I've had my D70s for about a year now, it was my first ever DSLR camera, it's been great so far.

At the time I couldn't get one with a kit lense so I ended up getting a Sigma 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 so I could make as much use as possible out the camera.

My question is I now feel like I want to upgrade my lense as I sometimes get the feeling my lense is holding my camera back?

I've been doing lots of reading up and I was originally going to buy a Nikon 18-200 lense as an upgrade to my Sigma 18-200 but now i'm not sure.

Am i better off keeping my Sigma lense as my walkaround lense and then getting another lense as well like a Nikon 17-55 or a 28-70 or something else around there as I don't really need a big zoom 200mm is more than enough for me.

Basically any lense advice for a D70 would be useful as I'm still learning.

Thanks
Rick

 

what do you take pictures of? How far away? What kind of field of view are you looking for? Do you take lots of portraits or landscape photos? Do you shoot a lot inside buildings, or in low light? Do you use a flash a lot, or only shoot on sunny days/under bright lights? Do you use a tripod all the time, or are you looking for something you can use handheld? Do you carry your camera everywhere you go, or is it a special occasion kind of thing? Do you use either end of your zoom much? What focal length are most of your favorite shots? Is there something specific about your current lens that bothers you? Is image quality important, or would you happily take fuzzed shots if that meant you didn't have to own more than one lens? Did you buya DSLR specifically so you could change lenses, or some other reason? Is the weight of the lens the single deciding factor? If so, do you prefer heavy or light? Do you have a budget? Would you be disappointed if you didn't spend it all on one lens? What is your criteria for a "good lens?"

 

You've had the lens long enough to figure out what length most of your shots are taken at. Collect your personal favorite images and see what your common working lengths are. That'll help tell you where to spend more of your money.

 

Thats a lot of questions

Guess i'll do my best to answer a few

I tend to shoot mostly cars but some times the odd building or interesting landscape, I use a tripod 99.9% of the time so weight doesn't matter to me, I normally shoot in low light condtions without using flash but I do shoot on some bright days too.

I tend to use wideangle quite a bit (18mm?) but never seem to get much past 100mm so having a 200mm zoom is pretty pointless I think, I'd say most of my shots are around 18-70mm. Theres nothing that bothers me about my current lense I just thought i'd upgrade if I could, image quality is important, I don't mind changing lenses at all (I just happen to only own one so far), I don't really have a budget as long as it's going to be a good lense, I don't mind spending to get what I want.

I was thinking of maybe buying a few different lenses instead of one really expensive one that trys to cover off everything, is this a good idea?

I guess a good lense needs to be well built but i'd like sharp clear pictures really.

I hope that helps.

Thanks
Rick

Do you have a budget?
Would you be disappointed if you didn't spend it all on one lens?
What is your criteria for a "good lens?"

 

heh, yeah, that was a lot of questions, but you narrowed it down to the questions you have

IMHO, a few good lenses is far better than one that tries to cover everything. Zooms are great for some people, but they are not very sharp at either end, are expensive and slow, and not really that good compared to prime lenses (any non-zoom). And the wider the span of focal lengths, the worse they get. If you wanted to use a zoom all the time, you'd want to get one that spanned the focal lengths you use without making you use it at either end.

You know you want a wide, a tele, and probably something in between. A Nikon 20/2.8 isn't that expensive, something around 28mm to 35mm would be pretty standard for a normal" lens, and the Nikon 50/1.4, 50/1.8 or 85/1.8 are again pretty reasonably priced. If you get just three lenses, it's really easy to decide which you want to use at any given time. And it would be easy to identify what you might want down the road.

[edited to replace "Canon" with "Nikon." doh!]

 

My 18-70 mm kit lens is pro quality when it comes to image quality. It lacks a larger aperture (f2.8 would be nice) but you gain much lighter weight. I ran my sample head-to-head against my older more-expensive 24-85 mm f2.8-4 Nikkor. At overlapping zoom & aperture (e.g. f4 at 24 mm) they are evenly matched to my eye. Each has some slight flaws but they are different, not one better than the other, and not noticeable in prints. Even the geometric distortion of this kit lens is slightly less at 24 mm than my 24 mm prime Nikkor!

If I sound like a rabid fanatic of this lens, that's because I am.

If you want to reach below 18 mm I highly recommend the Tokina 12-24, but you can see other choices in a nearby wide angle thread.

 

to another Nikon owner.

I have a Nikkor 18-35mm 18-35 F3.5-4.5D, quality and sharpness is average, but overall quality is good for the price.

Maybe you can also take a look at Sigma's 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG, it's about >$699.


You can learn a lot from this forum/site:

www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/index.php

 

17-55mm F/2.8

 

The price on that lens still makes me queasy for a focal range that is sort of 'eh' for me (Nikon having excellent small 20, 24, 35 and 50 mm primes). But I wouldn't kick it out of bed if you gave it to me...

 

Thanks for all the advice so far

I think i'm going to keep my current lense as my daily walkabout lense and then get something more suited to my car photos like an 18-35 or 17-55 if I can afford

Thanks for the link as well I will check out the nikoncafe now.

Rick