Choosing camera lens

[PamNY]

I'm glad to hear from people who have the lens I'm looking at (or similar). I know I'll need others. I have some legacy lenses from my mom's film camera -- guess I will find out how well that works.

One complication is that I'm often with serious bird photographers who spend thousands of dollars on the best stuff (offhand I don't know anyone in that group who ever uses a zoom lens). My thinking about cameras has gotten so skewed just from being around them.

[Becky]

I'm glad to hear from people who have the lens I'm looking at (or similar). I know I'll need others. I have some legacy lenses from my mom's film camera -- guess I will find out how well that works.

I'm using 2 film lenses on my Nikon DSLR. It works well enough, especially for the longer distance telephotos. This plan suffers at wide angles because of the difference in sensor sizes between film and digital.

My plan is to buy a 18mm-200/250/270mm "travel zoom" to cover all of the situations that my 70mm-300mm film lens doesn't work for and to get the wide angles that my 28-55(?) can't do. I've shot my dad's Nikon 18-200 a few times and, if I could only have one lens, it would be the 18-2x0.

[PamNY]

I'm using 2 film lenses on my Nikon DSLR. It works well enough, especially for the longer distance telephotos. This plan suffers at wide angles because of the difference in sensor sizes between film and digital.

What about not having autofocus with the film lenses? Is that a problem, or does manual focus work well enough?

I would likely be using the legacy lenses for landscapes, which aren't moving, so I assume I wouldn't miss autofocus that much.

[TsPoet]

this brings up another point - which camera might matter, some have "full sized" and some have "cropped" sensors - your focal length will be longer with the latter and wider with the former - so your lens choice might be a wee bit different.
If you are looking at a Rebel, I'm 99% sure they are 'cropped' (I hate loath and detest those designations - there are several reasons why I, and many others, feel cropped is better - yet the names which come from 35mm days indicate it isn't. My SO hates cropped sensors - he takes landscapes and portraits and car shots. I do wildlife mostly).
My SO would recalculate the 70-300 to be something different for a cropped camera - only makes sense if you are stuck in the full vs cropped thought process to do that, but I'll do it anyway - that makes the 70-300 about 100-450mm.
Great for wildlife, even worse for 'about town'.

Oh - and supposedly they are coming out with a new Rebel any day now, it should have the new processor in it.

[PamNY]

there are several reasons why I, and many others, feel cropped is better .

I'm really curious about why you think cropped is better -- I haven't heard or read about that.

[TsPoet]

I'm really curious about why you think cropped is better -- I haven't heard or read about that.

For wildlife, etc, it gives you more zoom. That's the simple answer. There is more - DPMs, etc.
Here's a decent article on it
http://www.digital-photography-schoo...-right-for-you

BTW - I share lots of my photos on G+, so you can see what types of pics I take there. Edit - guess you'd need to know my name, LOL - Torka is my real name and that's who I am on G+

[Eden]

I got my first digital camera before full frame sensors were available (Fuji S2pro)... when that camera died I got a D700 which is full sensor. Honestly it makes little difference to me. (I'm a professional photographer FYI) There are other reasons I really *love* my D700 that override any necessity to stand closer to my subjects...

Personally I'd stay away from Sigma lenses.... they have a very bad reputation for sketchy quality control and the construction is pretty cheesy. Certainly do not pay much for one if you go that route.

I was almost scammed recently a seller on Amazon (thankfully it *was* Amazon and the scammer had no recourse but to refund my money....) by someone who listed a lens as a Nikon Nikkor lens, then buried way at the end of the comments (and I think maybe even added after my purchase...) that it was actually a *Sigma* lens with a Nikon mount.... She thought she was being slick listing it on the low end of what an actual Nikon lens should sell for (which is not actually why I chose her.... it was because this particular model of Nikon lens is somewhat rare and it was between her's and one on B&H that was listed as a "7" - it is a lens that is out of production so used is the only way to get it and a 7 at B&H is second from the bottom.... pretty dang beat up...), but in reality her Sigma lens used isn't worth more than about $50....

[Becky]

What about not having autofocus with the film lenses? Is that a problem, or does manual focus work well enough?

I would likely be using the legacy lenses for landscapes, which aren't moving, so I assume I wouldn't miss autofocus that much.

My film lenses are new enough that they work with the focusing motor. Sorry that I can't help you there!