Got my D60 ... now what ?!

[SteveCliff]

Well, after wondering whether to finally buy a D60, I rang my local Jessops (UK) only to find out that a buyer had just backed out that morning (his daughter had announced she was getting married - bang went his camera budget!) so there was one sitting on the side ready and waiting.

Then I read that Jessops were bundling a Sigma 15-30mm EX lens with the camera for an extra £150 (as opposed to buying the lens seperately at about £500+!)

My will power can only go so far ..... so I bought them both!

Had loads of fun since, but I want to look at getting another lens for longer work. I am only really beginning the long route down the SLR trail and have already blown a fair bit of my budget on the camera and lens I have, so I am interested to hear any suggestion on what to go for.

I think I'm after something in the line of a 28-200 lens (I suspect it's rare I would use more than 200*1.6=320mm).

My budget is probably around £250 so I'll be looking in the second-hand market (unless someone can tell me different!)

Any ideas anyone ?

[para5063]

For the 28-200 range, you might want to take a look at the Tamron XR 28-200 or the Tokina 24-200 ATX.

I have a sample image from the Tokina 24-200 ATX in the "Share Photos" forum listed under the heading "Long Beach PD Patrol Boat"

[mrchips]

Take a look here for a good lens comparison.

http://www.photodo.com/nav/prodindex.html

Denny

[SteveCliff]

Well, Jessops had a Tamron AF 28-300/3.5-6.3 hanging around so I bought that one. The nice man said that If I didn't like it he would do me a full refund ... I like Jessops for that :-)

Well, I've had the D60 for 6 days now and taken around 600 shots. That's 100 a day, 365 days a year, live (hopefully) till at least 75, am 34 now so ...... only 1496500 shots to go .... ;-)

I'll let you know how I get on with the lense!

[Karl]

Get your refund :)

Those cheap long zooms don't do the D60's sensor justice, really.

Stick your cojones out and start off with a nice 28-70mm f/2.8L. You won't be sorry.

[Sheila]

or an EF 70-200 f/4 L USM and you definitely won't be sorry! Steve, just remember that this is the start of trying to justify to yourself (and possibly more importantly, others) that L lenses are definitely the way to go! Remember the old adage "If you buy cheap, you end up buying twice".

Enjoy your D60 - I am!

Cheers
Sheila

[SteveCliff]

Thanks for the comments.

The only other lens I have is a Sigma 15-30mm which works great, but in order to try and "make do" with 2 lenses, I need to start the next one with a focal length of around 28mm. I photograph quite a wide range of subjects, but seem to use the longer focal lengths quite a bit. Hence, I went for the 28-300mm.

However, I must admit, I had been thinking about swapping the Tamron for the Canon 28-200 USM. I presume that the quality of this lens would be ok ? ;-)

A 2x converter would give methe focal length I need on occasions, but does anyone have any experience of using these ? Does it make the lens too slow ? Does it degrade the quality ?

[Karl]

I owned the 28-200 with my D30 and it wasn't adequate then.

After buying a $2200 body, I know you want to keep costs down. With the D60 (or any other high-end digital) the costs don't end there. A $300 lens just isn't a good match for a 6.3 megapixel sensor that has a 1.6x crop factor.

Sheila is right. If you buy cheap now, you'll end up buying twice. If you want a decent and affordable lens for your D60, start with the 50mm f/1.4. You can get them for around $300. While it's not a zoom, it's extremely fast, extremely sharp, and a better option than a wide-range zoom like the 28-200.

However, I stand by my original statement. I think you should go for the 28-70mm and consider purchasing a longer lens later. Get off on the right foot here.

-karl

[SteveCliff]

Thanks for the advice. I wish I wasn't in the UK though, your $300 dollars is pretty much £300 over here ...

I think I'll have a sit down and work through my budget again and see whether I can increase it a little !

Thanks again!