October 19, 201510 yr Anyone have experience with them? We've had one for a while and are looking to get lenses. Someone gave us a couple that need repair, are they worth repairing cost wise?
October 19, 201510 yr Depends on what they are and the condition. Are they film cameras? Autofocus lenses or manual? And what is the nature of the problem with the lenses?
October 19, 201510 yr Author Depends on what they are and the condition. Are they film cameras? Autofocus lenses or manual? And what is the nature of the problem with the lenses? DSLR camera. https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-dx-nikkor-55-300mm-f%252f4.5-5.6g-ed-vr.html https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-dx-micro-nikkor-40mm-f%252f2.8g.html The top one has been dropped and looks blurry when put on camera. The bottom lens has a crack in it.
October 19, 201510 yr DSLR camera. https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-dx-nikkor-55-300mm-f%252f4.5-5.6g-ed-vr.html https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-dx-micro-nikkor-40mm-f%252f2.8g.html The top one has been dropped and looks blurry when put on camera. The bottom lens has a crack in it. Those are both consumer grade lenses, that will likely cost more to repair than they are worth. If you are absolutely in love with the lenses, you could get them for about 30% off retail on the used market. The 55-300 is a decent lens for outdoor sports or action shooting. There are however much better options optically at slightly higher prices. The 40mm macro isn't a good lens at all. It provides very little working distance (ie you have to get very close to your subject) for true macro work, and is otherwise an odd focal length.
October 19, 201510 yr Author Thanks for the reply. I need a lens for shooting my son playing in sporting events and some suggestions for shooting outdoor shots, like the leaves changing in the mountains etc.
October 19, 201510 yr Thanks for the reply. I need a lens for shooting my son playing in sporting events and some suggestions for shooting outdoor shots, like the leaves changing in the mountains etc. If you want to do it right you will need to spend at least 500 on a used lens and probably closer to 2000 on a used lens. If you want them new, you can double each price.
October 19, 201510 yr Thanks for the reply. I need a lens for shooting my son playing in sporting events and some suggestions for shooting outdoor shots, like the leaves changing in the mountains etc. The key question is what's your budget?? Lenses are arguably more important than the camera. You'll also need to become at least somewhat proficient at editing using software to get the most your of your images. The other question is what do you plan to do with the images?? If you won't be printing, and will just be viewing on you computer and sharing on the Web/social media, you will be able to get by with some cheaper equipment.
October 19, 201510 yr Author Goodness..... I can go $500 if I need to, not much more though. Will be printing some of them.
October 19, 201510 yr Goodness..... I can go $500 if I need to, not much more though. Will be printing some of them. Do you plan on shooting any indoor sports?? Indoor sports spring is much more demanding of your equipment. Also which camera do you have??
October 19, 201510 yr What are you going to be shooting is the biggest question. Just walking around? travel? portraits? indoor sports? outdoor sports? No sports? Pick your lens based on what you are going to be using it for, and know that there is no one-lens-fits-every-situation solution. Prime lenses (no zoom, use your feet like you're supposed to) offer great value and great photos for many situations. Most 50mm primes are around $200 and offer great performance. And yes, do not go cheap on lenses. Better to get a lesser camera than to skimp on lenses. Don't fall for sales bragging numbers like zoom length and ISO. Aperture and f-stop is where it's at.
October 19, 201510 yr Author Do you plan on shooting any indoor sports?? Indoor sports spring is much more demanding of your equipment. Also which camera do you have?? Yes basketball. Nikon 3200
October 19, 201510 yr Yes basketball. Nikon 3200 You will need a fast lens with a low F-stop of 2.8. Even then it might not be enough, but it appears that the d3200 does deliver a decent file size and you can up the ISO to 3200 or above to get help with low-light gyms. If you don't like grain, get used to shooting with a flash. I would also recommend shooting in RAW and doing your color corrections that way before converting them to jpegs. You lose a ton of pixels when you go correcting in jpeg, which can really hurt a low-light, grainy pic.
October 20, 201510 yr Here is the basic Nikon version of the grey Canon L-series 70-200mm 2.8 L series you often see on sidelines by the Canon users. Nikon AF Zoom-NIKKOR 80-200mm f/2.8D ED Lens 1986 B&H Photo This is probably the cheapest 2.8 zoom lens that will get you what you want. 2.8 is a must indoors or under the lights at football. 200mm will get get anything on the b-ball court and about half-way across the football field. For $1,000 more you can get similiar basic feastures with more features. Image Stabilization (IS) is nice but if you shoot action sports the speed has to be high anyway and the feature is not as important. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens 2185 B&H Photo Unfortunately, $1,200-$1,400 is the entry point for indoor/nighttime sports photography due to the need for 2.8 full range. BTW, I have had bad experience with used lenses on e-bay. Lenses that have been out in the field can get banged up. Seems some people just like to dump them on the unsuspecting. So I only buy new. But the price for new - even on ebay is farily fixed for Nikon and Canon high end lenses.
October 20, 201510 yr And now I am glad that photography is not a hobby of mine. I had looked into buying a nice camera, but now that I know the prices of lenses I'm glad I didn't.
October 20, 201510 yr Author My feelings are hurt lol Looks like my wife is getting a lens and I won't be buying my 1911
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