I will most probably go in for a Nikon D 50 / D 70. Am an amatuer/hobby photographer, but love having complete control about my pictures.
Now the million dollar question what do do about the long zoom lens ... I like doing a lot of nature, long distance photography ... so a long zoom lens is a must.
Can i save some money by going in for a Sigma lens. Will it do justice to the camera? Yes or no either way ... any suggestions of lenses will be helpful.
yes, you can definitely save by going with Sigma lenses but you won't be saving any significant amount.
However, you will lose a lot of money when you try and re-sell sigma lenses by as much as 75%. Nikkor lenses however seem to keep their value. Ihave not had any trouble trying to re-sell Nikkor lenses and sometimes 100% of its original retail value.
For a specific zoom lens I would highly recommend the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR. One of the best and sharpest lenses in the market and in this category, no Sigma lens can touch it.
The VR (Vibration Reduction) feature alone is the significant performance, Sigmas do not have this feature. It can greatly enhance the stability of the picture specially at its longest end while being hand held. The focus is much faster than the comparable Sigma without the distortion and chromatic aberrations. Quiet and extremely fast and very sharp.
Berny, do you have any other suggestions that are a bit less expensive? I know you will sacrifice quality when dropping to a certain level, but how is the performance of the Nikkor 70-300mm lenses? Either the f/4-5.6D ED or the f/4-5.6G?
From what I understand the difference in the G series is that there is no aperture ring on the lens, so it must be used on a newer body that controls aperture (such as the D70/D50).
A 70-200/2.8 is a great range. Assuming the Nikkor is approximately equivalent to the Canon, it's an excellent lens. After using a rental I'm saving my pennies for the 70-200/2.8IS (same as VR in Nikkor). The f2.8 speed is nice in low light and the vibration reduction gives you another stop to hand-hold. I got a lot of great hand-held shots in a theater last month.
That is correct. The difference is the aperture control ring. Sharpness wise I see no difference, even with the ED glass. I think Nikon is doing a sham on this one.
For that budget, i would recommend the 18-70 AFS that comes with the kit. If you are just beginning and you have no other lens, I would not recommend the 70-300 f/4-5.6G. Stick with th kit lens for now. The 70-300 has no VR and it is a really cheap lens that you can purchase later on for about $75.00.
Not at all. The VR is a great feature but it is something that I can also live without. I was referring to the particular 70-300 lens which is a nice cheap lens but not without its limitations.
If you have the D70S, you can get either kind of lenses.
