[chaudhrysan]

@gd1418

Do you mean 14-24 "and" 24-70?? If it is "or", where is the mid-range? unless you are planning for a fixed focal length like 50/1.4 or 1.8

An option could be to retain your 18-135 as an every day lense. Add a sigma 10-20mm (a good lense if you can get a nice sample, using one currently), or a 12-24 to complement it. The extra 2~4 mm at the wider side makes a lot of difference! A fast ultra wide zoom may not be that essential because you generally need to stop down to get the image sharp across the frame.

For a fast mid-range, sack of the 18-135 and get a fast 24/28-70/2.8. The sigma 24-70/2.8 is cosidered to be good, though for more practicality a 17 or 18 - 70/2.8 would be a better option. You could also consider a 30 or 35 mm/f2 fast prime to cover the mid range, instead.

Your tele range seems to be worked out well. You may consider the 1.4 x tele convertor for the 70-200/2.8, as the combination becomes 100-280/f4 with pretty good results.

For longer focal lengths, have you considered primes like 300/f4, etc.? Can be used with a tele convertor to extend the length and still be easy to handle, weight wise. And you would get excellent image quality. The 150-500 may be quite a handfull without a good tripod, and if you have to use the tripod, the OS becomes redundant. Unless you are into birding, do you need the 500 length?

I currently use the old Nikon 80-200/2.8 with kenko 1.4x tele con. Plan to buy the 300/f4 afs next, if only Nikon would launch this with VR :(

If I were you, I would still like to retain the 70-300 AFS VR. Its a very good, lightweight zoom to carry in your vacations (when it may be quite inconvenient to lug the 70-200/2.8 and of course the 150-500). My personal vacation kit is the Sigma 10-20mm , Nikon 70-300 vr and a Nikon 24/f2.8 prime. The 80-200 stays at home unless the trip is for the purpose of taking pictures only.

Best of luck with your choices.

[mohang_j]

I brought a D50 from jayesh. He is giving me the option of sigma 28-80 Macro , new 18-55 kit lens and Nikon 70-300 type G . which one would be good to start with Dslr. As of now i have taken 28-80 Macro. I will be using this camera+lens for Landscapes and occasional macro shooting.

[gd1418]

The 70-300 is an all purpose versatile lens. Will suit most of your needs.

Originally Posted by mohang_j

I brought a D50 from jayesh. He is giving me the option of sigma 28-80 Macro , new 18-55 kit lens and Nikon 70-300 type G . which one would be good to start with Dslr. As of now i have taken 28-80 Macro. I will be using this camera+lens for Landscapes and occasional macro shooting.

[gd1418]

I meant "or". True there is no mid-range in my scheme of things at the moment. On the contrary retaining the 35-70 seems a better idea.

And now I'm a bit confused...

Originally Posted by chaudhrysan

@gd1418

Do you mean 14-24 "and" 24-70?? If it is "or", where is the mid-range? unless you are planning for a fixed focal length like 50/1.4 or 1.8

An option could be to retain your 18-135 as an every day lense. Add a sigma 10-20mm (a good lense if you can get a nice sample, using one currently), or a 12-24 to complement it. The extra 2~4 mm at the wider side makes a lot of difference! A fast ultra wide zoom may not be that essential because you generally need to stop down to get the image sharp across the frame.

For a fast mid-range, sack of the 18-135 and get a fast 24/28-70/2.8. The sigma 24-70/2.8 is cosidered to be good, though for more practicality a 17 or 18 - 70/2.8 would be a better option. You could also consider a 30 or 35 mm/f2 fast prime to cover the mid range, instead.

Your tele range seems to be worked out well. You may consider the 1.4 x tele convertor for the 70-200/2.8, as the combination becomes 100-280/f4 with pretty good results.

For longer focal lengths, have you considered primes like 300/f4, etc.? Can be used with a tele convertor to extend the length and still be easy to handle, weight wise. And you would get excellent image quality. The 150-500 may be quite a handfull without a good tripod, and if you have to use the tripod, the OS becomes redundant. Unless you are into birding, do you need the 500 length?

