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Lens advice for D300?

Chris C

Member
Guy - My apologies if you have covered this before, but how are you finding focusing the Zeiss 28 on the D300, did you need to fit a different screen?

.............. Chris
 

jonoslack

Active member
Gents & Lady,

I did a workshop last year with Jay Maisel and he did almost all of his shooting with the 18-200mm and a 50mm f1.4 on D2x bodies and he got excellent results. I'm going to persevere with the 18-200 for the moment but continue to explore what my other options might be.
Oh! I remember he shot jpg for a while after he got his D2x bodies. I would love to have gone for a workshop with him - definitely one of my colour heroes.

There's a lot to be said for simplicity.
 

simonclivehughes

Active member
I just got back from having a very quick look at the 16-85mm and the 70-300mm combo and have compared some shots I took with them in the store versus control shots of the same subject with the 18-200mm. I brought them into Camera RAW and applied sharpening there to all images as follows:

Amount: 125
Radius: 1.0
Detail: 50
Masking: 0

I then compared them in CS3 at 100%. The 18-200m actually looks slightly better than the others! Mind you, this was a very unscientific test, although real world in the sense that 90% of the time, I shoot handheld.

I'd be very interested to hear your comments on CS3 sharpening strategies for D300 files, and particularly the advantages of using Capture NX as it relates to image sharpness & overall quality versus the CS3 route.

Jono, Jay had "graduated" to RAW files before our workshop, but he is still a real curmudgeon when it comes to processing, taking a real minimalist approach. The workshop was indeed a real treat and Jay is brutal in his assessment and critique of your work. I learned a great deal about self criticism, which is crucial for a photographer to evolve.

Ciao,
 

rayyan

Well-known member
Simon,

If I read your requirements correctly...D300 and a light ( weight ) kit taking
you from about 28mm to 300mm. While I respect the suggestions given by others, my thinking goes something like this:

D300...excellent AF, DSLR, Excellent high ISO...so why bother with MF lenses,
except for micro ( not your requirement ).

Why buy an excellent DSLR, if you do not want to benefit from the excellent
zooms available.

My recommendation would be:

either a 18-200 vr or the new 16-85 vr. a lot of 18-200 suffer from zoom creep. There is sample variation within the 18-200. upto 120-130mm it is
good, and gets soft onwards. you have to experiment with it to find the
sweet spots at different apertures. Any way an excellent lens for travel.
Complex distortion at the wide-end.

16-85 vr. sharp at all apertures across its focal length. distortion at the wide end. obviously not as long an extension as the 18-200. i find it to have a better vr than the 18-200. from 18-85 this lens is very good.

70-300 vr. excellent lens, getting softer after around 200mm. excellent value and excellent results.

the tamron 17-50/2.8 is a light and very good lens.

If i take my d300/d200 i take the 16-85/70-300 and the 50/1.4 for a light
kit.

slightly more heavy 17-55/70-300 ( 12-24 is rarely used by me )+ 50/1.4

These are my choices for air travel and vacations.
 
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