Seeking Opinions on Lens Collection Please

C

ChipThome

Well-known member
Greetings... I am siting here and have collected a few lenses and am feeling I have too many or not enough depending on focal length.

Camera: Nikon D5100
Skill Level in Photography: Amateur
Interests: Portraits or just people in general.
Interests for Video: Locked down wide shot or single cam work.
Almost No Interest: Landscapes

Here's what I have collected so far. A few were orignally bought for use on my GH1 w/adapter.

Nikon Lenses
18-55 kit lens
28 f2.8 AF-D
35 f1.8 AF-G
50 f1.8 AF-D (bought for GH1)
60 f2.8 AF Micro Nikkor
85 f3.5 AF-G VR Micro Nikkor

3rd Party Lenses
35-200 Tokina AT-X Legacy Glass (bought for GH1)
85mm f1.4 Rokinon full manual lens (bought for GH1)

Of the Nikon lenses, the AF and AF-D do meter, but do not auto focus on the D5100. The kit lens and the two AF-G do auto everything on the D5100.
The two third party lenses do no auto anything on the D5100.

So that's the pile. If this was your pile, what would stay and what would go? Then, considering the price points here, what would you add to then completely round this out nicely.

Thanks guys !!!!
 
I'm agreeing with you wakayoda. I used my 35 last night and I think I am liking that lens a lot! I needed the 28 too, but not that crazy about trying to hit focus in the darker environments I was in. I have put the 60 up for sale, no takers yet though. The 28 might follow if I can find a suitable autofocus option in those wider focal lengths that won't cost an arm and two legs.
 
For portrait, on a APS-C or S35mm sized sensor, I like the 40mm if you're feeling wide, or the 65mm/75mm for the longer side of portrait. Wider than 40mm starts to become unflattering to the subject in most traditional instances. That is my opinion. You can take a portrait of anyone with any lens. A 10mm is possible as is a 300mm. Depends how much depth compression and FoV you desire.
 
If you want to go wide on small-sensor cams and go past the kit lens quality, the 18-35 ED AF can be found used for a good price. It's 3.5 on the wide end, but affordable and a nice step up up from the kit. It stops down to 4.5 at full telephoto, but 28mm 2.8 can be found pretty affordably; that's my "normal" lens on my D7000 and T2i.
 
I don't know why you're considering getting rid of any of these.

It seems like you have a really good range of lenses and I would keep them all. To me, what lens to lose is one of the most important choices I make when shooting something. I want to have as many different focal lengths covered as I possibly can.

Your least useful are probably the 85 f3.5 and the 28 f2.8

The 85 is kind of slow, especially compared to your Roninon and, even though it's a Macro, you already have a faster Macro in your 60 f2.8. The 28 f2.8 is a fine lens but I personally find the 28mm focal length a bit too close to 35mm to justify having both lenses in my kit. In my case, I got a 24mm instead and I find it more useful. Of course, 24s tend to be more expensive.
 
I used the 28 on a shoot last week in a dark environment and didn't hit focus on any of the several shots I tried it on. I don't think that was the lens' fault, more so it was operator error. The 35 was dead on for every shot so this definitely has me leaning toward auto focus all the way through. I then rocked the 60mm out the door. IMO it was too close to the 50 and the kit lens and the 50 is faster and 1/3 the cost. David I would have liked the 24 but just couldn't choke down the cost difference between it and the 28. The reviews on the 28 suck, but at this point I didn't think the finer quality would overshadow my skill level, or lack of. Now as I am looking toward the auto focus end, I am happy I picked the cheaper one. I am getting to be more in agreement that the 85 Macro should be the next one out the door. It can't hold a candle to the Rok for speed, although it does have the VR and auto focus.

Michael what are your feelings on the 18-105 3.5/5.6 VR ??? Have you any experience with it at all ??? I am thinking it will hold the faster speed lower in the focal range than my 18-55 kit will. I also think it will cover some of those lengths that right now I am missing.

Ryan and NW..... great information and perspective on portraits, something I am leaning toward. I foresee my use being mostly indoors in with limited space. The chart showing the variations of the lenses and their distortion is amazing and has me wondering how to pull off a longer focal length when all I have is about 15' max to work with. With the 1.5X crop factor, there's no way I can do a 300 or probably even a 200 in here. My preference in a shot is head to toe, which is why I was leaning toward the wider end. From that chart though, I now see I can';t do those for a shoulders up portrait. Thanks in advance for the headaches that would have caused !!!
 
If it were my pile? I'd prob think: Why did I buy all these lenses? :)

Seriously, none of these are hallmark lenses. If it were me...AND I was going to predominately use a 15ft. space to do portrait work with options for full length to head-shot, And a crop sensor camera. I'd get either Nikon's old "sleeper' lens the 18-70mm ( bought one last year for the GF used at KEH for $150.) or the older pro: 35-70mm f/2.8..which I still own ( can be found used for <$400.)
 
