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Just purchased my Nikon D80 need suggestions on lenses

Please define 'general photography'. 😛

Portraits? Landscape? Sports? Wildlife?

At least tell us what you have in mind of shooting.
 
Well, I was hoping to get a multipurpose lens first and then as I went along, expand my selection. The D80 I bought only comes with a body so I was hoping to pick up a decent lense to take some pictures of just anything.
 
I should have asked what your budget is as well. Some 'general purpose' lenses have fixed aperatures where others have variable depending on the focal length.

EDIT: Is this your first SLR camera? Also, take a quick gander at this page. Here you will find a list of most Nikon zoom lenses. I would suggest for general purpose to stick around the 17mm range for wider angle shots and go up to ~55 or 70mm. I'm personally a Canon guy and would say to look at the 17-40 f/4L or the 24-70L, but they are a little on the pricey side. Give us a price range. 🙂
 
Nikon created a new general purpose lens that was in the D80 kit - it has got good reviews. . . forget the range 18-something. . .

 
Yay Nikon!

Suggest picking up a basic kit lens like the 18-70/3.5-4.5 and shooting with it to get a feel for what you need before plunking down serious cash for better glass.

And if you're on a budget, try buying used. There are some great deals if you look hard enough.
 
Thanks everyone for the help. My budget is probably around 200-300 for now due to dropping 900 on the D80. Later on the price will go up as I save up. Are there any particular brands I should focus on?

edit: So, after looking at lens prices, it looks like 200-300 gets me about nothing. I guess I'm just so new to this hobby that I'm not really that sure what I'm supposed to look for.
 
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Thanks everyone for the help. My budget is probably around 200-300 for now due to dropping 900 on the D80. Later on the price will go up as I save up. Are there any particular brands I should focus on?

edit: So, after looking at lens prices, it looks like 200-300 gets me about nothing. I guess I'm just so new to this hobby that I'm not really that sure what I'm supposed to look for.
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The 18-70/3.5-4.5 is $300 new and $200 used. It's in your price range.
 
Mike, you're up way too early or way too late. But I appreciate all the help.

Do you have any recommendations on where I should purchase this lens from? Since I'm in Cali too, anywhere you personally prefer?
 
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Mike, you're up way too early or way too late. But I appreciate all the help.

Do you have any recommendations on where I should purchase this lens from? Since I'm in Cali too, anywhere you personally prefer?
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Way too late 😉

If you need any help spending your money, I'm great at it. I stopped counting after $10k 🙂

Oops missed your edit. B&H and amazon for new gear. Craigslist and the photography forums for used.
 
I agree with Virtuamike's suggestion. (we Mike's all think alike, LOL!).

If you want, get the kit lens that came with the D50. It's cheaper than what came with the D70 and performs quite good for the price. Some online stores even sell it refurb for a tick over $100.

Or, perhaps even the ever-famous Nikon 50mm 1.8D prime. I have that, although it's rather limited for wide-angle shots, it's quite a fascinating lens to start out with. You can get really good portrait shots with it.

 
i have a Nikon D50 with the 18-55 kit lens. I am lucky enough to have a photographer father who uses Nikons also and he let me borrow a 28-70 (or maybe 80) and a 70-300 lens.

lenses are expensive, as you seem to have found out. also one of the reasons why i haven't bought my own lenses yet.
 
Originally posted by: richardycc
is there still a shortage for the 18-200vr? I got one last yr for $749.
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That's the one I'd recommend... If you can find one. The are quite difficult to find. Where did you get yours?
 
Originally posted by: glutenberg
I believe this is the one that usually comes as the "kit" lens, Nikon 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6G. Is this significantly better than the 18-70/3.5-4.5 or are they comparable?

Tamron AF28-300mm. Also found this on CL. Would this be a good lense for all purpose use?
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The original kit lens that came with the D70 was the 18-70. Since then, they've released the 18-55 with the D50 and 18-135 with the D80. I haven't shot with the 18-55 or the 18-135, but the 18-70 is almost a full stop faster at 55mm than the 18-55 and I'm not completely stoked about the falloff in the corners on the 18-135 (plus 135mm @ f/5.6 just isn't all that fast).

As far as the Tamron goes, I tried one out in the store but didn't take any sample shots with it. Superzooms do make compromises in image quality and lens speed though (the 18-200 VR included). Personally I wouldn't enjoy using a superzoom as an all purpose lens because of how much light I'd need to get decent results.
 
The only lens I have for my D70s is the kit 18-70/3.5-4.5. It's pretty decent for general use, I guess, but I definitely find it limiting in lower-light situations due to it not being very fast and lacking VR. Additionally, with wider shots, there is definitely some falloff in the corners, but that may be at least partially due to the filter I'm using. In any case, it's usually pretty correctable using Adobe Camera Raw or whatever tool.

All the shots in my gallery were shot using that lens: http://zetaepyon.smugmug.com/

Obviously, it's not the best lens, but overall, I'd recommend it as a first lens due to being reasonably flexible and not absurdly expensive.
 
I am waiting for my Canon Rebel XTi to be delivered and I have been scoping out lenses to,man these are 1/2 to more than full price of my camera
 
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Yea, they're surprisingly expensive. Is it bad to buy grey market lenses versus lenses marked with US on them?
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personally I dont care what make the lenses are as long as they work and I can save some $$$$ and they are not crap
 
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Yea, they're surprisingly expensive. Is it bad to buy grey market lenses versus lenses marked with US on them?
Click to expand...

I'd get the US ones just for the warranty alone.
 
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