Lens query for Nikon D7100 from new member

[davej]

I live in the nation of Louisiana (to the east of Texas). I'm retired from both the US Air Force and teaching computer science at the college level. Over the years I've learned that there seems to be more that I don't know than do know. This bring me to my question.

I bought my D7100 Nikon because my wife and I have discovered cruising and I want to take pictures to help us remember where we've been and what we've seen. I'm okay with the provided lenses (AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm, AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm). What I'd like to do required, I think, a different lens and that's where I'm stuck.

There have been instances where I what to take a picture of a distant object/scene and bring it in close as if it was right in front of me. I do not know what lens will do that for me. I would certainly appreciates any help/suggestions/directions in this regard.

TIA
Dave

[Ianhoward]

Dave
I am interested to read your post, and I will also be interested to read what others write in response.
It would be difficult to advise on which lens to buy as this depends upon personal taste among other things. But to me it seems you are thinking of telephoto lenses and (here is my difficulty!) I question whether you need such a lens for landscape/ coastal scenes. What you have already will produce satisfactory pictures.
You do not mention a tripod. Now that is a necessary piece of kit, even if your camera has an image stabiliser, and even if you are working from a moving vessel.
There is a great deal that could be said in response to your query, but for now this is enough. Except for one other thing that is non-photographic. Keep a journal - write a journal of your trips, and then later PRINT these along with a selection of photographs. This may sound tedious but writing at the end of a day is a good discipline and when you and your wife get too old to cruise (!) you can sit and read to each other of places you visited and things you did, and have the pictorial reminder of what you saw. I have sat and talked with people who have travelled widely yet will say they can remember very little detail of what happened. So - write it down! Take a lap top or netbook or ipad along with you. Lecture over.
All the best
Howard
PS I note you identify yourself as being in the NATION of Louisiana. My wife have enjoyed our trips and travel to the USA, except for the problem of getting into the country!

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Dave (great name, eh?)

Welcome to the CiC forums from me (Dave!).

I moved the question to this forum to attract more replies.

I am somewhat puzzled, your 55 - 300mm lens should, when zoomed to 300mm, be able to 'bring distant things' significantly closer, are you saying you need more than that?

If you do, I'm afraid the bad news is that it will cost a fair number of dollars to achieve that, what is your budget?

It would help if you could post an example picture in this thread of such a subject; so we can see the magnitude of the problem.
You may find this thread helpful:
HELP THREAD: How can I post images here?


One last thing: Could you do me a favour please?
Could you click Settings (right at the top),
then Edit Profile (on left)
and put your first name (Dave) in the Real Name field
and where you are (Louisiana) in the Location field,
then click the Save Changes button below and to right,
this helps everyone give you more personal and relevant answers - thanks in advance.

Cheers, Dave

[Shadowman]

Dave,

The lenses you have will definitely fit most if not all of your needs, you didn't really specify what in particular you want to capture. Usually on cruise ships the subjects are somewhat limited, it's either what's on deck, in the interiors, or perhaps a distance ship. When in port, normally your lighting conditions will be middle of the day, you may get some good sunset shots from the deck upon returning. Daylight shots may require something more than a new lens, perhaps a filter or two would benefit you more. As you say you are new to photography, just beware of moving in and out of hot/cold environments and how it might affect your equipment.

[grabbajay]

i think the tamron 70-300VC will be a bit sharper than the 55-300 and also a good lens to have is the 60mm micro afd, very good lens for the price and the 35mm 1.8 is a must have for DX users

[tclune]

The bad news is that, if your 55-300 doesn't have enough reach, the next step up is a big one -- in terms of cost, weight, and skill required to use the lens well. The good news is that there have been a number of excellent lenses developed in the last year or so that fill the bill, and they are all relative bargains (in the bad old days, this market required many thousands of dollars for a decent lens. Now, you can get good glass for a "mere" grand or two.)

Sigma and Tamron have both released 150-600 mm zooms for about $1000. They are optically excellent, although at the long end they only go to f/6.3. And they weigh over four pounds each. I find that I need to use a monopod with this class of lens -- even though they have VR built in, they are just too heavy to hold on-target. If you are shooting birds or wildlife, you may want to hold the camera pointed at a particular spot for an extended period of time. Four pounds becomes a lot very quickly. Also, because the lens has such high magnification, all movement is magnified. Getting a sharp image at 600mm zoom requires absolute stillness. And that is where the f/6.3 becomes a big disadvantage -- you can't crank up the shutter speed too far because the lens isn't bright enough. I find that, at long zoom ranges, I want my shutter speed to be close to 1/1000. This is partly because of my movement and partly because of the subject movement.

