Nikon Lens Advice

[tiddlie]

Ok so i'm fairly new to the DSLR type cameras, and i'm going on a trek / safari thing in Africa in a little while.

I have a D60 with Nikons own 18-55mm lens, and 70mm-30mm lens (both with VR).

My question is, given the sort of thing i'll be doing (safari by foot and landrover, in Africa), are there any other lens' that I should look into within a reasonable price range to get the best, and widest range, of results possible from the photos?

I have UV filters on the lens' already, and again - are there any other filters that would be better suited to this sort of environment?

Thanks in advance :-)

[giga Veteran]

Budget? I'd get an ultrawide angle such as the Sigma 10-20.

[tiddlie]

I was looking at a top end budget of around ?500 for new lens'. Could push it a little if it was deemed to be required for best results etc (don't want to miss that one lion oppertunity because i've been cheap!). The 10-20 review photos look good so that deffinately tempting me.

[crazzy88ss]

Tokina has a new 11-16mm f2.8 "ultra-fast, ultra-wide" lens.

I wish they had released that when I got my tokina 12-24 F4 (I got that over the sigma because I heard it was shaper, and it is pretty damn sharp).

[giga Veteran]

Tokina has a new 11-16mm f2.8 "ultra-fast, ultra-wide" lens.

I wish they had released that when I got my tokina 12-24 F4 (I got that over the sigma because I heard it was shaper, and it is pretty damn sharp).

Manual focus on a D60.

[MR_Candyman]

nikon 12-24mm or tokina 11-16mm

I tried the others though. The sigma had some weird side color distortion in certain environments and seemed to have a norrower focal point. The Tamron was just not really great. It didn't seem to do anything very well...

The Tokina was not available to me before I bought my Nikon so I bought the Nikon as it was the clear winner. I have since tried out the Tokina 11-16 and I must say it is a nice lens. I would easily put it in second place and the price is reasonnable. Definitely the one to get of the non-nikons IMHO. The Nikon is just a bit better all around. I honestly probably would have gotten the Tokina if I was able to at the time because it's a much better price for a very comparable lens. I am happy with the Nikon though and do think it is the best of the bunch.

[giga Veteran]

The sigma had some weird side color distortion in certain environments and seemed to have a norrower focal point. T

I didn't experience any of that when I tried it. What do you mean by narrower focal point?

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

if its a safari i would recommend a tele-photo lens ?

[Pink Floyd Veteran]

if its a safari i would recommend a tele-photo lens ?

:yes:

since most subjects are far away. ?And if their movements arent very fast, your VR will do the job. ?Otherwise, you need a f/2.8 lens which is costy

[MR_Candyman]

I didn't experience any of that when I tried it. What do you mean by narrower focal point?

I mean that when you focus, less of the shot is in focus. Again, you might only notice this in certain conditions. I found it to be most noticeable indoors where you're surrounded by stuff, so it's easy to tell what is in focus and out of focus.

[giga Veteran]

I mean that when you focus, less of the shot is in focus. Again, you might only notice this in certain conditions. I found it to be most noticeable indoors where you're surrounded by stuff, so it's easy to tell what is in focus and out of focus.

Odd. :s Don't see how that would affect landscapes which the lens would primarily be used for though.

[MR_Candyman]

it won't really affect landscapes, no, but I would argue that it's primarely for landscapes. It's a very good type of lens for a lot of shots.

[VazaGothic]

You may want to get a polarizer - with the blazing African sun most of the sky will be quite overexposed (and therefore whitish) - with the CPR (Circular Polarizer) you should be able to make it quite blue again.

The UV filter is mostly for the protection of the lens (in case you drop it - there's a good chance you'll shatter the filter not the lens), since digital cameras tend to be quite insensitive to the UV light.

[MR_Candyman]

^good call. Surprised the idea hasn't popped up. Circular polarizers are a godsend, especially if you shoot water and shy, or really anything reflextive

[tiddlie]

This is going to sound VERY noobish....but will the 12-24mm / 10-20mm lens' make much difference over the 15-70mm lens when zoomed fully to the 15mm side? I guess what I mean is...will either lens make ?500 / $950 difference (given thats sort of an average price for either lens)

I'm deffinately going to get hold of some circular polarizers so thanks for that tip VazaGothic / MR_Candyman :-)

[giga Veteran]

Which 15mm lens are you talking about?

The sigma 10-20 is ?300: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-10-20mm-f4-5...9152&sr=8-2

And those extra few mm are a lot:

[o0moonman0o]

if u wanna go to safari u probably wanna use a mega zoom unless u have 2 bodies. u won't wanna be lens changing all the time in the field. basically with the megazoom option u are limited to day time shooting, meaning no sunrise/sunset shooting of the animals. imo, i would go for a megazoom and have a great time instead of carrying a few lens if those lens aren't fast lens.

if i were to go on safari i would bring the following.. 1d3 + 400 f4 do (with extenders also), d3 + 14-24, 5d + 70-200. (or d300/d200/d100/40d/30d + 70-200)

[MR_Candyman]

Which 15mm lens are you talking about?

The sigma 10-20 is ?300: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-10-20mm-f4-5...9152&sr=8-2

And those extra few mm are a lot:

pretty cool pic, provides a good demonstration.

And honestly I always tried talking myself out of getting a wide angle lens but broke down and decided I needed one. It's become my favorite lens now

[tiddlie]

Which 15mm lens are you talking about?

Someone mentioned a Nikon one in a previous reply.

That photo really helped! I was finding it hard to actually visualise the mm's and what they meant before that :-)

Edit: Sorry - reread the thread properly - the 15mm lens I was talking about is the 15-55mm one I got with the camera.

Edited July 13, 2008 by tiddlie

[tiddlie]

if u wanna go to safari u probably wanna use a mega zoom unless u have 2 bodies. u won't wanna be lens changing all the time in the field. basically with the megazoom option u are limited to day time shooting, meaning no sunrise/sunset shooting of the animals. imo, i would go for a megazoom and have a great time instead of carrying a few lens if those lens aren't fast lens.

if i were to go on safari i would bring the following.. 1d3 + 400 f4 do (with extenders also), d3 + 14-24, 5d + 70-200. (or d300/d200/d100/40d/30d + 70-200)

Oh ye - I completely understand that the stuff i'm taking isn't ideal from a professional point of view, but if I understand your list correctly, we're talking about ?10,000 of camera equipment there (2 D3 bodys and a 5D body alone taking up most of that budget!)

If I had that sort of budget, i'm sure i'd get amazing results with that list of equipment, but unfortunately I have to make the best out of the ?1500 i've set myself for the D60 body, 2 lens' I already have, and I the one or two that I will be getting based on this threads answers (looking like the Sigma 10-20mm at the moment).

I'm also taking a point and click for any quick photo's, but I didn't want to sacrafice quality of shots on some the photos that a megazoom (or so I was told) would give, plus, as you say - megazoom limits to daytime shooting, and most of the game trails are early morning.

[giga Veteran]

Do you mean 18-55? I don't think there is a 15-55mm lens..

[tiddlie]

Haha yes - thats the one :blushing:

Not sure why I got 15mm in my head :p

I've ordered the 10-20mm one giga, so thanks for the advice :) Will post a few of the results when I get back