I currently use the old Nikon 80-200/2.8 with kenko 1.4x tele con. Plan to buy the 300/f4 afs next, if only Nikon would launch this with VR :(

If I were you, I would still like to retain the 70-300 AFS VR. Its a very good, lightweight zoom to carry in your vacations (when it may be quite inconvenient to lug the 70-200/2.8 and of course the 150-500). My personal vacation kit is the Sigma 10-20mm , Nikon 70-300 vr and a Nikon 24/f2.8 prime. The 80-200 stays at home unless the trip is for the purpose of taking pictures only.

Best of luck with your choices.

[mohang_j]

Originally Posted by gd1418

The 70-300 is an all purpose versatile lens. Will suit most of your needs.

I herad G type lens are not that great is it true

[gd1418]

It is not like that. Nikkor lenses are great glass. The G type has a plastic mount instead of the metal mount. Plus, autofocus in G type works on only some type of bodies.

You can read a detailed review of this particular lens here - Nikon 70-300mm G

Originally Posted by mohang_j

I herad G type lens are not that great is it true

[chaudhrysan]

@mohang_j
18-55 kit lens will be a better bet than the sigma 28-70, since it covers the wide end for your landscapes. If you can stretch, get the 18-55 with VR, the VR helps. The macro of 28-70 is not true macro (i.e. 1:1).

Later, you can think of adding the 70-300 or the 55-200 for the telephoto.

@gd1418
Yup, retain the 35-70. Its a full frame lens, so should work event better on the d300 (crop factor). But I would still suggest not to go for 14-24. On d300 this would mean 21mm at wide, which is not exactly wide enough for landscapes. Opt for a 10 or 12 mm zoom at wide.

Pro of retaining the 18-135 is that for general photography the range is a lot more usable than the 35-70, so lesser need to swap lenses. Con is that you may not get any value for the 35-70 if you sack it.

[Proxima]

Guys, I just bought a Canon 1000d from Shetala cameras for 27k (with bill and Canon warranty). I have not taken many shots, couldnt find the time. Ill take some shots over the weekend.

What are the must have accessories for the camera? TSK was saying that a UV filter is required so that the lens does not get spoilt. I also heard that a polarising filter is required for taking shots in bright daylight.

I have a tripod and a carry case. I don't want to add anything more, unless it is essential. So TSK, Samurai and other experts, please advice. I dont want to get my DSLR spoilt because I didn't follow precautionary measures.

[Proxima]

To add, it came with the normal lens (not IS). If I had known, I may have gone in for the 450D or the 500D which comes with an IS lens.

I'm disappointed. Is there anything I can do?

[gd1418]

UV filter is a must. Good ones are from Hoya, Kenko etc. Apart from filtering out the UV rays they also prevent scratches on the lens coating. Always keep them on.

CPL filters used only when you want the sky to be the bluest or in snowy conditions. Having one in the bag is always helpful. Howmany times it is going to see fresh air & sun, is for you to decide.

As far as the IS lens is concerned, go back to Shetala and exchange the current lens for an IS one and pay whatever difference is required..

Originally Posted by Proxima

Guys, I just bought a Canon 1000d from Shetala cameras for 27k (with bill and Canon warranty). I have not taken many shots, couldnt find the time. Ill take some shots over the weekend.

What are the must have accessories for the camera? TSK was saying that a UV filter is required so that the lens does not get spoilt. I also heard that a polarising filter is required for taking shots in bright daylight.

I have a tripod and a carry case. I don't want to add anything more, unless it is essential. So TSK, Samurai and other experts, please advice. I dont want to get my DSLR spoilt because I didn't follow precautionary measures.

Originally Posted by Proxima

To add, it came with the normal lens (not IS). If I had known, I may have gone in for the 450D or the 500D which comes with an IS lens.

I'm disappointed. Is there anything I can do?

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by Proxima

To add, it came with the normal lens (not IS). If I had known, I may have gone in for the 450D or the 500D which comes with an IS lens.

I'm disappointed. Is there anything I can do?

In India, Canon 1000D is available only with non-IS lens. This has been stated in this thread earlier as well.

