What's the best tele lens for a nikkon d40?

Question

What's the best tele lens for a nikkon d40? I want somthing in the 10x - 20x range... I don't know the convesion to millimeters. Thanks!

Well, I picked the d40 up for $550, and I'm looking to keep the price of any lens I pick up under $250. Is it worth it or should I save up my pennies?

Answer 1

The 18-200 is a great all-in-one lens for around $900. If you already have the 18-55mm kit lens, you can also decide to keep that and add a Nikon 55-200mm zoom for just $170, or Ignacio's 70-300mm VR for about $500. With all of these, you get what you pay for:
The 55-200 is cheap reach. It gets the job done, but don't expect to be published in National Geographic ;-)
The 70-300 provides image stabilization, MORE reach, and better image quality.
The 18-200 also has good image quality and image stabilization, and it lets you do everything with just one lens.
Be careful with other options. Unlike the rest of Nikon's dSLR bodies, the D40 doesn't have an internal auto-focus motor. This means that you can only use lenses that have their own AF motor built in. (Not all AF lenses do. It rules out a lot of stuff, actually.)
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Ignacio, Ken Rockwell might be the critic we all love to hate but Sam's reputation is solid and the 18-200 can't be praised highly enough. It's not a pro lens, but it is worth every penny. (Different horses for different courses.)
The 'real' experts agree:
http://www.bythom.com/18200lens.htm
http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_zoom_02.html#AFS18-200VR
(I had nothing to do with those thumbs down, by the way.)
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For under $250, get the Nikon 55-200. The 18-55 and 55-200 make a good combo for the D40. In fact, they're the intended lenses for the D40.
Keep the 70-300 in mind if you're willing to spend that much for 10% better image quality.
Keep the 18-200 in mind if you're ever willing to spend that much for the extra convenience.

Answer 2

Hi!

First of all, Dr. Sam, you'll have to stop referencing Ken Rockwell, it hurts your credibility. The guy's a joke!

Now, lenses don't really come in a 10x or 20x for SLR cameras, they come in mm. In the days of 35 mm film a 50 mm lens was considered normal because it offered the same field of view (more or less) as the human eye.

With the smaller sensor of consumer digital cameras the normal lens is now somewhere around 30 mm. So you would probably be looking at a 300 mm lens to get 10 times the "normal" magnification.

The best tele would be a 300 mm prime lens, but that's not what first time buyers usually get, even though it would be a great option for sheer image quality.

What many people get, and I would suggest, is that you get Nikon's 75-300 stabilized lens.

With the smaller sensor it will behave like a 450 mm lens would on a full frame camera and it is stabilized, which is great for this focal length.

Disregard all the recommendations for the 18-200 lens. You already have the lens that came with your camera for the wide end and consumer "superzooms" are usually seen as offering very poor image quality.

Hope this helps!

Ignacio

Answer 3

Let me be the third to suggest the popular Nikon 18-200 VR lens. Okay, it's not the world's PERFECT lens, but it is not too shabby. Go here and read Rockwell's review:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

Go here and look at the sample images. Click on them to view them full screen. If you click at least once in the white space, your cursor will turn into a magnifier when you scroll it back over the image. Click again over the image and it will zoom to 100% size so you can really examine the image.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200/examples/index.htm

"Optically, this lens is the best superzoom we’ve seen, though it’s not compatible with Nikon teleconverters, extension rings, or coupled macro bellows. It also costs about $300 more than third-party digital-only glass. But are extremely rugged construction, unusually well-controlled distortion, and four extra handholdable speeds worth the extra bucks? That, and more."

http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/2763/lens-test-nikon-18-200mm-f35-56g-dx-vr-af-s.html

Here are some of my own photos taken with the 18-200 VR lens, showing the versatility of the lens. These were all taken with the D200 and 18-200 VR lens.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/409564890/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/409564887/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/409564893/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/408446616/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/409564880/
http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=57759389/PictureID=2801041875/a=75953750_75953750/t_=75953750
http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=57759389/PictureID=2531239742/a=75953750_75953750/t_=75953750

If you want a "range" for the zoom, this would be an 11X lens. If you want to maintain your autofocus on the D40, you are limited to AF-S or AF-I lenses. This rules out an interesting assortment of older design (but still excellent) lenses. If you want a LOT of tele range without any zoom, you can buy any number of 300, 400 or 500 mm AF-S lenses - as long as you have a few thousand dollars to spend on each lens. If you want to keep it under $2,000, you can choose from 5 or 6 AF-S zooms. There are only 3 that have "decent" reach and they are the 18-135, 18-200 and 70-200. For me, I chose the 18-200 so I wouldn't have to be swapping lenses to cover the same range as the other two privided. The 70-200 is an EXCELLENT lens - better than mine for sure - but it is pure tele with no wide angle end at all. It would be of little to no use indoors and very little use for wide scenic views.

Answer 4

How much can you spend? If you can get by with an 18-135, you can get one for around $350. The 18-200 is an excellent lens, very highly rated, but also costs around $800, if you can find one. Stores can't keep them in stock very long. The first lens I mentioned is one I have, and works great for most situations. (I bought a separate 70-300 lens for telephoto.) Once my local camera store has the 18-200 in stock, I'll probably get one. They know me there, and they'll hold it for me.

Answer 5

Nikon AF VR Lens, 18mm to 200mm (its about 11 x) but it is expensive