All the worries about using a long lens also applies to the Nikon 200-500 f/5.6. It is even heavier than the above lenses, but has a constant max. aperture of f/5.6 and even better image quality. It is a bit more expensive at $1400 or so, but worth considering if you are looking for a lens this long.

One other thing worth thinking about is the Nikon 300 f/4 PF lens with a 1.4x TC. This lens, even with Nikon's TC, has IQ as good as the others and weighs less than half as much. Unfortunately, it costs twice as much and lacks zoom. Nonetheless, the weight advantage makes this worth considering if weight is a major concern. FWIW

[billtils]

Dave


I'd generally agree with the comments already posted, but I have had the Tamron 150-600 since its release and used it on a D7100 body in a variety of situations - none really similar to what you are intending.

However, it is a cracking lens that I found well worth the money. As has been posted many times in many places the only drawback is that it is a slow lens and poor light could be a problem - hopefully not on a cruise though

The best I can do for "far away" are below. The first is a small bird taken from about 40 feet away, and the other is a familiar object just a wee bit more distant than that.

[ccphoto]

While the 55-300 will bring you somewhat closer, it is a kit lens and thusly it is not particularly a good piece of glass..in fact only marginally so. The Nikon 28-300 is an infinitely better piece of glass and has a better range at 28mm. It will focus just fine in the shade. Next, and it is expensive is the 80-400 which is still one of my most favored lenses. It too will focus anywhere and sharply and quickly.

Staying with Nikon, you could go to the 200-500 which with your crop sensor would give you about a top end equivalent to 750mm but it won't focus worth a poo in low light. I have no difficulties with this lens and the D810 but now you're back to more expense - much more. I'd opt for the Tamron 150-600 over the Sigma as I find it to be sharper at more focal lengths than the Sigma which is also heavier, especially if you go with the Sigma 150-600 Sport which is an absolute beast to carry.

I might suggest moving up in all areas and going with a D610 and the Tamron 150-600. You get full frame capabilities without a huge price jump and coupled to the 150-600 you get what you are asking for. You're going to be into it for about 2 grand. Sell the other outfit and you can cut that cost down to about the cost of the 150-600.

[Dave Humphries]

I wonder if he'll ever return? (the OP, I mean)

He's not been here since joining on 9th July

[ccphoto]

I never paid any attention. Too funny.

[Ianhoward]

i think the tamron 70-300VC will be a bit sharper than the 55-300 and also a good lens to have is the 60mm micro afd, very good lens for the price and the 35mm 1.8 is a must have for DX users

I have the 70-300 Tamron as well and although I cannot compare with the other you mention, I have been pleased with its cost and performance.

[Brev00]

Sounds like you need more reach. With reach comes a cost both in money and weight. Fortunately, the lens companies have added stabilization to the new offerings mentioned by Tom above so you may or may not need a monopod in every situation. Depends on your own hand holding ability which varies widely person to person. You might want to go to a camera store to handle the different offerings. Even the Sigma C and the Tamron, though they are of similar weight, feel quite different in my hands. How a lens feels can be as important as image quality, in my opinion, as one is more likely to use a lens that feels good to the photographer.

[rpcrowe]

Howard wrote... "Keep a journal - write a journal of your trips, and then later PRINT these along with a selection of photographs. This may sound tedious but writing at the end of a day is a good discipline and when you and your wife get too old to cruise (!)"

I agree with Howard. However, the one attribute missing in most DSLR and Bridge cameras is an audio recording system that can be linked to each image.

I had one in my 1990's vintage Olympus 5050Z (which was sort of a combination between a bridge camera and a point a shoot camera). It was really nice to be able to quickly record information and have that information linked to an image

I have "tried valiantly" to write down information in a notebook and/or to record information on a separate voice recorder but, have not been successful in those endeavors

BTW: a neat thing that might be helpful on a cruise, when you are taking a tour, is to record the tour guide's information in a low quality video, just to store that information. I wish that I had recorded all the information imparted by tour guides during my trip to China a few years ago.

Howard also wrote: "I note you identify yourself as being in the NATION of Louisiana. My wife have enjoyed our trips and travel to the USA, except for the problem of getting into the country!"

Howard, I am sorry if our borders seem unfriendly but, I hope that the Americans have welcomed you once you get pass the border control. I wrote my opinion about border integrity but deleted it because I did not want to open a can of worms