D70 Kit Lens Replacement

[basicblue2k]

Even I bought a kit lens sometime back and sold it off lately. I feel the sharpness was not that great compared to the photos I saw of 17-55mm f/2.8. I feel the photos were a bit soft !
But then as you ppl said if you are not so fussy about the quality, doesn't matter much But it was a cool lens in general which focussed very fast and gave me amazing landscape pics!

I am also in this category of confusion of which one to buy. Would it be 28-70 f/2.8 or 17-55 f/2.8 ?? Since some ppl shared that always go for full frame since, full frame DSLRs could be out in a couple of years for cheap prices and these kind of expensive lifetime lenses are not worth buying as DX :think:

17-35mm , my personal opinion there would be a long gap between this and the 80-200/70-200mm/70-300mm lens that you would have. So, may not solve the purpose unless you would like to buy another one to cover this gap

 

[mohgui]

As for sharpness, for the kit glass, you'll need to USM it abit. Once you do, you can get better results on sharpness.

Cheers

erm... what's USM ah :dunno:

 

[wykhoo]

erm... what's USM ah :dunno:

I think usm mean Unsharp mask (Photoshop):sweatsm:

 

[hyperFocal]

erm... what's USM ah :dunno:

Welcome to acronym land! Ha..haha... PIE, KJE, CTE, COE, TCM, blah, blah, blah... Can't Unsharp Mask just be Unsharp Mask? Ha..haha... :sweat:

Ok, stop liao. Was taking some snap shots and realised that the flash focusing problem does exist, mostly at the wide end with large apertures; gets better at F8 and above. Hmm... And, yeah, generally, the pics taken with the kit lens are soft compared to primes (even with the 50mm 1.8D, the difference is quite marked). Maybe this isn't a very fair comparison? Will do more tests and post the results soon. Well, it's afterall just a prosumer zoom lens.

The 17-55 DX should be a nice replacement (read big hole in pocket). I'll be getting mine someday, BUT need the wide angle zoom first. Ke..keke...

Cheers!

 

[mpenza]

USM also can mean ultrasonic motor ;p too many variations liao ;p

 

[mohgui]

I think usm mean Unsharp mask (Photoshop):sweatsm:

oh i see. but if too much USM picture tend to get noisy.

 

[King Tiger]

oh i see. but if too much USM picture tend to get noisy.

moghui, that's depend how much you adjust on the sharpness.
Usually all photos taken require PS, some may not require, it all depends on the situation.

Nikkor 18-70mm is an all rounder valuable for money lense.
Of course, 17-35mm and 17-55mm would perform much better.

See the 2 photos below about sharpness and nosiy.

 

[King Tiger]

This is an unprocess photo taken by Nikkor 17-55mm. :devil:

Photo taken at the outskirt of the old folk home at Buangkok.

 

[jnet6]

moghui, that's depend how much you adjust on the sharpness.

Usually all photos taken require PS.

Nikkor 18-70mm is an all rounder valuable for money lense.
Of course, 17-35mm and 17-55mm would perform much better.

agreed.. on digital is not "so sharp".... some unsharpen mask will help a bit.
depends on how u see the picture from the monitor and print out.

*it is some veri "fine" details need to unsharp on.

 

[King Tiger]

Photo taken by Nikkor 17-55mm at KL this year.
1/30 Secs, F2.8, ISO 1250, Handheld

 

[basicblue2k]

"I'm loving it" -> 17-55 rocks !

 

[mohgui]

aarrgghhh... the lure to BBB is too great :sweatsm:

btw KT, nice shots. the clarity is there.

 

[Witness]

well...if u want another alternative u can try the 18-35.... its a hardcore piece of glass too....esp if u are skeptical about dx lens that may not last till the advent of full frame dslrs.... its not gg to set u back alot for a used piece too....say ard 600 bucks for tt.....

alternatively u could always try the tokina at pro2 28-70....built like a tank...and v sharp...esp on film cams....i know alot of ppl...pros and non pros who keep a piece of this glass in their arsenals......

i was once told long ago that all digital photos have to be sharpened...coz the sharpness can never match tt of film....i wonder how much truth is there in it.... anyway i sharpen in moderation....so who cares ya....

if u really want extreme combination...u can try my combi for portraits....its pretty across the board actually....28mm 50mm 85mm...... 3 primes..... to cover a pretty std range...on both film and digital...if even primes give u issues...then i am at a lost for words already.....

hope this helps...
Witness

 

[catchlights]

You can check out my Nikon 18~35 lens, still available. :sweatsm:

 

[Witness]

yeah.....buy it its a good lens hahahahaa

 

[icarus]

Photo taken by Nikkor 17-55mm at KL this year.
1/30 Secs, F2.8, ISO 1250, Handheld

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[mohgui]

well...if u want another alternative u can try the 18-35.... its a hardcore piece of glass too....esp if u are skeptical about dx lens that may not last till the advent of full frame dslrs.... its not gg to set u back alot for a used piece too....say ard 600 bucks for tt.....

alternatively u could always try the tokina at pro2 28-70....built like a tank...and v sharp...esp on film cams....i know alot of ppl...pros and non pros who keep a piece of this glass in their arsenals......

i was once told long ago that all digital photos have to be sharpened...coz the sharpness can never match tt of film....i wonder how much truth is there in it.... anyway i sharpen in moderation....so who cares ya....

if u really want extreme combination...u can try my combi for portraits....its pretty across the board actually....28mm 50mm 85mm...... 3 primes..... to cover a pretty std range...on both film and digital...if even primes give u issues...then i am at a lost for words already.....

hope this helps...
Witness

dude, thanks.

on the 18-35mm glass. i've looked and the aperture range is the same as the 18-70mm glass. pls bear with me ah (newbie)... wouldn't the 18-70mm at 35mm gives you better control of the f value as compared to the 18-35mm? cos when the 18-35mm hits 35mm, the f value is 4.5 whereas the 18-70mm can go from X to 4.5.

so how would the 18-35mm be more superior to the 18-70mm?

erm... currently i have the following at my disposal:

18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G
50mm f/1.8D
80-200mm f/2.8D

 

[TMC]

Coz at that range, you are prob shooting landscape with a tripod. so a faster aperture is not really an issue. the 18-35 is superior in the glass used.

 

[King Tiger]

mohgui, I will share with you more this Saturday.

 

[espn]

well...if u want another alternative u can try the 18-35.... its a hardcore piece of glass too....esp if u are skeptical about dx lens that may not last till the advent of full frame dslrs.... its not gg to set u back alot for a used piece too....say ard 600 bucks for tt.....

Hmm.. I used to own the 18-35, image quality is good, but if you wanna say compare the 18-70 with the 18-35 and with the 17-55, go for the 17-55. Don't look back.

i was once told long ago that all digital photos have to be sharpened...coz the sharpness can never match tt of film....i wonder how much truth is there in it.... anyway i sharpen in moderation....so who cares ya....

You'll need to apply some USM because of the size of the photosites on the sensor, especially for DSLR where the photosites are more sparsely distributed, images tend to be slightly softer. Photosites are human made sizes, unlike film which reacts to light with it's chemical to form the images. there is some truth, but sharpening can only do so much, higher end glasses will give better optimum sharpness before sharpening further.

if u really want extreme combination...u can try my combi for portraits....its pretty across the board actually....28mm 50mm 85mm...... 3 primes..... to cover a pretty std range...on both film and digital...if even primes give u issues...then i am at a lost for words already.....

I just need a AF-S 28-70, and I believe I can/or would have covered the range, sharpness? Definitely there.

As mentioned above, it's not primes and/or DX and/or G and/or watever.