Lens Questions

[Rainman]

I recently upgraded from a Nikon D3000 to a D90 with an 18-105mm kit lens. Just this weekend in fact. I have an opportunity to buy a used 180mm Nikon f2.8 ed lens at a reasonable price and I have some questions.

First, to set things up, I’m an outdoorsman and my interest is in nature and wildlife photography. I’m relatively new to photography but not to the outdoors. My expectations are for shots at longer distances as well as lower light conditions due to early morning and late evening shots and/or forested conditions. So my first question is how well will this lens work with my new camera? In other words would I be putting a diamond earring on a pig or a bow tie with a tuxedo? Second, would this lens be fast enough for my use? And last, I have a 55-200 mm kit lens and I’m undecided on keeping or selling it with the d3000. Results from it have varied but I’ll plead guilty and inexperience for those results. Regardless I don’t trust it but it gets good reviews and it’s paid for. I plan to sell the d3000 but I’m unsure if I want to sell everything lock, stock and barrel or just the basic package. One reason for keeping is I have a good selection of filters for it. But if I keep the zoom and add the telephoto I’ll have 3 lenses that each use different size filters to fill my camera bag. So would you keep the lens or sell? If you would like to share some of your knowledge and experience I’m interested in reading your opinions.

[autofocus]

All I can say about the 180mm is it's old, 1980's technology, and very sharp throughout the f/stops. It's also heavy, and non stabilized which could be a problem at the crop factor of 270mm on your camera. Also, it's a manual focus lens which could present a bit of a problem while shooting fast moving wildlife. Beyond that, I can't tell you what to do.

[Aegea]

The 180/2.8 works brilliantly on the D90. Mine can easily out-resolve the D90 sensor, but that's fine because I will keep the lens longer than the body. It's good for stadiums and sports, but I think it's too short for most wildlife, particularly birds, even with a 1.4x TC. You really need 300mm plus for most wildlife, unless you are very good at stalking.

[Rainman]

Thanks for the replies!
Autofocus I’ve learned these lenses have been made since 1970 and are still in production. I believe the lens I’m looking at was made between 1988 & 1993 and will auto focus. That said I don’t understand what is meant by the crop factor of 270mm that you mentioned. Is there a simple explanation for that?

Aegea I’m a good hunter and stalker. For larger game like deer 15 yards and unaware is not uncommon. Turkeys at 10 yards happens each spring but they are wary at that distance. I’ve had song birds, woodpeckers. and squirrels close enough to touch from time to time. With that said I would expect most shots to range from 10 to 30 yards.

I don’t have any illusions of turning pro. I know that isn’t in the cards for me but,like most, I would like to take better photos. Truth is I would hate to get that million dollar shot with hundred dollar results because of mismatched or inferior equipment.

[IMG][/IMG]

The goldfinch was shot at 10 to 15 yards last June with the 55-200mm lens on the d3000. This is the type of shot I'm interested in taking but sharper and better color.

[ravncat]

The 180 2.8 is an excellent lens, the design is old, but the optics are very good.

The d3000 has an aps-c sensor in it (dx) and thus, you have to deal with the crop factor of 1.5 - so it frames like a 270mm lens would on full frame (fx). your 55-200 also acts like a 83-300 on fx - I wouldn`t worry about it too much.

As for anything, I believe that you will lose autofocus on the D3000 as the 180 2.8 is not AF-S. If you don`t need AF it`s a fine choice - the lens is fairly lightweight, especially when compared to the much larger 70 or 80 to 200mm 2.8 brethren.

The Sharpness of the 180 2.8 wide open is there, and it`s more contrasty than your 55-200. With a 2 stop advantage it should allow you to shoot a little later or earlier in the day. I doubt you`ll see much color difference. The 55-200 is not that bad - get both lenses stopped down to f8 or so, and it would be harder to tell the difference.