which lens should i get?

[lgreen]

i should have enough money after christmas to finally buy a nikon d50. looking at the packages on B&H photo though, one has a 18-55mm lens and another has a 28-80mm lens.

 

the 18-55mm lens package costs about 30 dollars more than the 28-80mm.

 

what is the difference between the two lenses and which should i get for just a stock standard basic lens?

 

thanks

 

i think i answered my own question.

 

appears the 28-80 lacks the ability to adjust the appature, etc.

 

so 18-55mm it is unless someone tells me different before next week

[Bobalouy]

The 28-80 probably just doesnt have a ring on the lense to adjust the app. You change it with the camera settings.

[Smada77]

Are the f-stop specs the same? That is a crucial aspect of a lens: the lower the f-stop number is, the better.

Also are the brands of lenses the same? Are they Nikkor? sigma?

 

Need more info before giving advice!

[lgreen]

nikor of course!

 

the f-stop is the same for both (3.5-5.6G)

 

basically the only difference i can see is the 18-55 vs 28-80 and the fact that the 28-80 lacks the appature ring

[Smada77]

What are you going to be using the lens for primarily? I think 28-80mm is a great all-around lens... then you can add a macro and a zoom and you're pretty much set.

 

Remember that lenses don't give you the correct mm rating when you use them on Digitals. I forget what this is called right now... need... coffee... brain... not... functioning...

 

Excellent choice with Nikkor, btw...

 

Do they have a 28-80 WITH the ap. ring?

[lgreen]

not sure about 28-80 w/ ap ring

 

bascially B&H has 3 diff packages

 

one has nikon d50 plus the 18-55mm lens

one has nikon d50 plus the 28-80mm lens

one has nikon d50 plus the 55-200mm zoom lens

 

will use it a lot for macro, so might get a macro lens down the road, but for now i just need sort of a general all purpose lens.

[Nednai]

A couple of weeks ago at the library I noticed that the current edition of Popular Photography reviewed and compared 2 Nikon kit zooms with a Nikon profession zoom. I'm not sure what month the magazine was, only that it was the library's current edition.

[Gilman]

This thread needs more canon infiltration.

[lgreen]

canon

 

no, see i'm in the market for a REAL camera

[Gilman]

im unaffected.

[lgreen]

that's what she said

 

(high five)

[Gilman]

nikkor glass is nikons version of L series, yes?

 

if so. go with that if you can afford it.

 

[sugarbaker]

if you are really set on the D50 body, I would buy just the body and then go on to ebay and purchase the lens that comes with the D70 kit... 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G-AFS.

This lens has better glass (heavier, but less distortion at the end of the zoom range) and the objective glass stays in the same orientation through the whole zoom and focus range, allowing you to use graded and polorized filters in the future. Something else to note is that the plastic on the kit lens has been known to warp through use and temp changes, resulting in glass that is slightly out of alignment... could happen in as little as a year. You can buy the better lens new for 300 from B&H, but I see them go on eBay for 200 or so all the time. (I know this is more expensive than the kit lens, but I hope your objective is to have quality equipment and something that will last you a long time... I assure you that if you buy the kit lens now, if you continue with your photography in any kind of serious manner, you will want something better within a year)

 

Good luck, I'm sure you'll enjoy your new camera.

 

oh, and you will not want the 28-80 for your first lens... remember that the DSLRs have a 1.5x magnification, so a 28-80 lens is effectively a 42-120mm... not so bad in the zoomed range, but frustraiting for any kind of wide angle shots (indoors).

[Nednai]

I assure you that if you buy the kit lens now, if you continue with your photography in any kind of serious manner, you will want something better within a year)

I think the same applies to the D50 body.

[Nednai]

nikkor glass is nikons version of L series, yes?

Aren't all Nikon lenses made using Nikkor Optics?

[lgreen]

honestly, at this point i just need something to get me going.

 

after i get that hang of using this camera then i might look into getting some different/better lens.

 

i'm leaning towards just doing the 18-55mm stock.

 

i appriciate everyone opinions and help.

 

i could really use some more opinions on my origional question though, 18-55mm or the 28-80mm.

 

thanks

[Nednai]

i could really use some more opinions on my origional question though, 18-55mm or the 28-80mm.

Rent or borrow each lens and see which works best for you.

[lgreen]

ok i think i figured it out based on recomendations from a few different websites.

 

i will probably get the stock 18-55mm lens and then when i can afford it buy a 70-300mm telephoto. I am not seeing anyway that I would be able to afford a true macro lens so hopefully the inexpensive 70-300mm can do the job.

 

sound good?

 

planning on buying it from B&H photovideo

[MegaDeTH]

the 18-55 is supposed to be a little better

 

both lack the aperature ring, I think all the "dx" lenses lack that ring

[matdjj]

I think its all the G lenses that lack the aperature ring. I am pretty sure that the D50 18-55 kit lens lacks it as well seeing as that it is a G lens. I am trying to decide between the 18-55 and the 28-80 myself and just like the OP don't seem to be able to get an answer out of anybody about whether the image quality is better on one than the other.

[MegaDeTH]

beginners wont notice the difference

 

I went with the 18-55 because it goes down to 18 for indoor shots

 

 

I added a 60mm macro and a 50mm f1.8

 

only other thing I want is a 300mm or bigger vr zoom