Which lens for D80

[NiKo]

[b Hello everyone,

I just got a Nikon D80 body and planning to purchase a new Lens, DX17-55mm f2.8 is over 2K, which is over my budget. Does any know which lens 17-55mm is suitable for the D80, and have anyone experience with VR 18-200mm?

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Thank you for listening.
[/b]

[losfp]

What's ya budget?

The 18-200VR is a very good compromise lens - good range, and good enough sharpness... However will set you back $1300 or so.

Otherwise for a cheaper solution, the 18-70 (which was the D70's kit lens) is very good value.

Then you'll have to decide WHAT you want to shoot. Close-ups? Wildlife? Birds? Portraits? Group-shots? Sports? Landscapes? The advice you receive will vary depending on your needs.

[NiKo]

What's ya budget?

The 18-200VR is a very good compromise lens - good range, and good enough sharpness... However will set you back $1300 or so.

Otherwise for a cheaper solution, the 18-70 (which was the D70's kit lens) is very good value.

Then you'll have to decide WHAT you want to shoot. Close-ups? Wildlife? Birds? Portraits? Group-shots? Sports? Landscapes? The advice you receive will vary depending on your needs.

My budget for the lens is 1k and I have got a 50mm f1.4 already. I mainly will shoot Landscapes and sometime Close-up.

[losfp]

hmmm.. then IMO you can't go far wrong with the 18-70. I have a Tokina 12-24 that I love for landscapes, those are about $600-ish.

[soxOZ]

[b Hello everyone,

I just got a Nikon D80 body and planning to purchase a new Lens, DX17-55mm f2.8 is over 2K, which is over my budget. Does any know which lens 17-55mm is suitable for the D80, and have anyone experience with VR 18-200mm?

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Thank you for listening.
[/b]

Hi... NiKo...

There is no comparison between the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 DX to the 18-200VR. Although the 18-200 is probably one of the best 11x zooms, its IQ is still way short of the 17-55.

You said that you are interested in landscape and maybe portrait shots, so here would be my suggestion considering it shouldn't blow your budget, well not by much...
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Nikon 18-55 (better than you think, very sharp between 18-35 for a cheap lens)
Nikon 18-70 (funny mustache distortion at 18, but usually gone by 20-22mm, very good the rest of the range)
Nikon 18-135 (very sharp with great focal length but with some CA and vignetting problems when used wide open, but can be easily fixed in PP)
Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 (very sharp and fast as long as you get a good copy)
Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4 (very versatile lens that give very good IQ)
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These are only a few of the lenses that are available, and what your final decision will be is what your budget will allow.

My suggestion would be to go for the Nikon 18-135 (part of the D80 Kit) as this will give you a very good focal range, and after using it for a while, you can then determine what focal length is best suited for you shooting needs and then look at getting a lens / lenses to suit...
Good luck with your decision...
C.Ya....