Nikon starter lens question

jspruit

I'm asking this question for a friend who just got a Nikon d90 body. She bought the camera to take pictures of her family after seeing some of my more recent shots taken with a Canon 50d and was convinced that she needed to ditch the low-end compact for something with a bit more options. The reason she choose Nikon was mostly because the controls felt better to her and she felt more comfortable with it. Even though I'm a Canon user, I think that she can learn alot about photography and her camera from me, after we ready through the manual and play around a bit with the controls.
The twist in this whole matter is that she was given 3 Nikon lenses from a work colleague who had them for some reason and didn't want them. They are a 35-80mm basic kit lens, a 16mm f2.8 fisheye, and a 135mm f2. I know that the fixed lens are quite nice, but as I don't know that much about Nikon lenses, I could use some advice on her getting something similar to a more usable focal length for starting out like a comparable version of the Canon 15-85mm. I've advised her to sell the 16mm fisheye as it is pretty specialized and she doesn't have much use for it and take that money to buy something like the previously mentioned Canon lens. Does anyone have any recommendations in the Nikon range for something like this?
Thanks in advance for your help.

pixbyjohn

Could she stretch to a 17-55 f2.8 lens. beautiful on crop sensor.

jspruit

Is the Nikon 17-55 as nice as the Canon 17-55 as I know that the Canon one has a very nice reputation. She might be able to stretch the budget to that, but I'm not sure what sort of value she can get for a used 16mm f2.8 fisheye. Is there anything that is nice in more the 18-200mm focal lengths worth about the same as the 16mm fisheye?

pixbyjohn

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/10-best.htm
also


http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

DaireQuinlan

Uhhh, is that 135mm an AF lens ? Because if so your buddy has lucked into one of the best portrait lenses made by nikon, if a little long on a crop body. If it's an MF ais then it's merely a very good lens :-) I have the f/2.8 version and it's given me some lovely shots.

eas

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Uhhh, is that 135mm an AF lens ? Because if so your buddy has lucked into one of the best portrait lenses made by nikon

ah no, it's not that great. Tell her I'll trade a 50 1.8 for it.

jspruit

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Uhhh, is that 135mm an AF lens ? Because if so your buddy has lucked into one of the best portrait lenses made by nikon, if a little long on a crop body. If it's an MF ais then it's merely a very good lens :-) I have the f/2.8 version and it's given me some lovely shots.

It is the 135mm f2 DC AF version of the lens-the minute that I saw it I knew that it was special even though I don't know anything about Nikon gear. Canon's 135L version is quite coveted and so I figured that Nikon would have a similar model. I have advised to hang onto the 135mm lens at least for the time being until her skills catch up to the ability of that lens (even though it only on a crop body) and then she try it out and find out if she wants to sell it. I imagine that it can provide for some good money on the used market and the price won't drop much in the next few months if she hangs onto it while learning a bit.

jspruit

pixbyjohn wrote: »

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/10-best.htm
also


http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

Exactly what I was looking for-thanks for thatpixbyjohn. We'll take a look at that 18-200 with VR as it looks pretty nice.

DaireQuinlan

jspruit wrote: »

It is the 135mm f2 DC AF version of the lens

Thats the one all right :-) *sigh*, I wish i had a friend that could just casually give me thousands of euros worth of lenses

It's a fairly specialised bit of kit though, even 2nd hand if she sells it well she should be able to pick up a new 85mm f/1.4 with the proceeds. Thats one of the finest mid range lens ever made, period.

Thecageyone

No wonder she went Nikon! :eek:

If she sells the fish-eye she could do a lot worse than buying a 50mm f/1.4 for shorter focal length, she's already got a beast of a lens for the longer end.

jspruit

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Thats the one all right :-) *sigh*, I wish i had a friend that could just casually give me thousands of euros worth of lenses

It's a fairly specialised bit of kit though, even 2nd hand if she sells it well she should be able to pick up a new 85mm f/1.4 with the proceeds. Thats one of the finest mid range lens ever made, period.

I have the Canon 85mm f1.8 on my crop Canon and I think that it is a nice fit-the 135mm might be a bit long after she gets into a bit. But it is also quite unique it sounds like so I think that she'll need to be sure that she doesn't need it once she sells it as it probably won't fall in her lap again anytime soon. I'm getting a kick out of the whole adjustable d-focus ring at the end; fun stuff if you know what you're doing.

jspruit

Thecageyone wrote: »

No wonder she went Nikon! :eek:

If she sells the fish-eye she could do a lot worse than buying a 50mm f/1.4 for shorter focal length, she's already got a beast of a lens for the longer end.

I'll have her try one of these 50mm lenses out too as they seem to be quite nice, light, and reliable on a crop body.