Suggest lens for D90, please

[Alokchitri]

Hello friends

My camera is NIKON D90 and I am looking for the following type of lenses. Please note that I do not have a very large and deep pocket, unfortunately; so while suggesting please keep it in consideration.

Macro/Micro Lens: I have already come across TAMRON 90mm Di. Is it really very good lens? My main concern is Sharpness and lens should be around 100mm focal lens so that I can keep a workable distance between me and the subject. Please note that I would prefer a non-DX lens so that it is compatible with my old Film SLR too. Is there any other lens worth considering?

Moderate Tele Zoom: I already have 100-300 SIGMA AF-D DL lens, and it is about 150-450mm which is very attractive focal range. But I'm not really 100% happy with the output (in terms of sharpness at extreme end of 300mm) and D90 has a pretty bad tendency to overexpose the scene. Hence I'm looking for other lenses in this focal length range [100-300, 200-400 full frame] preferably full frame (compatible with Film SLRs). Again the Sharpness of the lens is of utmost importance. Lens may or may not be VR. Please suggest with price.

Thank you

[OsmosisStudios]

What kind of budget, specifically, are we talking about? What other gear do you currently have?

[Alokchitri]

Ok, I bought Nikkor 70-300VR f4.5/5.6 AF-s ED-IF, hope this is going to satisfy me in terms of sharpness.
I have Nikon D90+Nikkor AF-D 18-55 VR DX+100-300mm Sigma f4.5-6.7 AF-D+Nikkor 35-80mm AF-D

[OsmosisStudios]

I think you're putting too much emphasis on sharpness, but that could just be me.

The 70-300 VR is a very good choice (I have one myself) but depending on what your needs are, it might not be the best option.

[Alokchitri]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

I think you're putting too much emphasis on sharpness, but that could just be me.

The 70-300 VR is a very good choice (I have one myself) but depending on what your needs are, it might not be the best option.

Thanks for the reassurance abut the quality, but what exactly do you mean by the phrase "not be...option"?

[inkista]

It's all about maximum aperture. If you want to shoot fast action, or in lower light, the 70-300 might not have enough aperture to give you the shutter speeds you want to "freeze" action. VR only helps with camera shake blur, not subject motion blur.

Newbies tend to fixate on focal lengths of lenses, because they can understand that, and aperture settings are a little more complex. But the maximum aperture of a lens is just as important as its focal length range in terms of its usability.

With your Sigma, I'd actually recommend looking at your technique before you go hunting up new glass. You may eventually dump it and go for something nicer, but make sure it's not your technique first, because bad technique is going to affect your images no matter what lens you're using. Try stopping it down to the f/8-f/16 range, try backing off a little from the 300mm end of the range, and make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to mitigate camera shake blur (i.e., the 1/focal_length rule; e.g., if you're shooting at 300mm handheld, you want your shutter speed to be 1/300s or faster). Or use some form of support (tripod, monopod). It's not like the 100-300 f/4.5-6.7 is stabilized (OS).

This article is worth reading: http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2009...lephoto-images

[Alokchitri]

Thanks for the heads up regarding aperture Inkista- though I am quite aware of the fact regading it. I tried my 100-300 extensively before dumping it. I even used tripod, tried stopping it down, braketed shots, mirroe lock up, different light and obviously stopping my breath while releasing shutter...phew...you name it and I did it. But the lens is not inherently sharp beyond 200mm and I could not live with it.
I do not generally cover sports, so I am not that worried about low light focus and motion blur....I am chiefly a nature photographer and love to take shots of birds and other animals. Though I am not yet in wildlife as I can not afford any higher focal length at this moment.

I have been using my old F601 film SLR even about 2months back before I got myself my first DSLR D90, after photographing with my film SLR for about 15 years or so. Entering in Digital bandwagon so late makes me a little jittery about new eqjuipments and hence I tend to seek suggestions from experieced D-World walkers

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by Alokchitri

Ok, I bought Nikkor 70-300VR f4.5/5.6 AF-s ED-IF, hope this is going to satisfy me in terms of sharpness.
I have Nikon D90+Nikkor AF-D 18-55 VR DX+100-300mm Sigma f4.5-6.7 AF-D+Nikkor 35-80mm AF-D

So I assumed that you have the Sigma AF 100-300mm f/4.5-6.7 DL (~$129 @ shopping.com). According to "http://shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/lenses/0800sb_sigma/", it is OK at 100-200mm range.

For sharpness, you can try 300mm prime. However, the Nikon 28-300 VR (FX) isn't that bad.

[jml79]

What is your PP technique? I find that one of my lenses (the old Minolta) looks soft at first but after figuring out it's CA behaviour (and correcting for it) and applying a little unsharp mask it works very well. Digital RAW is not as sharp as film. All camera's (that I know about) apply some sharpening inside when shooting jpg. I had to adjust when I swithced to RAW. I also had to adjust to correcting for noise in PP as well.