New Lens for Nikon D40

[Steve B]

hey folks,
i'm after something that gives me a little more zoom for my D40, so I was thinking of a 55-200mm lens.
I've seen this one and was just wondering if anyone had it/used it and can hopefully give me some advice (as i know nothing about cameras!)

Cheers,
Steve

[icanhazburger]

Seems a good price, if other people recommend it then I may invest in one myself, I'm a newb to the D40, just got one on Friday, and I miss having the zoom I had on my old bridge camera.

It does not have any image stablisation from what I can see though, Nikon lenses have VR in the name to show this.

[this_is_gav]

It's a solid lens, but as expected, for the money you're paying, you're not going to take super-sharp pictures with nice blurry backgrounds. I can't think of a better value lens in this sort of range for the D40s. Perhaps consider the VR version for a little more?

[Flibb]

Just read a couple of reviews and it looks like a good lens for the cash. Only down side seems to be that the foucs motor is a bit slow.

Tamron and Sigma both have new lenses comming out with focus motors, but I would be suprosed if they launched with a price near to the Nikons. Theres a D40 compatabiity list
Discussion Forums @ Nikonians - D40/D40X/D60 - Fully Compatible AF-Lenses

[Whiternoise]

Nikon 55-200mm VR

Have a read, it's a pretty good site from what i've seen!

[Flibb]

Am tempted to get a Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G VR DX myself, would make a goodadd on to my setup
Nikon D70
Nikon AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8
Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM


Obvously focal length overlap with the sigma, but its a heavy beast and barely hand holdable weighing in at 1.9Kg.

[this_is_gav]

Originally Posted by Whiternoise

Nikon 55-200mm VR

Have a read, it's a pretty good site from what i've seen!

Hehe, you won't find many fans of Ken on many other sites.

Flibb, what's that Sigma 50-500 like? I'm keep looking at it and thinking it must be really crap at one end or the other, but it's such a versatile range. What do you use it for, other than the practical limitations, have you got any issues with it and do you happen to have any shots which show the lens off, technically (not yourself) in a good and bad light?

No way could I justify spending 4 figures on a 500mm lens at the moment, so this is sneaking onto my radar. Should I just save my cash and get a teleconverter?

[Hans Voralberg]

Originally Posted by this_is_gav

Hehe, you won't find many fans of Ken on many other sites.

Flibb, what's that Sigma 50-500 like? I'm keep looking at it and thinking it must be really crap at one end or the other, but it's such a versatile range. What do you use it for, other than the practical limitations, have you got any issues with it and do you happen to have any shots which show the lens off, technically (not yourself) in a good and bad light?

No way could I justify spending 4 figures on a 500mm lens at the moment, so this is sneaking onto my radar. Should I just save my cash and get a teleconverter?

I'm pretty sure someone has tried this lens, cant remember who, but I think he do a lot of astrophotography if that rings any bell. And 500mm is very long, that is wild life focal range, and I cant think of much else that need such a long lens

[colmo]

If you want objective lens reviews, have a look at this site:

Welcome to Photozone!

Ken Rockwell's reviews have all the objectivity of a 5 year-old.

Buying telephotos is very much a horses-for-courses process - things to consider are focal length, obviously, but also max aperture, range (will you use it at the long end all the time, will you use the zoom to crop the scene as required, or do you zoom between the min and max focal lengths, not using those in between?) and size/weight (you have to carry it, and people get nervous when you point an enormous lens at them).

The 55-200mm is reasonably sharp, small, and inexpensive, but the small max aperture will limit your ability to use shallow depth of field or fast shutter speeds in gloomy conditions.

The Sigma 50-500mm (aka the 'Bigma') is a favourite of bird shooters and airshow enthusiasts - the former likes the long end of the lens, the latter likes the ability to pull back to 50mm for aircraft on the ground. It isn't fast or particularly sharp, though. It may not see all that much use.

