D60 What's a good lens

New here to the forum. Love my D60 and using a 18mm- 55mm 3.5 - 5.6 IS lens. My problem is..... I do a lot of lightning photography and this lens is so hard to get the focus dialed in. Not really any infinity setting on it. I'm looking for a lens that has every day use with easy of focus at night time. Looking to spend about $500. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Mike

Tamron 17-50 is all right. It has a real focus ring with a distance scale.

Hope you meant Canon 60D.

riverratmike wrote in post #16710166
New here to the forum. Love my D60 and using a 18mm- 55mm 3.5 - 5.6 IS lens. My problem is..... I do a lot of lightning photography and this lens is so hard to get the focus dialed in. Not really any infinity setting on it. I'm looking for a lens that has every day use with easy of focus at night time. Looking to spend about $500. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Mike

Lots of options for that really. Honestly could just take your pick of features. I would look for lenses that are still pretty sharp at their maximum apertures, so that you can get the sharpest image even at max aperture at night when focused out to infinity or for autofocus purposes (as the widest aperture is used during autofocus). So that said, an F2.8 lens will autofocus better at night than something that is F4+. But it really depends on your needs. I tend to do manual focus at night, because autofocus just doesn't do any reliable work in night time actually without assistance.

Canon EF-S 17-55 F2.8 is probably the best lens in this category for your purposes. It's not cheap, but it's probably as close to `L level glass you'll get for an EF-S lens and at F2.8 constant aperture. Used/refurb, you can get it near your budget.

Alternatives:

Tamron 17-50 F2.8
Sigma 17-50 F2.8

Very best,

gasrocks wrote in post #16710477
Hope you meant Canon 60D.

If OP is shooting it with an 18-55, it certainly is not the D60. It doesn't mount EFs lenses.

Depending on what you are hoping to focus on, its unlikely that any lens will focus automatically in those conditions. The simple solution is to bring along a bright flashlight to use as a focus assist beam. if you are trying to focus on something a great distance away then manual focus is best.

GaryD wrote in post #16710587
If OP is shooting it with an 18-55, it certainly is not the D60. It doesn't mount EFs lenses.

and then there is also the Nikon D60 with 18-55 VR kit lens

FuturamaJSP wrote in post #16710717
and then there is also the Nikon D60 with 18-55 VR kit lens

Thanks. I don't know anything about Nikon hardware. BTW, love your signature.

Manually focus using live view. Your kit lens - unless there is something wrong with it - should be plenty sharp for lightening. I have the oft-recommended Tamron 17-50mm and it isn't significantly sharper than my 18-55mm kit lens.

I think the 60D pairs perfectly with the 15-85mm, but on Canon AF lenses you won't find any that have a stop at infinity. Most focus past it and you just have to focus on something in the distance.

The only way to get the infinity stop is with a manual focus lens like the Voigtlander 40mm or 20mm. The 20mm would be pretty sweet on a 60D, but pricey.

Tom

Everyday use + ease of focus + lightning = Canon 15-85is for me.

You can be wide or long depending on the need, but you don't necessarily need a fast lens for lightning. Be sure you have a steady tripod!

This is manual focus set to infinity - 20sec exposure

IMAGE LINK: http://ct1co2.smugmug.​com/2013-Random-Pics/i-bq9MrTK/A

IMAGE LINK: http://ct1co2.smugmug.​com/Summer-2012/i-Wgkbh5z/A

GaryD wrote in post #16710587
If OP is shooting it with an 18-55, it certainly is not the D60. It doesn't mount EFs lenses.

I'm using a EF-S 18mm - 55mm 3.5 - 5.8 IS on my 60D

15-85mm was wonderful when I had a 60D

riverratmike wrote in post #16723087
I'm using a EF-S 18mm - 55mm 3.5 - 5.8 IS on my 60D

We knew that. Thanks.