Hi Tom..... why did I buy them.....well... it was fun....and I'm divorced with no SO....... and the kids moved out long ago...... so there was no one here to tell me I couldn't !!! :happy:

The 35-70, that's not going to autofocus on this D5100, will it ??? I have read quite a bit of people loving it, but really want auto focus to save my butt from lost opportunities.
 
ChipThome said:
Hi Tom..... why did I buy them.....well... it was fun....and I'm divorced with no SO....... and the kids moved out long ago...... so there was no one here to tell me I couldn't !!! :happy:

The 35-70, that's not going to autofocus on this D5100, will it ??? I have read quite a bit of people loving it, but really want auto focus to save my butt from lost opportunities.
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HA! You caught me! I totally ignored that D5100! You are right...no focusing with older lenses because no motor in the body, which is why I chose not to upgrade to that body for my Gf! So..what you need then is the newer stuff. and you may or may not need to sell off some gear. Now that 18-70 I mentioned is an AF-S lens. so there's that one. But really for pro work, I'd want a pro lens! 15 ft. space?? Hmmm...24-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor! The problem with that size space is...that size space. You need to be about ten or so from your victim and they need to be about 4 ft er so from the BG. Tough stuff with Crop cams! I use a similar type space, but have a FX
 
I also have a D5100 along with a GH2 and have put some thought into lens sharing. Here's my breakdown:

D5100 works with: AF-S, G
No autofocus with: AF-D
Won't work with: AI-S

GH2 works with: AF-S, AF-D, AI-S
Won't work with: G

Unfortunately, most AF-S Nikkors are also G, which severely restricts the range of lenses that both autofocus on the D5100 and work on the GH2. The only one I have is the early non-VR version of the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 zoom, and it doesn't autofocus well in Live View mode.
For manual focus primes, I use the Rokinon f1.4 35mm and 85mm chipped lenses. For zooms, the Tokina AT-X Pro f2.8 20-35mm and 28-70mm work well on both cameras in manual mode.

With your set of lenses, I'd sell the G primes, along with the 60mm. I'd keep the kit lens as long as you find it useful, as its resale value is low. Unlike the GH2, the D5100's high-ISO image quality is good enough that I find I don't really need a fast autofocus zoom.
 
lpowell said:
I also have a D5100 along with a GH2 and have put some thought into lens sharing. Here's my breakdown:

D5100 works with: AF-S, G
No autofocus with: AF-D
Won't work with: AI-S

GH2 works with: AF-S, AF-D, AI-S
Won't work with: G

Unfortunately, most AF-S Nikkors are also G, which severely restricts the range of lenses that both autofocus on the D5100 and work on the GH2. The only one I have is the early non-VR version of the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 zoom, and it doesn't autofocus well in Live View mode.
For manual focus primes, I use the Rokinon f1.4 35mm and 85mm chipped lenses. For zooms, the Tokina AT-X Pro f2.8 20-35mm and 28-70mm work well on both cameras in manual mode.

With your set of lenses, I'd sell the G primes, along with the 60mm. I'd keep the kit lens as long as you find it useful, as its resale value is low. Unlike the GH2, the D5100's high-ISO image quality is good enough that I find I don't really need a fast autofocus zoom.
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Hey lpowell! (Whispers..."the man, the legend") :)

Good advice indeed. Would you mind a brief "Why I bought the D5100 schpielzie."? I have a healthy respect for you and I'm intrigued by your investment in glass (as mentioned above), and especially the D5100. Cheers!
 
The D5100 filled a need that became apparent only after I acquired a set of Nikon-compatible lenses. For mobile filming purposes, I built a pair of shoulder mount rigs with traditional follow focus and matte box. I quickly realized that Micro 4/3 and Canon FD still photography lenses are poorly suited for this purpose, and that for proper focus ring rotation with a follow focus, I needed to use Nikon F-mount lenses. I put some thought into what characteristics make a lens video-friendly in this post:

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/859/video-friendly-lenses-for-lumix-dslrs

For use with follow focus and matte box, I chose the following set of F-mount lenses, all of which have manual focus rings with hard stops and fixed outer lens barrels that neither extend nor rotate:

Rokinon/Samyang 35mm f1.4
Rokinon/Samyang 85mm f1.4
Tokina AT-X 235 Pro 20-35mm f2.8
Tokina AT-X 270 Pro 28-70mm f2.8

These lenses work beautifully with GH1/2 cameras in all but two situations - low-light video shooting and portrait photography. For that, I needed a camera with less noise at high ISO's and finer color depth than the GH2's 12-bit RAW image sensor. Namely, the Nikon D5100, which combines the GH1/2's swing-out LCD screen and versatile video capabilities with the D7000's superior low-light performance. On my shoulder mounted rigs, the D5100 works much like the GH1/2, and produces far better shadow details under dim natural lighting.

