[Samurai]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Requirement : One system solution on my D50.

1 - Sigma/Tamron AF-S DX VR 18-200mm.

or

2 - Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G.

Whats my best pick here 18-200mm or 18-135 mm ?

If you recommend option 1 , which one is better Sigma or Tamron ?

Not a Guru, but I remember reading this review when I was hunting for my first dSLR. Check it out.

Nikon 18-200mm

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Not a Guru, but I remember reading this review when I was hunting for my first dSLR. Check it out.

Nikon 18-200mm

Yeah, Ken rockwell, loves that lens.
Also check this out...

[rjstyles69]

Guru, I had a chat with the chap at Jayesh(Photo Circle) and his prices are reasonable I must say.
I will be buying my lens from him itself.
Our fellow member Sanjay(Hellcat) did some shopping at Photo Circle on saturday.

Tried RK and they are way too expensive.

Read the link you provided Guru and this was the final verdict

Verdict

Regarding some glowing reviews available on the web the expectation were rather high. Unfortunately the (tested sample of the) Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR II DX wasn't able to convince completely. Weak points are rather hefty distortions and high vignetting (@ f/3.5) at 18mm. Apart from a few weak spots the resolution figures are quite good though and it is possible to get very decent images from this lens under field conditions. The VR can surely help to save the day in situations where similar zooms must fail utterly The build quality is a little soso for a lens in this price class and probably the biggest disappointment. All in all the Nikkor is a highly interesting lens but not without flaws (hardly surprising for a 11x zoom).

Samurai thanks for that linky on the Nikkor 18-200. Had read it earlier a few days back and Nikon lenses are expensive :( . I cant afford them as of now.
The 18-200 retails at about 25k. I rather save that for a Tokina in the future.

LOL this only gets confusing I must say. The more you read the more you are in a dilemma.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by gkrishn

Yeah, Ken rockwell, loves that lens.
Also check this out...

Well, so much for the hype. Meanwhile I found reviews on the Olympus lenses I own from the same web site...

The verdict on the 3 lenses I have:

The Olympus Zuiko Digital 50mm f/2 macro may be the only macro lens available for four-thirds at the moment but its performance is near flawless. Optically the lens is basically beyond criticism with a peak performance that betters the 8 mega pixel sensor of the E-300. Mechanically it suffers a little from the conventional AF motor as well the focus extension system although the principal quality of the construction is very high. Highly recommended!

The Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 offers an excellent build quality, handling and AF speed. Optically the performance is very good even at large aperture settings. However, wide-open vignetting is quite pronounced at all focal lengths whereas the level of distortions is very low for a lens of this class.
All-in-all the lens is only slightly better than the cheaper 14-45mm so the main arguments are speed and especially quality of construction.

The Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 ED offers a very good build quality combined with a very good optical performance. The lens is sharp throughout the whole range and the level of distortions is perfectly fine for a zoom. Its only weak point is vignetting at large aperture settings at and beyond 100mm. At about 1100EUR/900US$ the lens isn't cheap in absolute terms but still worth it!

Not bad at all... Not that I needed the review to tell me that.

Edit: Actually they have rated every Olympus lens very highly, one of my major reason to stick to Olympus. Very high quality lenses for low price. PhotoZone

[prashant.dinkar]

Hi Guys,

I am planning to buy a Camera , this will be my first camera. I do have a lot of interest in photography and I spend quite sometime in looking others work and in appreciating it .
I wont be using this camera for any particular kind of pictures i mean macro shots or pictures of moving objects etc. I will be using it for 2-3 years before graduating to a DSLR.
I dont have any fetish for slim cameras which are easy to carry neither do I have any problem with them .
My budget is 15-17 K maximum.

Now please suggest me a Camera according to my needs and budget .

Thanks & Regards
Prashant

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by prashant.dinkar

Hi Guys,

I am planning to buy a Camera , this will be my first camera. I do have a lot of interest in photography and I spend quite sometime in looking others work and in appreciating it .
I wont be using this camera for any particular kind of pictures i mean macro shots or pictures of moving objects etc. I will be using it for 2-3 years before graduating to a DSLR.
I dont have any fetish for slim cameras which are easy to carry neither do I have any problem with them .
My budget is 15-17 K maximum.

Now please suggest me a Camera according to my needs and budget .

Thanks & Regards
Prashant

Look for some bridge cam.. namely super zooms. The best bet right now is the Canon S3 IS and since S5 has come out, it will be cheap to buy too. Last I heard, in delhi S3 IS available for 13k+, grey. Do prepared to spend 2-3 k's extra for rechargable batteries, charger, high capacity SD card and camera pouch.

[Hellcat]

Riju why don't you look at the Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D IF, I guess its around 10K, since you are planning to get the Tokina later for wide angle..


Another option I can think of is Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II LD


Review:Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] macro (Nikon)- Photozone Lab Test Report / Review





Cheers
Hellcat

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Edit: Actually they have rated every Olympus lens very highly, one of my major reason to stick to Olympus. Very high quality lenses for low price. PhotoZone

This is a german site. their reviews are well respected.

I just didnt understand one thing. Their sample pics, the are subdued. Atlest the pics in canon section are less contrasty and felt sharpness of pic are not that great.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Tried RK and they are way too expensive.

What's the difference like? I'm hearing this for sometime but yet to see the actual difference.

[rjstyles69]

Rudra , I picked up a Nikon 50mm from them for 5500/-. I know it sells cheaper with other vendors but then I needed one badly and had to go to them.

Called them and asked for a Sigma 10-20mm and the price quote given was 30k. Where as Photo Circle quoted 20k + .

edit : Guru's my question is still un-answered. So would it be a Nikon 18-135mm or a Sigma 18-200mm ?

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Called them and asked for a Sigma 10-20mm and the price quote given was 30k. Where as Photo Circle quoted 20k + .

I guess thats a with bill and w/o bill difference. Ask RK how much it is w/o bill... may be the price will come down there also.

[rjstyles69]

But would that make a difference of 10k ?

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

But would that make a difference of 10k ?

Dont think so. May be it will come down by 5k or so. But you never know.

Its surprising that Jayesh quoted 20k+ for a lens which is listed at slightly less than 500$. So does that mean tokina 124 also comes to 20k+? Wow... thats a pretty good news. He has a peculiar way of quoting price. He sends it by sms and dosnt tell over phone.

RJ, are these SMS price? Or you went down to his shop to get this quote?

[rjstyles69]

LOL Guru you know well how Jayesh's price quotes work.

It was phone call and then please sms me the model I will reply with the prices. He did reply promptly.

Am thinking of heading there this weekend to pick up a new lens. Wanna join?

[Samurai]

Riju, I think you should stick to Nikon lenses. In photography, the range of the lens might liimit how wide or long you can shoot. But the lens quality will affect everything you shoot, no matter what you shoot. Unless you are really limited by budget, you should always go for better quality lens than better multiplication range lens.

I know you are aiming for a jack-of-all lens, but it makes the idea of owning a SLR moot. You could as well buy a 12X or 18X P&S for much less. The range you are trying to cover is best covered by two lenses, not one. Keep 5X as the maximum for any zoom lens.

I am not familiar enough with Nikkor lenses to make a recommendation. But I am sure you know the Nikon lens range well enough. Pick quality over quantity and you won't regret it. You will get more satisfaction by shooting incredible normal shots than average shots over a wide range.