Nikkor 50mm F 1.8D
Great for night photography
Price 140$
All upcoming tests will be performed using a Nikon D200, a 10MP APS-C DSLR with a 1.5x cropping factor. The field-of-view of the Nikkor is equivalent to 75mm on classic full frame SLRs so the standard lens is transformed to a moderate tele lens within this scope.
The optical construction is made of 6 elements in 5 groups without any special elements. The minimum focus distance is 0.45m resulting in a max. object magnification of 1:6.6. The filter size is 52mm. As hinted above the lens is very compact (64x39mm) and light-weight (155g). The aperture mechanism feature 7 aperture blades.
Despite its very low price tag the build quality of the lens is very decent. The outer barrel is made of polycarbonate combined with a metal mount. The rather small rubberized focus ring operates very smooth. As you can see above the lens extends a little bit towards closer focus distances. The front element does not rotate so using a polarizer is no problem. The lens has no internal AF motor and relies on a slotted drive screw operated by the camera. As a result AF operation will generate a moderate degree of noise. The AF speed is very decent on the D200.
For a video
http://youtu.be/xKa0cDjdFhs
Nikon 55-300mm VR
Priced At $325
Ideal for: Perfect normal and long-telephoto lens for general photography, but only onDX digital cameras.
Not for: Film or FX digital cameras. Slow autofocus and needing to move a switch to get to and from manual focus makes the 55-300mm poor for moving subjects; use the70-300mm VR instead for fast action, as well as for film and FX.
Used on D7000 this Lens is a Monster
Details
It's an ideal lens for anyone not expecting to upgrade to FX, and who needs a little more reach than the excellent 55-200mm VR.
The optical performance of this 55-300mm lens is excellent.
Autofocus is slow. If you want to shoot action, pay a little more for the larger and more expensive semi-professional FX 70-300mm VRinstead.
To get to and from manual focus mode, you must move a switch on this 55-300mm. There is no instant override as there is on the 70-300mm VR. Manual focus doesn't work very well on this 55-300mm anyway, so if you want easy access to manual focus (I do), opt for the 70-300mm VR instead.
If you don't really need 300mm, the 55-200mm VR is the same as this 55-300mm lens, except for the plastic mount and 200mm maximum, for half the price.
This 55-300mm excels for use as an ultra-compact, reasonably-priced supertelephoto, so long as you're not getting it for sports. For sports, you want the 70-300mm VR, but for general use, heck, I can read a licence plate at a quarter-mile (400 meters) in my images!
This Nikon 55-300mm lens works only with Nikon's DX digital cameras.
It will attach to FX and film cameras, but will not fill the complete FX image.
See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details with your camera. Read down the ", AF-I," "G" and "VR" columns for this lens. You'll get the least of all the features displayed in all columns, since "G" (gelding) is a handicap which removes features.
Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 OS lens
Looking for a telephoto lens? And have some good money in your pocket? Then you have come on a right place.
Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 OS lens ( New version with image stabilization) Costs Around 3000$-3200$.
The Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG APO HSM is a fast telephoto zoom lens targeted primarily at sports and nature photographers who wishes a fast lens, allowing for photography in low light.
The Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG APO HSM is quite unique for the focal length as it is of today the only F2.8 300mm lens with the ability to zoom to 120mm and still maintain a F2.8 aperture.
The lens itself is fairly compact for a 300mm F2.8 and with the relatively short lens hood this lens fits in most bags and although it is bigger than for example a 70-200mm F2.8 it´s not much longer. It measures 112.8 x 268.5 mm and the lens hood is roughly 65mm long, much shorter than the OEM counterpart. Using the 120-300mm coupled with a 1D series body it looks kinda small and nimble but once you see it up close you recognize why it weighs 2.6 kg.
Built quality is as with most of Sigmas expensive lenses top notch. It feels and is very sturdy with the typical Sigma coating. I would rate the built quality better than the Sigma 100-300mm F4 EX but not as good as the 500mm F4.5 or 300-800mm F5.6. The lens is not water sealed.
On the 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG APO HSM there´s surprising only one button which switches from auto focus with full-time manual override to regular manual focus. - It´s surprising there´s no focus limit selector which most photographers, who needs the speed of a 300mm F2.8 use on a regular basis.
Sample Images
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