Good value Tier 2 &3 lenses?

heartyfisher

We all love our top class lenses dont we.. but sometimes the "budget just doesnt stretch" .. or you already got your absolute fav focal lengths covered but would like one to cover your secondary use case scenarios.

My main focal length that i use is between 150-180mm I have that covered with 3 lenses .. they are my fav :-)

So which are your fav secondary lenses ? the ones you have that just "cover the range" or that specialty lens that you dust off once in a while.

I have a few .. and there are some that I would have had if I have a bit of spare change :-)

I have the Tamron 200-400 F5.6 quite nice for an old lense .. another in that range that I almost got was the Tokina 80-400.. supposed to be quite nice from 80-300 and if you dont need the modern VR should beat out a bunch of 70-300 ..

Another is my 12-24 F4 nikkor .. I dont shoot wide much.. and I would have got the Sigma 10-20 if it was available in the shop when I visited malaysia for a couple of weeks... however The nikkor has been a great little performer when I feel a bit wide ;-)

spraynpray

My favourite and least used lens is my lovely 70-200 f4. If only all my lenses were that good. I mainly shoot wide to normal.

NSXTypeR

My favorite 2 secondary lenses are the 105mm macro and the 50mm 1.2. The 105mm is a weird one, I was using it during my cousin's graduation ceremony because it is a 2.8 lens, I figured I'd get some sharp results out of it. I didn't get satisfactory results out of it at all actually, and I'm not sure what exactly happened. Autofocus wasn't a problem, I felt like it had a lot of problems locking in. It's been over a year since I've taken those photos, so I can't say I've experienced the same problems again. I normally don't shoot in dark auditoriums, so it's hard to say if it was user error or not. I thought it was pretty weird though, as it wasn't shooting black cats in coal mine conditions- the stage had a fair amount of spotlighting which would help with AF and all. I should have tested it first. I think the easiest explanation is that I didn't set the AF limiter on the lens the right way.

For my usual macro shots it's a great lens though, but that's all I use the lens for- just bug and flower shots. I don't really use it for anything else, as if I wanted a general purpose lens I have my 18-135mm. For slightly darker conditions I already have my 35mm 1.8. The 105mm macro is not really an indoor lens at all.

The 50mm 1.2 is pretty awesome too, but I barely use it on the D7000 as I have no experience with MF lenses. I completely didn't use it with the D40 because of the teeny tiny viewfinder. I feel like 75mm focal length equivalent is pretty wonky, and I'd rather not miss a shot. Even if it's a good focal length, I'm not used to that length at all. Also, it's a deceptively heavy and dense lens. Thus, I don't use it at all. On FF with the FM2 it makes total sense- I'm used to 50mm equivalence on DX, so I shoot with it and compose no problem. Actually, it's pretty awesome, as I can generally guess composition now with the 50mm view and shoot from the hip. I've gotten mixed results, but I like the lower view. But it's been a long time since I last ran a roll of film through the FM2.

dissent

I have had similar experiences with the 105mm for indoor event shooting, NSXTypeR. Had much better luck with a rented 70-200 VR for a recent baptism shoot. Probably almost entirely due to my clunky handing of the lens' capabilities, but there you have it.

starralazn

I picked up a 50mm 1.8G way before I got my D800, so it was kind of an odd duck for me. Now a 50 is never far from my D800... and, well the, 105 2.8G is still gorgeous (to me) on FX,
second tier lenses now... i'd say its the 85mm 1.8G. focal length is tight for casual event shooting, haven't had much exp shooting wide open..

Ironheart

I think the f/4 zooms and f/1.8 primes are all excellent bang for the buck

WestEndFoto

My AIS lenses are second tier, but when shooting landscapes stopped down, would have equivalent image quality to the first tier. Plus they are light enough to carry a stack in my bag and I love that professional grade manual focus feel.

heartyfisher

My favourite and least used lens is my lovely 70-200 f4. If only all my lenses were that good. I mainly shoot wide to normal.