While it's a bit early to start thinking of expensive lenses yet, I think it's a good idea to at least have an idea what to work towards.

The standard pro's workhorse telephoto is a 70-200mm f2.8; they are fast, sharp, and versatile (not small, though) - the Nikon one will cost a bundle (£1k or so), so you might consider the Sigma version for about the same as the Bigma, and they have matched teleconverters if you need a little more reach - it is generally not recommended to go beyond a 1.4x converter - 2x or more gains you little advantage over simply cropping and rescaling the image.
On APS-C sensors, you may find the 70mm short end a little too long, in which case you might want to think about the Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 HSM - it's also a good bit cheaper and smaller than it's full-frame sibling.

One thing to remember - good lenses lose little value (as a percentage of their cost). Cheap crappy lenses usually do.

[Flibb]

I use the bigma for wildlife, its 2nd hand price is on the fall due Sigma releasing new super telephotos with AF motors and optical stabilisation.

Before buying the bigma I tried a variety of lenses, including primes with TCs, but on a tight budget it was down to this or the non HSM offerings which were slow focussing on the cameras I tried. This was rather a hindrance when trying to get fast moving birds. In lenses aperature costs money, but with newer cameras comming out with better high iso capability you do get a bit more leway.

Being rather retro I shoot a suprising amout of stuff in manual mode, a even shock horror dump AF on some lenses.

[icanhazburger]

Originally Posted by Flibb

I use the bigma for wildlife, its 2nd hand price is on the fall due Sigma releasing new super telephotos with AF motors and optical stabilisation.

Before buying the bigma I tried a variety of lenses, including primes with TCs, but on a tight budget it was down to this or the non HSM offerings which were slow focussing on the cameras I tried. This was rather a hindrance when trying to get fast moving birds. In lenses aperature costs money, but with newer cameras comming out with better high iso capability you do get a bit more leway.

Being rather retro I shoot a suprising amout of stuff in manual mode, a even shock horror dump AF on some lenses.

Whats the bigma? I'm after a lens for wildlife shots and I'm on a tight budget.

[Flibb]

Its a Sigma 50-500, think they are around £700 new, or £400 used. On a really tight budget they do a 170-500 but it lacks the focus motor which might not be a problem depending on what you are trying to photograph. Theres also some new lenses comming out from sigma with HSM and Optical Stabilisation, but these are very new and lots of people are waiting on user reviews before buying. A good forum for wildlife photography is birforums, unlike many forums you do get people jumping ship for specific lens / body combos. Shove bigma in to see what people have achieved, the digiscoping section is worth a look as well. Being a local at my neighbourhood reserve I have had the opportunity to use a wide range of stuff up to scary priced lenses. What has suprised me is the number of pople not sticking to one make of camera.

[icanhazburger]

Way out of my budget, zoom wise I'm after something that can match my old S5700's 10x, that was a nice little camera but I only miss the zoom on it, dont miss the missed oppurtunitys due to shutter lag.

I love the fact I can now capture shots I could not before because they happened to quick, but with just the kit lens I'm limited by distance now, atleast with a DSLR its something you can change

[colmo]

Originally Posted by icanhazburger

Way out of my budget, zoom wise I'm after something that can match my old S5700's 10x, that was a nice little camera but I only miss the zoom on it, dont miss the missed oppurtunitys due to shutter lag.

According to DPReview, the Fujifilm FinePix S5700 has a 38-380mm (35mm equivalent) lens. One thing you'll find is that the sensors on dSLRs are a lot bigger than a bridge camera, so engineering a similar lens is a lot tougher. Nevertheless, most manufacturers have given it a bash, and thus there are a number of 'superzooms' out there that might fill the role:

Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR II DX
Sigma 18-200mm OS HSM
Tamron 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 AF Di-II LD (motorised version for D40)

Note: The Tamron is not stabilised, but is probably the best performer of the group. It's not badly priced either - Tamron 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 Di ll LD Macro Lens & Tamron UV Filter - £265 at Bristol Cameras.

