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Upgrade from 55-200mm?

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8 replies to this topic

#1
Catseyeguy

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Hello!  I used my D3100 for a while with my 50mm F/1.8G, then I bought a 55-200mm F/4.5-5.6.  I love and use both these lenses all the time, but it seems the only interesting thing around here to take pictures of are birds and deer.  My 55-200mm seems to do a pretty good job of that most of the time but there's no denying that I need an upgrade.

 

I'm looking for a lens that has more powerful zoom with a sharper image, but the pricing for zoom lenses (and most lenses in general it seems) is really strange.  For example I can get a 55-200mm for less than $200, but a 70-300mm AF-S F/4.5-5.6 seems to hover around $350-$420.  This seems like a big jump in price, but lenses are expensive, no biggie.  Then I see an 80-400mm F/4.5/5.6 for $1900!  It seems like prices for zoom lenses start put fairly low but then jump up extremely fast.  Strangely enough a 200-500mm F/5.6 is ~$1200.  I also found a list of the best Nikon lenses for wildlfe photography (Best Nikon Lenses for Wildlife Photography (2024)), and there's another 500mm lens on there that's $8,000.

 

It seems like the pricing for Nikon zoom lenses is really strange, the naming and specs seem to have hardly any effect on the price, and when in doubt; it's ridiculously expensive.  Maybe I should upgrade my camera body to a D5100?  Would that help with the quality or crispness of the shot?  Maybe the aperture is what makes these lenses more or less expensive and larger or smaller than lenses that seem so similar?  Any info is appreciated.

 

Thanks!



#2
Kenafein

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Welcome to photography.  The good stuff is really expensive.  The Nikkor 55-300mm VR is a pretty good lens for the price.  It goes on sale now and then and you can get a grey market lens, on eBay, for about $250 or a used one.  The Tamron 150-600 or the Sigma 150-600 C go on sale from time to time as well.  You can get them around $700, on occasion.  



#3
Merco_61

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Longer zoom range costs more money both to develop and to build in production. Less light falloff in the corners and sharper corners too. A larger image circle to cover FX isn't cheap either. Pro build quality with weather seals raises the cost as well. Something that can really raise cost is the complexity of building a constant aperture zoom, especially if it has to be fast too. If you start comparing lenses, you will find that quality and price more or less match each other.

 

When it comes to your less than crisp shots with the D3100, would you mind sharing some of them and write out the settings you used? The 55-200 isn't stellar, but it is usable with the right technique and picture control if the body you use has them. If the D3100 doesn't support picture controls, some careful tweaking of sharpness, clarity and contrast in post might be of help.



#4
TBonz

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Merco is right on track...usually quality and price raise and fall together when looking at Nikon zooms and even many Nikon prime lenses.  Examples with any information on the settings would also help us see what is happening and help us give you recommendations.  There really isn't any "cheap" gear in photography, especially if it has a major manufacturer's name associated with it.  That doesn't mean that the most expensive is always the best choice.  The third party lenses like Tamron and Sigma will likely be less expensive for a similar range lens.  Many times these can be an excellent choice and other times it can be worth spending some extra cash to get a different lens (manufacturer or third party) that will work better for the images the photographer wants.



#5
Merco_61

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The D3100 does support Picture controls, but in a rudimentary fashion compared to the D5xxx upwards. You can raise contrast and saturation in most Picture controls, but as you can't edit them except in the camera, you won't have the precision and fine control that the utility app gives.



#6
Catseyeguy

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Welcome to photography. The good stuff is really expensive. The Nikkor 55-300mm VR is a pretty good lens for the price. It goes on sale now and then and you can get a grey market lens, on eBay, for about $250 or a used one. The Tamron 150-600 or the Sigma 150-600 C go on sale from time to time as well. You can get them around $700, on occasion.


Thanks for all the recommendations! Sorry it took so long for me to reply, I couldn't find my thread (I didn't even think it had posted) and I only found out because of the weekly digest email. I'll definitely check out those lenses.

#7
Catseyeguy

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Longer zoom range costs more money both to develop and to build in production. Less light falloff in the corners and sharper corners too. A larger image circle to cover FX isn't cheap either. Pro build quality with weather seals raises the cost as well. Something that can really raise cost is the complexity of building a constant aperture zoom, especially if it has to be fast too. If you start comparing lenses, you will find that quality and price more or less match each other.
 
When it comes to your less than crisp shots with the D3100, would you mind sharing some of them and write out the settings you used? The 55-200 isn't stellar, but it is usable with the right technique and picture control if the body you use has them. If the D3100 doesn't support picture controls, some careful tweaking of sharpness, clarity and contrast in post might be of help.

Thanks for the info.  Sorry it took so long to reply, I hadn't been notified until today via the weekly email.  Here are a few of my most recent shots:
 

F/6.3, 1/60th, ISO 100, at 200mm.

https://www.flickr.c...0911@N07/702zqv

 

 

F/5.6, 1/80th, ISO 200, at 200mm.

https://www.flickr.c...0911@N07/M6V16P
 

 

F/5.6, 1/80th, ISO 200, at 200mm.
https://www.flickr.c...0911@N07/09T7eD

 

I'll look for a larger selection if needed, but I don't shoot a lot with the 200mm instead of the 50mm.

I hope these were useful!



#8
Merco_61

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It looks like your main problem is your shutter speed. In the film days, a useful rule of thumb was shutter speed= 1/focal length. On a DX sensor, because of the greater magnification needed to get the same print or screen presentation, this should be even shorter or: shutter speed= 1/focal length*1.5. This means that your safe speed is 1/300 second at 200 mm focal length. If the 55-200 is the VR version, you can probably hold it still at about 1/125, but subject movement doesn't care for VR...

You can probably get things to pop a bit by changing your picture control from [SD]Standard to [VI]Vivid or [LS]Landscape, but that will not solve moving subjects or a shaky lens. You don't have to be too afraid of raising the ISO, the D3100 is a fairly modern DSLR, not a compact or phone camera.



#9
Catseyeguy

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It looks like your main problem is your shutter speed. In the film days, a useful rule of thumb was shutter speed= 1/focal length. On a DX sensor, because of the greater magnification needed to get the same print or screen presentation, this should be even shorter or: shutter speed= 1/focal length*1.5. This means that your safe speed is 1/300 second at 200 mm focal length. If the 55-200 is the VR version, you can probably hold it still at about 1/125, but subject movement doesn't care for VR...

You can probably get things to pop a bit by changing your picture control from [SD]Standard to [VI]Vivid or [LS]Landscape, but that will not solve moving subjects or a shaky lens. You don't have to be too afraid of raising the ISO, the D3100 is a fairly modern DSLR, not a compact or phone camera.

Thanks for all the info, I'll try those!







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