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View Full Version : Got a new lens for my D50.



rockycarr
04-20-2008, 08:20 PM
Got a new lens for the D50 and I love it. Here are some shots that I took when I took my little girl to the petting farm today. I'm loving it.

Later Bill

hsbob
04-21-2008, 10:49 AM
what lense

rockycarr
04-21-2008, 04:10 PM
It is a AF-S 18-135 Nikon.

Bill

pyro
04-21-2008, 04:32 PM
Bill, I've had that same lens aimed at your boat a couple of times. :D

rockycarr
04-21-2008, 04:58 PM
I cant wait to try it out this summer on the boats. I have to get some more time on it. I got it so I would have some thing closer then the 70-300 that I love so much. Talk to soon as I get more pics.
Bill

Scream And Fly
04-22-2008, 02:13 AM
The 18-135 is an extremely sharp lens. Very good all-around lens that's quite fast too.

pyro
04-22-2008, 06:23 AM
I think the 18-135 is alright for the money. Here's some tidbits and gripes about this lens that might help:

Avoid using wide-open 3.5 aperture, especially with full zoom or full-wide. Stop it down a bit if you can. Otherwise, above 120mm, the corners of the image will tend to have slight darkening visible against the sky, and at 18mm, there will be lots of chromatic aberration (green/pink ghosts along edges)
If you're cropping down the edges anyway, no big deal.

Check your aperture symmetry. Mine is visibly crooked. Not sure if this affects image quality.

Watch out for dust. Avoid unneccessary zooming in/out, because the lens physically extending in/out will inhale dust through the moving parts of the lens and get it in between the glass elements. Move the zoom ring slowly.

Handle with care, like all lenses. ;) I'm not sure what I did wrong, but my autofocus started getting noisy/clicky and now it won't focus right anymore.
My focus ring has a bit of "wiggle" play as well. Not sure if they're all like that.

sadd12, you really like your "deal site", don't you? That isn't a "deal", that lens is under $330 anywhere.

The "deal sites" and Ebay dealers are usually foreigners doing business out of dirty apartments and warehouses in Brooklyn, NY. They are not usually authorized dealers, so you might be screwed when you have a warranty issue. STAY away from any dealer who tries to up-sell you a "package deal" that includes off-brand accessories. These dealers will also try to gouge you on shipping, or will charge your card long before the item ships, say it's in stock when it isn't, etc.

Most of the time, there's barely any difference in price on these items between various dealers unless there's a catch. Do business with shady people and you'll get shady merchandise or service.

Here's the dealers to get a lens from:
www.adorama.com
www.bhphotovideo.com
www.ritzcamera.com


Bill, don't even consider the 70-300vr for any action shots. It's way too slow for anything besides midday sun (f4.5 at 70mm, f6.3 at 300mm) :rolleyes:

rockycarr
04-22-2008, 05:09 PM
I got my 18-135 from a reputable dealer that is local and knew that it was good. They went threw it and made sure it was in working order. Next is to have the camera cleaned. I paid around 200.00 for the lens. I am saving my ducks for something of better quality later on but I need to get some overtime for that.

Chad
thanks for the help on the settings with the 70-300. I am still learning how to use this camera.

hsbob
04-23-2008, 10:08 AM
there's a new cleaning len for slr. it mount on the camera and you can actually see the dust on the ccd.

be sure to change all lens with the lens pointing down and not in a wind dusty area.

pyro
04-23-2008, 10:41 AM
(My setting suggestions were aimed at the 18-135. I have not personally used the 70-300.) ;)