Pro lenses have relatively limited zoom ranges (no more than 3X), principally allowing less compromises to give consistently high resolution and faster max aperture. Nevertheless, the superzooms (I'll include the Bigma, as it is a 10X) are getting better all the time, and for many people, it's not about 'best quality' IQ, it's about 'good enough', while reaping the benefits of size and weight savings.

[icanhazburger]

Thanks for the info Colmo.

[Flibb]

Are you after zoom range or maximum focal length?
The Sigma 50-500mm and the 38-380mm on your F5700 are both 10x zoom, but the sigma will make the subject a lot larger at the top focal length.

Below is a updated list and link of all the fully compatible AF lenses for the D40, you will notice that quiet a few have NEW next to them. If your after focal length rather than zoom range, keep your eyes open for reviews of these two

70-300mm f/4,0-5,6 DG Macro New

70-300mm f/4,0-5,6 DG APO Macro New

Bristol cameras are listing the non APO for £90, the old non HSM versions have been around for quiet a while and I have one myself. Does depend on how tight your budget is, I got my one due to being totally skint at the time, but have been happy with it overall, except when trying to capture fast moving birds.

Discussion Forums @ Nikonians - D40/D40X/D60 - Fully Compatible AF-Lenses


List of current fully compatible AF-Lenses for the D40/D40X/D60:

Nikkor:

AF-S DX 12-24mm f/4.0G ED-IF

AF-S 14-24 mm f/2,8G ED New

AF-S DX 16-85mm f/3,5 - 5,6G ED VR

AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF

AF-S DX 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF

AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

AF-S VR DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G New

AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF

AF-S DX 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED-IF

AF-S VR DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

AF-S 24-70 mm f/2,8G ED New

AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

AF-S VR 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF

AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED

AF-S VR 55–200mm f/4–5.6G IF-ED

AF-S 60mm f/2.8G Micro

AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF

AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G

AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8D ED-IF

AF-S VR 105mm f/2.8G Micro

AF-S VR 200mm f/2.0G ED-IF

AF-S VR 200-400mm f/4.0G ED-IF

AF-I 300mm f/2.8D IF-ED

AF-S 300mm f/2.8D IF-ED

AF-S 300mm f/4.0D ED-IF

AF-S VR 300mm f/2.8 ED-IF

AF-I 400mm f/2.8D IF-ED

AF-S 400mm f/2.8D ED-IF

AF-S VR 400mm f/2,8G ED New

AF-I 500mm f/4.0D IF-ED

AF-S 500mm f/4.0D ED-IF

AF-S VR 500mm f/4G ED New

AF-I 600mm f/4.0D IF-ED

AF-S 600mm f/4.0D ED-IF

AF-S VR 600mm f/4G ED New



Sigma:

4,5mm f/2,8 EX DC HSM

10mm f/2,8 EX DC HSM

10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM

12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM

14mm f/2.8 EX

17-35mm f/2.8-4.0 EX DG

17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro HSM New

18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC HSM New

18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro HSM New

18-125mm f/3.8-5.6 DC OS HSM

18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS New

30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM

50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM New

50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM

50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX DG

55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC HSM New

70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro

70-300mm f/4,0-5,6 DG Macro New

70-300mm f/4,0-5,6 DG APO Macro New

80-200mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro

80-400mm f/4-5.6 EX OS

100-300mm f/4.0 EX DG

120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG

120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS APO HSM

150mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro

150-500mm f5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM

180mm f/3.5 EX DG Macro

300mm f/2.8 EX DG APO HSM

300-800mm f/5.6 EX DG APO

500mm f/4.5 EX DG HSM APO

800mm f/5.6 EX DG APO


Tamron:

17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II New Date of launch March-2008

18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II New

28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Date of launch 30-MAY-2008

28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC Date of launch 30-MAY-2008

70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD MACRO Date of launch 30-MAY-2008

70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di LD Macro New