Lenses for D90

[Winto]

I'm looking at some lenses for a D90 and really am confused with all the choice. From what I've read I should steer clear of the 18-55mm and 55-200mm that commonly come as a kit.

I'd like a decent all purpose lens and am looking at 18-105mm.
I would also like to take portraits and shots at night and am looking at a 50mm prime.

I was then thinking of a 70-300 for capturing the kids at sport and things like that.

Any recommendations of lenses would be much appreciated.

[PH005]

Hi. Join the club ( Lens confusion ). The EFS 17-85 IS USM seems to be a good choice for a walkabout, The 85 being a reasonable portrait length. Sure , a 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 as a prime, the 1.8s are really cheap. Instead of the 70-300 I would consider one of the 70-200 f4 USM or IS USM depending on how much you want to spend. With the better qaulity lens you can then get a 1.4 or 2.0 tele converter. The more you look the more confused you get. Best of luck.

[kiwi]

I think a 35 1.8 for portraits and general group shots, 18-105 OK
For sport, yeah 70-300 will be adequate, not that fast, but OK

[maccaroneski]

Hi. Join the club ( Lens confusion ). The EFS 17-85 IS USM seems to be a good choice for a walkabout, The 85 being a reasonable portrait length. Sure , a 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 as a prime, the 1.8s are really cheap. Instead of the 70-300 I would consider one of the 70-200 f4 USM or IS USM depending on how much you want to spend. With the better qaulity lens you can then get a 1.4 or 2.0 tele converter. The more you look the more confused you get. Best of luck.

What would be even more confusing is if the OP bought a bunch of Canon lenses for a Nikon camera...

[ronaldhw]

The 50mm f/1.4 is very good for portrait (get the AF-D version or f/1.8), but the angle is quite small in DX camera, you may want to consider Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.8.

for 70-300, get the VR version, it's one the best consumer level lens from Nikon.

for normal zoom, I recommend getting Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 or Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 (or even 24-70mm f/2.8) if you have bigger budget

[GregoryH]

Hi Winto,

I bought the 24-120 F4 VRII lens around 4 weeks ago and I'm amazed at the results the lens is giving me. I beleive it will become my main walk around lens but it also can do amazing things with portrait photography. I have a thread in formal and posed called "niki in the tunnel" and all the shots there were done with this lens.

Good luck with your search,
Cheers,
Greg

[PH005]

What would be even more confusing is if the OP bought a bunch of Canon lenses for a Nikon camera...

Brain Fade. What more can I say ?

[arthurking83]

I think that 24mm as a starting point will ultimately be frustrating for a Dx user. While it sounds quite wide compared to what we normally associate focal length the reality is that it's the starting range of the normal end of the focal length spectrum(on Dx).

For a newbie this will usually lead to frustration and coming back in a weeks time and saying they now need a wide angle lens

To the OP, which of the 55-200mm lenses is being offered? there is(or was) a 55-200mm non VR lens once offered as a kit lens, but the VR lens actually works very well.

70-300VR and a 18-105VR will cover most of your needs for now.. unless you want really.. really wide landscapes with the likes of a 10mm lens that is!... either the 35/1.8 or a 50/1.4(even an AF-D version) for dedicated portraits would be ideal.

with two or thre lenses such as (35/1.8 or 50/1.4) + (18-105VR) + (55-200VR or 70-300VR) once you have a bearings on what you like to concentrate on, you'll have a better idea on how specialised you want any of your subsequent lens purchases to be.
That is you may find yourself shooting with the longest tele lens at minimum focus distance and cropping heaps to get good closeup details.. then get a macro lens. You may find that you're stepping further and further back and off into the ravine!...just to get more field of view with your semi medium wide 18mm lens. Get a 10-20mm Sigma lens.. etc,etc.

the problem with so much variety is that is only causes confusion!! .. don't be tempted to go with an all-in-one superzoom lens tho. I think two more capable lenses with decent overlap in focal length is probably a better option for the long term.

[reaction]

be VERY careful with kits
last time, Paxtons offered the D90 with Genuine Nikon twin lens kit :
18-55 VR and the 70-300 NON VR!!!
what on earth is someone going to do with a NON VR tele on a crop body these days??