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Noob Question: what is best for a DSLR: 18-50 + 55-200mm or a single 18mm-200mm leorolim
Hi there!
I'm thinking in buying a D-SLR for more serious photography.

My sights rest upon the Pentax K10D (TIPA & EISA 2007 awards), Olympus E-510 (EISA 2007) and the Nikon D40x (TIPA 2007). In this order.

My doubt is in the lenses.
Do I buy the kit lenses 18mm-50mm + 55mm-200mm,
or do I buy a single 18mm-200mm lens?

Separated lens are cheaper, but are there any differences? Advantages? Are they equivalent?
One single lens means less exchanges, so less dust in the sensor? Right?
What about macro photos (1-10 cm away)? Do I need a specific lens?

Thank you for your time...

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>> Anonymous
>>102251
Read up on the lenses and pick the ones that you like better.
>> Anonymous
May I suggest a third alternative?

Buy one prime, either wide or normal. (Wide = equivalent to 35mm or less on 35mm film; normal = equivalent to 40-60mm, generally on the shorter side of that) Buy another medium telephoto (equivalent to 60-135mm, generally towards the middle of that) one for portraits, or if you need really long lengths like 200mm, then get the 55-200.

Dust on the sensor isn't a big problem. Most modern cameras clean up after themselves, and many camera stores offer you free cleanings if you don't want to learn to do it yourself.

The Nikkor 18-200mm is a problem of a lens, though, if that's what you're thinking about. People usually look at it as a general purpose lens, but it isn't really. It's really one of those specialty lenses that is "don't buy this unless you know why you need it."

For macro photos you do need a specific lens or extension tubes.
>> Prime lens leorolim
One more noob question :(

Prime lens? I know! I have to google it!
Whats about a prime lens? As I breefly understand, in the good ones, the quality is great. But what's the diference between a prime , lets say 35mm (wide) vs a regular wide lens like an 18mm-50mm? I don't have zoom in the prime lens? How is the depth of view compared?

Thank for your time.
I'll search more intel on prime lens :)
>> 18mm-200mm lens -> General purpose or not? leorolim
What do you mean about this:
"People usually look at it as a general purpose lens, but it isn't really. It's really one of those specialty lenses that is "don't buy this unless you know why you need it."


Everywhere I go I read reviews that 18mm-200mm are great all-round lens.
I want a lens (or should I say two?) with which I can shoot wide-angle(portraits, buildings, landscapes, etc...) and long-range (animals, details, sports, naked ladies on the beach :D)
Aren't average 18mm-2000mm good for that?
And I'm an amateur photographer. Do not require pristine quality. For now is just the best cost-quality selections...
>> Anonymous
>18mm-2000mm
I'd give my right nut for one of those
>> Anonymous
Look into getting a Nikkei DLN 9000A
>> Jeremo !iKGMr61IHM
>>102299

now call me silly, but i think ou should just pay the 700 dollar retail price for it.
>> Anonymous
>>102318
can you tell me where to buy a 18mm-2000mm lens for $700?
>> Anonymous
>>102320
BESTPRICECAMERAS.COM
>> elf_man !!DdAnyoDMfCe
>>102323
Let's spell it out, folks, that says 18- two thousand. Cause OP made a typo.
>> Anonymous
>>102324
bestpricecameras.com is well known as a scam site. If you're looking for a lens that DOESN'T EXIST, find someone who scams for a living.
>> elf_man !!DdAnyoDMfCe
>>102326
Sorry, didn't mean to just target you, others seem to have missed it.
Hm, I think I'd better start shopping there, then.
>> Anonymous
>>102263
A prime lens is one that doesn't zoom. It has one focal length. The advantages of a prime over a zoom are four-fold:

1. Higher optical quality.
2. Less bulky.
3. "Faster," that is, it'll let in more light than a zoom, letting one get better results in darker conditions.
4. IMO, the most important: sticking to one focal length forces one to work in a way that (generally) leads to better results and trains the eye in composition. You get to know intimately how the lens behaves and what compositions work best at that focal length. You can stick to one focal length with a zoom, but only at the very shortest and very longest, and it's tempting not to.

A "normal" lens approximates the way people normally see scenes. It's very versatile for that reason. For the K10D or D40 (Don't get the D40X; it has a touch more resolution and dynamic range than the D40, but save your money and spend it on lenses), a 28mm, 30mm, or 35mm prime will get you a normal focal length. 28mm would be what I would get for the Pentax: it has the same field of view as a 42mm lens would on 35mm film, and 43mm is the perfect "true normal" for that format. 50mm is more traditional, though, and the 35mm will get you closer to that. (52.5mm equivalent.)
>> (Continued from above) Anonymous
>>102337

For the D40, it won't autofocus with most lenses and the viewfinder is very poor for manually focusing, although you might want to look into correcting that with a magnifier over the eyepiece. The only normal prime I know of that will autofocus on it is the 30mm f/1.4 lens Sigma offers, which fortunately is very excellent.

