Originally Posted by
Gaucho100K
OK.... so after not buying any Camera stuff for over 4 years, I bought my Nikon D300 a couple of months ago... and Im now in the market for one nice new lens. I do have quite a bit of glass in my camera bag but the newest pieces are already 4-5 years old, so Im not being able to use all the functionality of my camera body.... hence its time to upgrade !!!
I would ask the resident Nikon experts to point me in the right direction..... here are my guidelines for what Im looking for:
a) zoom lens with a solid fixed max aperture
b) I dont mind a heavy/bulky lense - I want top quality glass & specs
c) Im quite flexible with my budget
d) VR is highly desireable
e) Im looking for a zoom that includes proper wide angle coverage (a low teen zoom range would be good)
So... what say the experts...??? What are the top 2-3 options for something like this...?
Thanks,
Gaucho100K
There currently are no "top quality" "fixed aperture" lenses with "VR" for the Nikon DX format.
Whether you go with Nikon or aftermarket you will have to give up at least one of those features.
For Nikon you have the 17-55 f/2.8, which in terms of image quality is their best lens for DX but it is heavy, expensive, and does not have VR.
Then there is the 16-85 f/3.5-5.6. No constant aperture but is does have Nikon's very effective VRII. It is an excellent lens with a great range that is light, compact, and well built and from about ~f/5.6 on has nearly the same image quality as the 17-55
The Nikon 18-200 I/II f/3.5-5.6 has the same features as the 16-85 though the image quality of the 18-200 is not as good as the 16-85 [particularly at the wide end] nor is it built as well as is the 16-85.
As for aftermarket lenses [Tokina, Sigma, etc.] there are currently no constant aperture wide zooms with image stabilization.
You could of course, if you can find one, buy the $2,000 FX 14-24 f/2.8, which is, hands down, the best zoom Nikon currently makes and is my personal favorite for FX [D700, D3/s, D3x].
On a DX camera though that translates into a zoom range of only 21-34, be aware also that this lens is very heavy, has a very limited range, and the front element of that lens is massive and sticks about an inch from the front of the barrel, cannot take filters, and is easy to scratch if one is not careful.
My choice would be the 17-55 or the 16-85 though unless you know that you really need the f/2.8 maximum aperture of the 17-55 then I would choose the 16-85 as it is more versitile and makes a much better travel lens IMO.