I have a Nikon D3200 . . . what would be a good zoom lens for landscapes & animals? . . . this stuff is new to me and it's a little confusing . . . what should I look for and what should I avoid? .....thanks
OT - need some advice on zoom lenses
- Thread starter rockingamecock
- Start date
Well your looking at two completely different type of pictures. Landscapes, depending on how much you want to capture may do well with a 28-55mm. Animals and wildlife usually require a zoom of greater distance any where from 75-300mm.
You good get two different zooms or maybe a try a 35-200mm.
By the way you don't necessarily have to get a Nikon zoom. Sigma and Tokina make exceptional lens and don't cost as much.
Good Luck
You good get two different zooms or maybe a try a 35-200mm.
By the way you don't necessarily have to get a Nikon zoom. Sigma and Tokina make exceptional lens and don't cost as much.
Good Luck
300mm for decent zoom, higher for killer shots. You may already have, with the camera. a 85ish to 200mm lens thats capable of okay shots. If so, you could buy a 2x doubler to get to 400mm on the cheap, but at a cost of brightness. If shooting in bright sunlight, it's okay, not bright is bad.
It gets expensive to get a very good, fast(bright in dim conditions) zoom lens. If you can limit your shots to bright sun lit days, a cheaper lens will suffice. Also depends on motor speed of lens focusing towards cost (manual is cheaper).
In general, as mm gets bigger, the brightness goes down, for standard lenses. More expensive lens will provide brighter image, image stabilization, faster focus and zoom, better color representation, better depth of field (subject sharp focus, background fuzzy and out of focus), and sometimes alternate mounting points.
Landscapes should be fine with standard lens, unless trying dim conditions, but a tripod helps there with a longer exposure.
For close ups, look for macro features in the lens and how close to subject to be able to still focus.
It gets expensive to get a very good, fast(bright in dim conditions) zoom lens. If you can limit your shots to bright sun lit days, a cheaper lens will suffice. Also depends on motor speed of lens focusing towards cost (manual is cheaper).
In general, as mm gets bigger, the brightness goes down, for standard lenses. More expensive lens will provide brighter image, image stabilization, faster focus and zoom, better color representation, better depth of field (subject sharp focus, background fuzzy and out of focus), and sometimes alternate mounting points.
Landscapes should be fine with standard lens, unless trying dim conditions, but a tripod helps there with a longer exposure.
For close ups, look for macro features in the lens and how close to subject to be able to still focus.
If i needed zoom lens advice this is the first place that comes to mind
Nikon makes excellent cameras and lenses. I use Canon cameras and lenses because that is what I have used since I got my first camera in fifth grade. The Nikon D3200 has 1.5x crop factor. Therefore, a 50mm lens on a camera with a 1.5x crop factor APS-C sensor gives a field of view equivalent to that of a 75mm lens on a full-frame or 35mm film camera.
I use a 24-70mm lens as my standard lens, and I also use a 70-200mm lens. These two lenses take care of most of my needs. I purchased an inexpensive 50mm lens for taking snapshots, and I have been very pleased with the results. The 50mm is a lot easier to carry around and does not draw unwanted attention to my camera.
Some of the lesser expensive zoom lenses have variable aperture and do not perform as well in low light situations. Yet, it sounds like your most interested in taking photos of animals and landscapes in daylight. If so, low light may not be a concern.
I have seen some great deals on cameras and lenses pop up on Slickdeals.
A local camera shop, camera club, or photography class may be a good resource.
Good luck!
SC 95
I have Nikon, Lumix and Leica, each with a 28mm lens equivalent. The Leica and the Lumix are fixed primes. With respect to you Nikon, it is a cropped sensor camera (APS-C) meaning a 16MM will yield 28MM on your camera (1.5x). Certainly one of the best zoom lens for what you are trying to do is the Nikon 16-55MM VR. That will get you a 28MM to 80MM zoom, perfect for landscape. When you want to talk about the Leica, with a 28MM , 1.7 on a full frame camera, let me know. I travel the world with each of the cameras, 28MM is a great start.
Similar threads
