Camera Labs

I have a Nikon D5000 with the 18-55mm f3.5/5.6G lens that come with it.

I am thinking I would like to get a new lens, but I am not really sure what I want.

I use my camera in urban situations quite a lot, I like taking pictures of buildings and towns etc. I have started to try photographing people now with limited success.

I like abstract shots, so I was thinking about fisheye, wide angle or macro lens, but then I feel like I could use a zoom.

Any advice welcome.

Thank you.

For landscapes, a wide angle (10-15) range would be nice. For people I'd actually reccomend you invest in a flash - that would dramatically improve your people shots, especially if you get into bouncing or off camera flashing.

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Trevor Harris

Nikon D200
SB-600
YN-560 II
YN RF 603 x 4
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8
Nikon 50mm f/1.8

Hi Richard, have a look at my guide...

http://www.cameralabs.com/lenses/lens_b ... nses.shtml

Hi Richard

Try looking at your shots and the focal lengths you have used. If you feel as it 18mm wasn't wide enough for your needs, then you'll probably be needing an ultra wide angle. If you shot at 55mm and still are not zoomed enough, then a 70-300 might be useful.

I would shy away from a fisheye as a second lens purchase, as it's really very specialised and IMO fisheye shots should be kept as 'the icing on the cake', rather than the cake itself!

For architecture where I live I found I needed an ultra wide angle. I bought the Sigma 10-20mm which did the job but wasn't stellar. On a positive note, the pictures straight out of camera weren't great but it forced me into learning how to touch up effectively in Photoshop.

The Sigma 10-20 is reasonably good bang for your buck, but creates a wavy distortion which cannot be corrrected. Seeing as you have the 18-55mm already, which is a good little lens, I'd be tempted to look at the Tokina 11-16mm - not a huge zoom range, but it slots in with what you have, doesn't have nearly as bad distortion, is good value and fast at f2.8.

If you want telephoto, I would definitely recommend the Nikon 70-300mm VR - great value and image quality.

Thanks for the advice guys, lots to think about now!

A good all-rounder especially for DX cameras is the Nikon 60 f/2.8G Micro lens. It's very sharp with excellent contrast at infinity as well as up close. It's great for portraits, as well as macro-photography of course and does a very good job on landscapes too. Don't get sucked into the belief that you have to use a wide angle lens for landscapes as a short telephoto lens can be a better choice in many situations.

I think the Nikkor 60mm F2.8 Micro lens is a very nice lens for portraits and street photography. For other things such as buildings it depends how much space you have to walk around, in general i use my nikkor 12-24 F4G lens for photography of buildings, but if you are really creative or have a lot of space (as in hey nice building across the very wide river) then any other lens will work too.

I love my 60mm micro, nice for people photography and flower close-ups.
I never really liked people photography until i had the 60mm micro lens and then it all made sense. The lack of zoom forces you to think about the shot and composition and where to stand and for some reason it always works out for me with this lens.

At one party where I was there where a lot of people making photos of each other, but they where all standing at different positions then i did and everyone said afterwards, are you a professional? your photos are so amazing i cannot believe it. Ï was sort of surprised myself actually because it was the first time I tried to make some serious photos of people and most of the time people and it actually looked like sort of professional.

@ Richard - try PM-ing IanGanderton. He got a 30mm f1.4 and he's loved it - his shooting has improved no end with a simple prime lens.

That might be another avenue to explore.

@ nikonfreak - c'mon, post some examples please! After that comment you must understand why we dont 'get on'!