You are opposite to me .. lol the 70-200 f4 is my most used lense. :-)

The AIS 50 1.4 is such a fun lense .. I am looking out for some more AISes. there is an old lense / camera market on in about a month.. looking forward to nosing around the stalls.... though i am really pretty much set.. will probably just soak up the atmosphere. ... considering the Samyang 135 F2 instead of an AIS..... but I think good sense will prevail :-) the 70-200 F4 at 200mm gives shallower DOF ( but higher magnification. )

heartyfisher

This is one of my fav from my 50mm F1.4 AIS .. an italian chef sitting by the ocean in melbourne on a 42 degree (Celcius ) day ! D7000

Pistnbroke

My favorite lens would be a Nikon 24 or 28 -200 FX with VR . Cannot risk a non VR in a church with low ligh n and no flash the 24-120 is a bit short and the 28-300 a bit horrible

spraynpray

My favorite lens would be a Nikon 24 or 28 -200 FX with VR . Cannot risk a non VR in a church with low light and no flash. The 24-120 is a bit short and the 28-300 a bit horrible

When my 17-55 f2.8 on my D7100 was my only option in church, I used a monopod fitted with Arca-Swiss plate (for speed) and got good results. I find the D750 and 24-120 VR better natch.

I digress.

PB_PM

My favorite lens would be a Nikon 24 or 28 -200 FX with VR . Cannot risk a non VR in a church with low ligh n and no flash the 24-120 is a bit short and the 28-300 a bit horrible

Yes the 28-300mm produces shots that are flatter than a pancake. Sharp at 300mm, soft and lacking contrast at 28mm. Too many lens elements mucking up the light reaching the sensor. Still, I find it useful for travel photography, or as a one lens fits all solution. For everything else, primes are the way to go.

tcole1983

My favorite lens would be a Nikon 24 or 28 -200 FX with VR . Cannot risk a non VR in a church with low light and no flash. The 24-120 is a bit short and the 28-300 a bit horrible

When my 17-55 f2.8 on my D7100 was my only option in church, I used a monopod fitted with Arca-Swiss plate (for speed) and got good results. I find the D750 and 24-120 VR better natch.

I digress.

The only issue I had in the church was shooting my 300 F4 which needed shutter speeds above 1/150 even with a monopod to get something usable. I found my 17-55 worked well as even at 55 it isn't hard to handhold some decently slow shutter speeds and get good results. Keep auto ISO on and shutter speed at 1/20 and it was fine.

spraynpray

My favorite lens would be a Nikon 24 or 28 -200 FX with VR . Cannot risk a non VR in a church with low light and no flash. The 24-120 is a bit short and the 28-300 a bit horrible

When my 17-55 f2.8 on my D7100 was my only option in church, I used a monopod fitted with Arca-Swiss plate (for speed) and got good results. I find the D750 and 24-120 VR better natch.

I digress.

The only issue I had in the church was shooting my 300 F4 which needed shutter speeds above 1/150 even with a monopod to get something usable. I found my 17-55 worked well as even at 55 it isn't hard to handhold some decently slow shutter speeds and get good results. Keep auto ISO on and shutter speed at 1/20 and it was fine.

I'm guessing you were born in 1983 right tcole? Come back in 2044 and say that again....

tcole1983

My favorite lens would be a Nikon 24 or 28 -200 FX with VR . Cannot risk a non VR in a church with low light and no flash. The 24-120 is a bit short and the 28-300 a bit horrible

When my 17-55 f2.8 on my D7100 was my only option in church, I used a monopod fitted with Arca-Swiss plate (for speed) and got good results. I find the D750 and 24-120 VR better natch.

I digress.

The only issue I had in the church was shooting my 300 F4 which needed shutter speeds above 1/150 even with a monopod to get something usable. I found my 17-55 worked well as even at 55 it isn't hard to handhold some decently slow shutter speeds and get good results. Keep auto ISO on and shutter speed at 1/20 and it was fine.

I'm guessing you were born in 1983 right tcole? Come back in 2044 and say that again....

Lol you are correct on my age. But if you go by the 1/focal length method the fastest you should need is 1/55. That being said I can see VR helping especially at long focal lengths, but it still won't stop movement which was a common factor in subpar pics.

Although I suppose if I had the funds I would have kept my 18-200. I did like the range and convenience and thought mine was actually decently sharp. It would have been a nice lens to keep on my D5000 now. I still couldn't see myself using it in lots of cases, but I guess if I needed to hoard stuff it would have been something to hoard :-)