Travel Photography Nikon's 17-35mm has excellent reviews from many sources that I have looked at it seems to be the ideal travel lens. The price for a new one is a little out of my reach right now. Would there be another alternative lens that I might have missed? Travel Photography Nikon's 17-35mm has excellent reviews from many sources that I have looked at it seems to be the ideal travel lens. The price for a new one is a little out of my reach right... » Read More Travel Photography Nikon's 17-35mm has excellent reviews from many sources that I have looked at it seems to be the ideal travel lens. The price for a new one is a little out of my reach right now. Would there be another alternative lens that I might have missed? « Show Less
84381
For a travel lens, the 16-35mm f/4 might be a better lens. It is lighter and sharper. For travel photography, rarely are you at 2.8. Most times you are stopping down to f/11 to get more things in focus. If I had to buy this lens again, I may have gone for the 14-24mm f/2.8. The only time I had to go down to 2.8 was when I was doing night time star photography.
435057
I've never had IS in any lens. This is a hardy lens for travel, but needs a lot of light. A better choice might be the Tamron 28mm-75mm f/2.8 which is a fast lens. And with your 1.5x crop factor, you essentially have a tele up to about 100mm. This is a great lens and I've not used my 18-200 at all since I put it on my camera. The image quality is miles ahead as well. Good luck and have fun.
423677
If you are going to stick with a DX sensor Nikon for a while, then I think the 18-300mm is your best value. The image quality is going to be very comparable to the 28-300mm, plus the 18-300 has these advantages for the DX shooter: - It starts at 18mm, so you have much wider coverage for landscape shots or tight spaces - It's smaller and lighter. Since this is going to be an all-purpose travel lens, this will be very helpful - It's about $150 less - If you ever go up to FX / full-frame, you can always sell this lens down the road and recoup about 65-75% of the original cost Enjoy!
2220125
My 12-24 was the most useful lens for vacation pics. The range of 18 to 36 mm (35mm equivalent) was perfect for my needs. Very decent sharpness and color for this lens. When I moved up to my D700, THIS is the ONLY lens I kept. I found that most of the range covered the FX sensor, meaning that I could shoot from about 16 - 24mm with the D700 (full frame).
1239597
Mindy, so far the pictures I've taken have been good, crisp and clear pictures. I'm sure it would depend a lot on various factors especially light and distance. I have this lens on my Nikon 5000 all the time. It has replaced my 18-55 kit lens. I brought it with me walking around in a recent vacation to Maine and when we went sailing. It is a little heavier than the kit 18-55 lens but not as heavy as the 55-200 lens. It is so much more versatile. It has a wide angle and zoom. I'm no pro. Just an amateur who takes pictures of family and sights when on vacation. I love this lens. I hope this helps. Good luck. Mindy, so far the pictures I've taken have been good, crisp and clear pictures. I'm sure it would depend a lot on various factors especially light and distance. I have this lens on my Nikon 5000 all the time. It has replaced my 18-55 kit lens. I brought it with me walking around in a recent vacation to Maine and when we went sailing. It is a little heavier than the kit 18-55 lens but not as heavy as the 55-200 lens. It is so much more versatile. It has a wide angle and zoom. I'm no pro. Just an amateur who takes pictures of family and sights when on vacation. I love this lens. I hope this... » Read More Mindy, so far the pictures I've taken have been good, crisp and clear pictures. I'm sure it would depend a lot on various factors especially light and distance. I have this lens on my Nikon 5000 all the time. It has replaced my 18-55 kit lens. I brought it with me walking around in a recent vacation to Maine and when we went sailing. It is a little heavier than the kit 18-55 lens but not as heavy as the 55-200 lens. It is so much more versatile. It has a wide angle and zoom. I'm no pro. Just an amateur who takes pictures of family and sights when on vacation. I love this lens. I hope this helps. Good luck. « Show Less
1380700
It is a new design that is smaller and lighter. Some might argue that the older design is a little sharper, but I am satisfied with the newer design as an "all purpose travel lens". For critical work, I would use my 70-200.
1125761
It's an amazing wedding lens but not necessarily the best since that can depend on many factors. If you're looking for a long focal length like this then it's hard to beat the price and weight. But if you're willing to lug around some more heft the 70-200 2.8 with IS is a great wedding lens and versatile. I used my 135 exclusively at a wedding a few weekends ago and the photos came out tremendously but the long focal length meant I did miss some shots
713052
Not apples to apples. L lenses are designed for serious photographers who understand that they will need 4 or more lenses. That is why they have such a short range. The 15-85 is wider and still has twice the zoom. I would rather have one lens that is very good quality, that a bag full of pro lenses sitting at home. In other words, in my opinion, the 15-85 is one of the best walk around lenses out there (and I have gone through a bunch.) If you are a pixel peeper and have no regard for money, go with a couple of L lenses. Also look at the 24-105mm L. That is more of fair comparison. Value wise the 15-85 is hard to beat.
