!

It's great to see some of the pics being taken - the night time shots thread really makes me want to get off my arse this evening and experiment with the camera. Unfortunately it's warm inside, p'ing down outside and the glass of red is really quite nice!