OK I have been trying to buy a new Nikon D50 for a few weeks now but I can't get a simple answer to the differences in the lenses. I have found these different lense, will someone please tell me the difference so I can understand it.

18-55mm
28-80mm
55-80mm
55-200mm

I want to know which one will be best for Nascar races, scenery shots, sports events, etc...

3/20/2006 6:11:38 PM

28-80 is going to be what most kits come with, all things being the same i would recommend going with that for your first lens

you wont really be able to get the close up shots for nascar, but it will be more practical for everything else

3/20/2006 6:13:35 PM

The 18-55 is going to be a wider lens. It will be good for taking landscapes and portraits. But it lacks on the zoom. 55-200mm would probably be your best bet, out of those choices, if you want to be able to zoom in. You will still have just as wide of a lens as the 55-80 but will also have the zoom. The 18-55 will be faster than the 55-200. If you want a wide lens with a decent zoom go with the 18-70mm probably around $250. Then you can get a 70-300 $150 with the zoom for sports and races.

3/20/2006 7:00:13 PM

forget about all of those lenses, pretty much crap and nikon doesn't have a 55-80.

the 18-70 is a MUCH better lens than the 18-55 and the 28-80, pair that up with the 70-300 like jvp7800 and you'll have a good combo. Also look at sigma and tamron lenses, very good quality for less money.

3/20/2006 7:14:55 PM

I would be very hesitant to buy non nikon lenses. They make the best

3/20/2006 7:24:48 PM

sigma EX series is very good glass, nikon makes better glass but they also make worse glass. I carry 4 nikon lenses and 2 sigma lenses for weddings and while I can tell a slight quality difference, the sigma's fill a gap that nikon does not offer without spending $1000+ on a single lens.

3/20/2006 7:33:12 PM

PM sent

-ZiP!-

3/20/2006 7:34:45 PM

Look at the site below and educate yourself.

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/app/html/EFLenses101/index.html

3/20/2006 7:38:32 PM

^she's referring to lenses compatible with the nikon D50 model, and that link is from Canon, although I suppose most lens conversations are fairly universal

-ZiP!-

3/20/2006 7:52:55 PM

when i made my suggestion i assumed they only wanted to purchase one lens

3/20/2006 8:03:53 PM

To build on what some people have said....those numbers on the lens refer to focal length--the distance from the lens to the film. For those lens that you listed, the focal length is infinitely adjustable between the two numbers, e.g. you can set it anywhere between 18 and 55 mm. What it means for you as a photographer is 'How much can I get into the frame?'

A 50 mm focal length will give you a picture pretty close to what you see with the naked eye, i.e. objects in the picture will be about the same size as when seen without the camera.

Focal lengths less than 50 mm are considered wide angle. Wide angle allows you to get more in the frame, but the trade off is that things appear small. Wide angles are good for large, panoramic type shots such as a landscape of mountains, or maybe the entire field at Bristol next weekend. Wide angles less than 20mm will start to give you fish eye.

Focal lengths greater than 50 mm are zoom lenses where, obviously, things are bigger but there is less in the frame. Good for lots of detail on close objects or filling the frame with a distant object. With zoom lenses over 100 mm or so, you are going to need a monopod or something to keep the camera steady.

You can get an idea of what the different lenses can do using the focal length comparator in the link above. Use 50 mm as the standard to compare everything else to.

Incidently, since you're looking at a fairly reasonable camera, you should probably buy a basic photography book. There's a lot of neat things you can do with a camera like that, especially if you start playing around with some of the settings.

3/20/2006 9:20:44 PM

Quote :

"Focal lengths less than 50 mm are considered wide angle."

ah, for some reason i thought it was less than 30mm
i guess i was misinformed

-ZiP!-

3/22/2006 9:15:45 AM

Quote :

"A 50 mm focal length will give you a picture pretty close to what you see with the naked eye, i.e. objects in the picture will be about the same size as when seen without the camera. "

yes/no. With a 35mm sensor/film size (24mmx36mm) the normal lens is considered 50mm but is really ~43mm. To get the "normal" lens figure you need to find the diagonal measure of the film/sensor area. 24mm² + 36mm² = 43.2mm². Different formats have different "normal" lenses and the "normal" lens for Nikon dSLR cameras is a 28mm lens. (sensor is 23.7mm x 15.6mm)

Quote :

"Focal lengths less than 50 mm are considered wide angle. Wide angle allows you to get more in the frame, but the trade off is that things appear small. Wide angles are good for large, panoramic type shots such as a landscape of mountains, or maybe the entire field at Bristol next weekend. Wide angles less than 20mm will start to give you fish eye."

yes/no, see above. 20mm and wider will NOT give you a fish eye effect, don't confuse wide angle perspective with the fish eye effect, there are special lens designed to give you that look.

Quote :

"Focal lengths greater than 50 mm are zoom lenses where, obviously, things are bigger but there is less in the frame. Good for lots of detail on close objects or filling the frame with a distant object. With zoom lenses over 100 mm or so, you are going to need a monopod or something to keep the camera steady."

the term you are looking for is telephoto, not zoom. Zoom lenses are ones that have an adjustable focal length, telephoto just referrs to any lens longer than whatever is considered "normal" for your sensor size. When talking about digital cameras (except those few, Canon 5D, 1ds, kodak has some models also) a 50mm lens is a telephoto lens. You do not need a monopod for longer lenses until you get to 300+mm usually, unless you are shooting in dim light and your shutter speed is slow enough to show camera shake. I can hand hold a 500mm lens in daylight, but as it gets darker it may become necessary to use a monopod or other brace. If you get a lens longer than 100mm and take a monopod into the stands, even if they allow it, you will be making a lot of people pissed off around you.

Quote :

"You can get an idea of what the different lenses can do using the focal length comparator in the link above. Use 50 mm as the standard to compare everything else to."

only with a 35mm film/sensor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens read up a little more about this stuff here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_view



both taken with a Nikon D70, 180mm f2.8 lens with no monopod


D70, 50mm f1.8 lens set at f2.8 and 1/50th shutter speed, ISO 1600


D70, 18-70 lens at 40mm and f29, 3 second shutter speed, tripod

different lenses for different situations.

3/22/2006 10:19:50 AM

and technically, a fish eye lens is one that gives near 180° field of view.

3/22/2006 12:20:40 PM

Guess I'll keep my 35mm enthusiasm to myself next time.

3/22/2006 3:41:56 PM

if you shot those, nice man!

-ZiP!-

3/22/2006 4:08:19 PM

thanks.

3/22/2006 4:18:17 PM