Many users feel that one doesn't require IS for kit lens (18-55), unless one has very shaky hands.

[chaudhrysan]

@proxima
Check with your dealer if he can exchange the kit lens with the VR one, and charge you the difference (about 1k I think).

If not, well, VR is good to have but not essential in the 18-50 range. It is more useful in the longer focal lengths. Look at the brighter side, not having VR ensures that you perfect your hand holding technique (I have seen people develop bad holding technique and get away with it by using VR).

@gd1418
I was just browsing the web and came across Tokina 11-16/f2.8, may be worth considering as it is receiving good reviews. Another to consider may be the Tokina 12-24/f4 which is regarded to have excellent optics. I personally feel this one has a better working range as compared to the 11-16. Though you may loose 1~2 mm on the wide side, you gain a useful 8 mm on the longer end. A downer maybe lack of availibility here, as I could not find the Tokina when I bought the Sigma 10-20.

Going thru the specs, isn't the Nikkor 14-24/2.8 aimed towards a full frame body and therefore a bit overkill for the DX format? I know you can use it on the DX body, but the effective focal length of the zoom will not be ultra wide. Or, are you planning to use it on a full frame body also?

[Proxima]

Originally Posted by gd1418

UV filter is a must. Good ones are from Hoya, Kenko etc. Apart from filtering out the UV rays they also prevent scratches on the lens coating. Always keep them on.

CPL filters used only when you want the sky to be the bluest or in snowy conditions. Having one in the bag is always helpful. Howmany times it is going to see fresh air & sun, is for you to decide.

As far as the IS lens is concerned, go back to Shetala and exchange the current lens for an IS one and pay whatever difference is required..

Thank you GD.
I will get a UV filter this weekend for sure. The shop guy said that the Hoya and Kenko ones cost 250 bucks. Ill get a CPL filter as well if it is not too expensive.

Another shop (Ebby camera world) quotes a price of 6.5k for the IS version (WITHOUT bill) and is willing to take the non-IS version for 3.2k. The price of the lens with bill is 9.8 k. What do you suggest I go for? A price difference of 3.3k makes me tend towards the without bill one.

Is there any way of finding out if the lens has been used previously? Or if it has problems?

Originally Posted by sukiwa

In India, Canon 1000D is available only with non-IS lens. This has been stated in this thread earlier as well.

Many users feel that one doesn't require IS for kit lens (18-55), unless one has very shaky hands.

Unfortunately, I have pretty shaky hands Sukiwa.

[gd1418]

I don't know about the trustworthiness of camer shops elsewhere. There are several ways to check out the lens. On the mounting side of the lens there is a small lever. That is the aperture lever. Push it down gently and the aperture opens fully. Hold it there and look through. The vision should be spotless. If you see any web like growth then it has fungus.

Shake the lens and listen. If you listen any clinking sounds, then it is defective. The zoom ring should turn smoothly and without sticking. Shoot a couple of pictures mounted on your camera and look the result carefully. Check the lens coating and the glass for any scratches.

Finally take an expereinced photgrapher friend with you to check it out. Lenses normally don't go bad. Taking them without bill is also ok unless you drop the lens from the cliff and go for repairs..

Originally Posted by Proxima

Another shop (Ebby camera world) quotes a price of 6.5k for the IS version (WITHOUT bill) and is willing to take the non-IS version for 3.2k. The price of the lens with bill is 9.8 k. What do you suggest I go for? A price difference of 3.3k makes me tend towards the without bill one.

Is there any way of finding out if the lens has been used previously? Or if it has problems?



Unfortunately, I have pretty shaky hands Sukiwa.

[mohang_j]

Originally Posted by chaudhrysan

@mohang_j
18-55 kit lens will be a better bet than the sigma 28-70, since it covers the wide end for your landscapes. If you can stretch, get the 18-55 with VR, the VR helps. The macro of 28-70 is not true macro (i.e. 1:1).

Later, you can think of adding the 70-300 or the 55-200 for the telephoto.

Thanks GD. I will check with dealer and exchange the lens.