>>102274

Well, the 18-200 has that reputation because it has a bunch of focal lengths. For people who literally cannot change lenses for whatever reason it makes sense. But it's not as versatile as that may suggest at all: it's "slow," as in, the opposite of fast above. Shooting in daylight, it'll work for anything. Want to shoot at night or in the dark? You'll be out of luck. It is, at the very widest end, f/3.5. An f/1.8 lens (by no means unusual for a prime) will let in four times the light.

I'd suggest looking at either a normal or a wide prime, depending on whether you'll be shooting more portraits and general stuff (go with normal) or buildings and landscapes (go with wide), and the 55-200 for the other stuff.
>> Anonymous
>Want to shoot at night or in the dark? You'll be out of luck

uh, no. Back when I owned an 18-200 (I say owned because I've since switched to the 1dIII) I did some events - mainly proms - which are in complete darkness save for a few dj colored lights.

Slap an sb-800 on your camera and you're all set.
>> Anonymous
From everything I've heard, read, and experienced, the longer the zoom range on a lens, the worse it is in one aspect or another (speed, optical quality, etc). but thats a generalization, there are always exceptions, and I haven't used the 18-200
>> Anonymous
I'd recommend against the K10D. The lens selection is a bit small.

You'd do better getting more lens selection from either Nikon or Canon.

I personally own a Nikon D80. So far, I only got the D80 with a kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6)

Its alright.

If you're worried about dust, don't. It's not gonna show up on your photos for one; you can get it clean as someone has mentioned already for two, and its really a marketing gimmick as of now for three.

The K10D is a pretty nice body, I agree. i've researched it before getting the Nikon, but its really all about the *lens selection*, instead of the body itself.

The glass makes the photos more importantly then the body.

That being said, getting a 18-200mm might be practical depending on the application. If you really need to be there, right then and there, and photograph in pretty good light, that's right up your alley. Just good lucky financing that lens.

Its also a little worse, comparatively to lenses that are cheaper, and let it more light. Albeit "fast".

The fastest that 18-200mm is at f/3.5 i believe; its as fast as the 18-55mm kit lens, and just as sharp.

If you're starting out, I'd say 18-55 + 55-200.

try to get VR Version on both if you're gonna get a Nikon. It says it'll help you by atleast 2-4 stops. its more like 2, but its a difference still.

The D40 will work great. Don't need the d40x unless you can justify printing at 1 meter wide photographs.

THe only problem with the d40 (i was considering this too) is that it'll not work with some of the lenses out there because it doesnt have that autofocus screw in the mount.

That's why I went with a D80, cause it has a bit more bang. If anything, i really wanted a d200, but it was a little too expensive for me.

Good thing. When I'm done with this body and have a good set of lens, I can get that d300 cheaper :D
>> Anonymous
>>102344Slap an sb-800 on your camera and you're all set.

No fucking shit. Use it without a flash and let's see it hunt in low light and not focus correctly or just be plain blurry.
>> Anonymous
I'm going to be the devil's advocate K10D owner. The nice thing about the K10D is it plays nice with old Pentax lenses. Sure, Pentax might not have the crazy lineup that Nikon and Canon has, but are you really going to be dropping thousands of dollars on L super zooms? Plus, the lenses Pentax does have tend to be pretty good to awesome quality wise. I'm a poor student so I'm just shooting with the kit lens and a 50mm prime right now, but I'm going to pick up some used Takumars when I have money to spare. I suppose the Pentax world isn't for everyone, and you definitely won't go wrong with something like the D40, but at the same time think about what you shoot (I don't think you've posted that yet...).
>> Anonymous
>>102346
All you need is one good lens at each focal length you need. Canon and Nikon make a bunch of lenses ranging from junk to brilliant; Pentax, as a bit of a heritage from when its big enemy was Zeiss, tends to make a smaller number of lenses that, at the very least, tend to be above average. Plus, like someone said, you can buy all those lenses from when their lenses had to equal Zeiss to stay in business.

>>102344
Except flashing a big light in someone's face isn't always practical (and is never so in some types of photography) and not everyone prefers to work with a great deal of flash.

Beginners also need to learn how to spot good light before they go onto making their own, unless all that interests them is studio photography. OP doesn't seem like he's interested in studio photography much at all, and using a zoom for studio photography (unless you want the look of that specific lens) is just stupid.
>> Anonymous
why don't you start shooting with the kit lens, then see what focal length you spend the most time at, instead of dicking around with 2-3 lenses you probably won't be able to use optimaly?

Wait 3 months, see what you like, then spend the money. Time is your friend