Nikon D40 full range lens

[spas027]

Pardon my lack of knowledge on this.

So my wife likes to take pictures of my cycling races. As of now we have the kit lens 18-55 and a 55-200 zoom lens. I have spent some time looking at local "photographers" work at the races that I attend and really like the way that some of the shots come out that are shot 50mm and down. My wife loves the zoom. She is a novice and simply enjoys taking the pictures but has a desire to become more proficient. I understand that she could simply keep switching lenses but don't want to burden her with this hassle. So this leads me to my question:

What is available, that would work with the D40 that can cover the full range? (I understand that the D40 is a 1.5, something or other.)

These are two that I thought could work. Although I am not completely sure with what their recommendation means "Note: Not recommended for use on full-frame (FX) digital cameras, 35mm film cameras, or APS SLR cameras." I believe I should be fine, right?

Rent Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

Nikon Lens Rental - Rent Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical DX for Nikon

Thanks for the help

[nicled]

Check on the Sigma 18-250mm, 3.5 lens. I have been using that lens for my D40X and i'm happy with it. It comes with VR. But it's a bit heavy because of the glass lens. It's my everyday lens and travel lens. I have the Nikon 18-55, 50-200 & the 18-105. I had to change lenses depending on the need, which was slow and which made the sensor susceptible to dust.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by spas027

...I am not completely sure with what their recommendation means "Note: Not recommended for use on full-frame (FX) digital cameras, 35mm film cameras, or APS SLR cameras." I believe I should be fine, right?

Yes. You'll be fine. Basically, with dSLR lenses, there are two kinds: lenses that are designed for 35mm film, and that can cover an entire "full-frame" (FX) sensor, and "digital" lenses that can only cover the smaller APS-C sized sensors in most "crop body" (DX) digital cameras. The film lenses, because they can cover a larger image area, can be used on both film/full-frame and crop-body digital bodies, but the smaller coverage of the DX lenses means they can only be used on crop-body digitals.

In the Nikon lineup, only the D3 and the D700 are full-frame. Every other body Nikon makes is a crop body.

Superzooms are convenient if you need to travel light or want to avoid changing lenses, but they do have drawbacks. They're expensive, their image quality is only on a par with the 18-55 kit lens most shooters already have, and they are "slow" lenses (i.e., have small maximum apertures that generally require slower shutter speeds).

dSLR lenses tend to be special-purpose tools, rather than general-purpose ones. If your wife prefers a telephoto lens, than it may just be that she wants a lens with more reach or better sharpness than the 55-200 VR, instead of a superzoom. With a lot of sports shooting, one general recommendation would be a 70-200 f/2.8 lens, because the big wide f/2.8 max. aperture lets you use faster shutter speeds. Optically, the 70-300 VR is a better lens. I would, however, avoid the 80-400, as that is not an AF-S lens, and will not autofocus on the D40.

Changing lenses is just par for the course when it comes to dSLR photography.

[spas027]

Thank you all for your help