I am about to buy a Nikon D200 but having never used a digital SLR before, i am unsure of which lens to purchase. I am looking for a general purpose lens that will work well with portrait work.
Also, will an SLR lens made for a 35mm manual camera fit onto a digital SLR?
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Wild Prism
September 14th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Which Is The Best Lens For A First Time Nikon Slr User?
3
8:13 pm on September 14th, 2009 1
A general purpose portrait lens….
I am fond of my Tamron 24-135mm on my D200. Another option would be the Nikon 24-120mm VR AF-S lens. Many users like the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for portraits. A good zoom for portraits would be the 70-200mm AF-S VR lens, but it’s not good as a general purpose lens because it’s not wide enough. You can try the lenses at the store to get a feel for what you like in terms of view and convenience.
For prime lenses, look at a 35mm f/2.0, a 50mm f/1.8, or if you have lots of money, an 85mm f/1.4. The 85mm is scary good for portraits, but the other lenses are less expensive and do well too. Some users like the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 for portraits as well as macro work.
35mm manual focus lenses will work on the D200; just read the manual on how to use them. They will mount and meter, but not autofocus.
8:18 pm on September 14th, 2009 2
If you have Nikon 35mm SLR lenses, they’ll work fine in manual focus mode on your D200.
My favorite Nikon lens is the 18-200mm VR, a fantastic optic with Vibration Reduction. That feature virtually eliminates the need for a tripod, as it stabilizes the camera to an amazing extent.http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.h…
I hope this helps. By the way, the D200 is an outstanding camera that will allow you to create some amazing images.
8:45 pm on September 14th, 2009 3
The D200 will have a 1.5x crop factor. Lenses will behave on it similarly to a lens of 1.5x the focal length on a film body.
That being said, a AF 50mm f/1.4D or f/1.8D will be a nice portrait length on a 1.5x crop factor camera. (The 85mm Nikkors were the classic portrait length on Nikon film gear but are a little too long on 1.5x crop DSLRs)