2096570
Depends on what you are planning to use the lens for. If you are into wildlife photography then you may need the 18-300.The 18-200 is a pretty compact lens while the 18-300 is huge and weighs about 10 more ounces. Check out this link to see the relative sizes..........http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/comparisons/DX-super-zooms/index.htm As far as Leon's criticism of this lens is concerned I would definitely not call this a poor lens. Just keep in mind that as with any superzoom there are compromises that have to be made. It would not be fair to compare the sharpness of this lens with a prime lens or with a pro quality zoom lens like the 24-70 f/2.8. So if you are into pixel peeping you will be disappointed. This is a good walk about lens that lets you capture a variety of scenes without having to change lens. This is not a fast lens and needs good lighting to capture good photographs. In summary if you are looking for a portrait lens look elsewhere but if you are looking for a lens that you can travel with and capture vacation memories then the flexibility that this lens provides you is excellent.
1272576
Thanks! I ended up getting the 17-50 and actually just got back from a trip to NYC. My pictures turned out really well for the big apple and I am very happy I got the 17-50. Taking wide angle shots of the city was fun because this lens gives you the ability to squeeze in plenty of scenery and play with the angles. I plan on getting an additional lens to cover the longer shots such as those you previous listed.
1429332
For travel, I like carrying the Canon 15-85mm IS USM. But I also own the 70-200 f/4L IS USM and use it for performances, etc. The 70-200's image quality was very eye opening for me. This lens will show you exactly what your camera is capable of and you will not be able to go back to cheap lenses afterwards.
1856384
I looked at both this lens & the 16-35mm lens. I got the 16-35mm lens. In my search for other lenses I found that the 18-35 is not that great.
1402683
It is a good lens for portrates I am not sure which I like most the 85 or the 35, I seem to get more room around the subject on the 35 for the full frame printing but both are good lens.
681557
My recommendation is Tokina 11-16mm (sharpest UWA lens)+ 18-55mm + 70-200mm f/4 IS for most of traveling and hiking in the mountain, kit lens is actually very good and light. If you are in vacation you also need fast prime for indoor activity like 50mm f/1.8 and dedicated flash like 430EX or bigger. If you only need to bring 1 lens, get 18-200mm IS, very useful and acceptable sharpness in whole range compared to any third party superzoom lenses.
876531
The 18-55 covers a widw ange to short telephoto range equal to a 27mm to an83mm lens on a film camera. with this lens you can shoot fairly wide shots and the zoom in to increase the size of yor subject . the 55mm end is good for portraits and the 18 is good for scenics. The 55-200 zooms out to capture firds in flight or othe distant subjects. Both are inexpensive and outstanding optically.
963789
55-210 like others has said should fit your needs. I wouldn't go with the 18-200 since you should already have the 18-55 with your kit. By the way, I use 18-55 for 90% of my shots. I bought the 55-210 myself, It's cheaper and in my test before I bought it, it has better contrast and IQ then the 18-200. The 18-55 and 55-210 are the only lens I take with me when I go on vacation. Also 18-200 is a lot heaver. FYI: Once you pass the beginning phase with this camera, get you some adaptors for other lens and it pretty much open a new world of options on photography. Have fun out there!
1371879
The 40-150mm from Olympus is one of the best kept secrets. It is a fabulous lens at a really reasonable price. I use it regularly and really like it as it's so sharp. The 14-150 covers a much wider range and makes a good travel lens since it starts out at wide angle (28mm equiv) whereas the 40-150 starts at 80mm which is moderate telephoto, but great for portrait work. The 40-150 is sharper than the 14-150. I find I can shoot at full zoom with the 40-150 and then crop some more without losing too much in quality. Both are good lenses, just made for different purposes.Hope this helps. Graeme The 40-150mm from Olympus is one of the best kept secrets. It is a fabulous lens at a really reasonable price. I use it regularly and really like it as it's so sharp. The 14-150 covers a much wider range and makes a good travel lens since it starts out at wide angle (28mm equiv) whereas the 40-150 starts at 80mm which is moderate telephoto, but great for portrait work. The 40-150 is sharper than the 14-150. I find I can shoot at full zoom with the 40-150 and then crop some more without losing too much in quality. Both are good lenses, just made for different purposes.Hope this helps.... » Read More The 40-150mm from Olympus is one of the best kept secrets. It is a fabulous lens at a really reasonable price. I use it regularly and really like it as it's so sharp. The 14-150 covers a much wider range and makes a good travel lens since it starts out at wide angle (28mm equiv) whereas the 40-150 starts at 80mm which is moderate telephoto, but great for portrait work. The 40-150 is sharper than the 14-150. I find I can shoot at full zoom with the 40-150 and then crop some more without losing too much in quality. Both are good lenses, just made for different purposes.Hope this helps. Graeme « Show Less