The D5100 came bundled with Nikon's auto-focus VR kit lens, which I soon recognized was inadequate for portrait photography. For this purpose, I realized that I didn't want a fast, heavy-weight f2.8 auto-focus zoom - f2.8 depth-of-field on the APS-C sensor is just too shallow for close-ups. What I found perfectly suited was the Nikkor 24-120mm f4 AF-S VR zoom. Mounted on the D5100, it has everything that I found lacking in both Nikon's and Panasonic's consumer-grade kit zooms. For real close-up work, I also have a Tamron 60mm f2 macro lens with its elegantly compact internal focus design. At some point I'd like to add a Nikkor 12-24mm f4 zoom, which also has a fixed outer lens barrel, to handle wide-angle shots. While these are all G lenses, incompatible with the GH1/2, the superb results they produce on the D5100 require no additional justification.
 
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Well here's where I am now at for the moment. Some have gone and a couple new ones are here or inbound.

Now Gone:
60 Micro Nikkor AF f2.8 is gone. Just wasn't crazy about not being able to auto focus, also too close to the 50 and too valuable to sit in the bag.
85 Nikon AF G f3.5 is gone, a duplicated size of the Rokinon and too slow in comparison.
28 Nikon AF-D f2.8 is gone. Had a lady come pose for me and missed some opportunities because I didn't nail manual focus.

Still Here:
35 Nikon f1.8 G. This has potential to become a favorite for indoor work.
50 Nikon f1.8 D. Considering replacing with the G model for auto focus, but would likely keep this one for use on the GH1. Besides, it's so cheap, two 50s won't kills me. :-)
85 Rokinon f1.4 non chipped. Giving some thought to replacing this with the chipped version. Not at all considering eliminating it though.
18-55 Nikon f3.5-f5.6 G VR kit lens. As Ipowell nails, this has no significant resale value and as a bang around lens, it definitely doesn't suck.

Newly acquired:
55-200 Nikon Refurb f4-f5.6 G VR. This and the kit lens are going to make a great set up for "picture taking" and banging around. Reviews were it definitely doesn't suck, and at $150, if my daughters want to borrow the camera when they are home, guess what lenses they get to use? :-)
28-75 Tamron f2.8 all the way through. This is inbound, hope to have it by Saturday. Reviews went both ways on this, loved it or hated it, there was no in between. I had to find one with the built in focus motor, because really getting spoiled with auto focus.

I looked at the Tokinas Ipowell discusses and discounted those only for lack of auto focus. Otherwise, as Ipowell shows, they are a preferred lens, compared to the Tamron. The Nikkors he mentions, have to be realistic, that level of glass would be wasted on me at this time.

Where I am lacking yet is at the wide end, wide to ultrawide. I also though am running into the reality of fast glass. The announced but still not shipping Rokinon 24mm f1.4 could be the answer to fill my void for fast insde work. Otherwise looking at the 10-24 Tamron f3.5-4.5 and trying to add more light.

I do appreciate everyone's input here and please keep any suggestions etc coming. I am getting to the point where I now see what I have as making a resemblense of some sense. :happy:
 
lpowell said:
The D5100 filled a need that became apparent only after I acquired a set of Nikon-compatible lenses. For mobile filming purposes, I built a pair of shoulder mount rigs with traditional follow focus and matte box. I quickly realized that Micro 4/3 and Canon FD still photography lenses are poorly suited for this purpose, and that for proper focus ring rotation with a follow focus, I needed to use Nikon F-mount lenses. I put some thought into what characteristics make a lens video-friendly in this post:

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/859/video-friendly-lenses-for-lumix-dslrs

For use with follow focus and matte box, I chose the following set of F-mount lenses, all of which have manual focus rings with hard stops and fixed outer lens barrels that neither extend nor rotate:

Rokinon/Samyang 35mm f1.4
Rokinon/Samyang 85mm f1.4
Tokina AT-X 235 Pro 20-35mm f2.8
Tokina AT-X 270 Pro 28-70mm f2.8

These lenses work beautifully with GH1/2 cameras in all but two situations - low-light video shooting and portrait photography. For that, I needed a camera with less noise at high ISO's and finer color depth than the GH2's 12-bit RAW image sensor. Namely, the Nikon D5100, which combines the GH1/2's swing-out LCD screen and versatile video capabilities with the D7000's superior low-light performance. On my shoulder mounted rigs, the D5100 works much like the GH1/2, and produces far better shadow details under dim natural lighting.

The D5100 came bundled with Nikon's auto-focus VR kit lens, which I soon recognized was inadequate for portrait photography. For this purpose, I realized that I didn't want a fast, heavy-weight f2.8 auto-focus zoom - f2.8 depth-of-field on the APS-C sensor is just too shallow for close-ups. What I found perfectly suited was the Nikkor 24-120mm f4 AF-S VR zoom. Mounted on the D5100, it has everything that I found lacking in both Nikon's and Panasonic's consumer-grade kit zooms. For real close-up work, I also have a Tamron 60mm f2 macro lens with its elegantly compact internal focus design. At some point I'd like to add a Nikkor 12-24mm f4 zoom, which also has a fixed outer lens barrel, to handle wide-angle shots. While these are all G lenses, incompatible with the GH1/2, the superb results they produce on the D5100 require no additional justification.
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Wonderful write up! Thanks for your thoughts lpowell!!! Great to know your thought process on this....Cheers Buddy!
 
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