lens for Nikon D80 (all in one: landscape, macro, NIGHT, etc.)?

Question

the 18-200mm VR is nice, but $750, haha, too much. please help. im going w/ a price under 400, preferibly under 300.

IM GOING ON VACATION, and i need a good lens to travel with. thus, i only want to bring ONE lens for this trip. i want to be able to take pictures of the cities at NIGHT, pictures of family, INSIDE museums, landscapes, and nature closeups (macro). sry if this is asking for much. im pretty ignorant when it comes to DSLR's and lenses. buying this NIKON D80 (decided over the canon digital rebel XTi (400D), is the first DSLR camera i've ever had, and i dont want the kit 18-55mm lens, unless thats my only choice. OHH, i think the 18-135mm is also a kit lens, is that a good choice?? but remember i want all those ABOVE qualities, esp NIGHT. ok, thx.

which one (remember, for night, and all that other sh*t):

a. 55-200mm f/4-5.6 --- $170
b. 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR --- $250
c. 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 --- $350
d. 18-55mm --- $170*
e. 18-135mm --- $330*

*kit lens

i really want the 18-200mm VR, but $750 is too much. SH*T, haha, ok, please help.

Answer 1

Hi Ev, The D80 is a great choice. The best, in my opinion. For your lens, I suggest the Nikon 18-135mm. This has the zoom range to cover your whole trip. With the 18-70 you might want a bit more reach at times, and with the 18-55 you almost certainly will on a daily basis. The 55-200mm zooms are intended as a second lens - they assume you already have the 18-55 or the 18-70 as your main lens.
The only down side is that none of these lenses are great for night time photography.
Get the 18-135 and experiment before your trip. For night time shots, use a large aperture and crank up the ISO. You might find that it works okay. But if the shutter time is still too slow, or if you can get the shot but the image quality at high ISO is disappointing, add a second lens anyway. Add a Nikon 50mm f/1.8. This lens costs peanuts on eBay and it's very small and light.
I use a constant f/2.8 zoom lens most of the time, but for night time photography even I regularly switch to a faster 50mm lens.

Answer 2

I answered you in the other question, but maybe you missed my lens number three - Tamron Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Lens. Except that it does not have "VR," I think it's the best choice for your all-in-one lens. It is not quite "official" macro at 1:3.7, but it has a very close focus of 1.5 feet throughout the range, so you can some very macro-like images. It's at B&H for $389 and you are not going to find better quality for cheaper. If you buy the D80 body plus the Tamron 18-200, it will cost $1,315. If this is too much, stick with OMG's suggestion to use the 18-135 kit lens. This combo is "only" $1,145 and it's a good lens.

What you need to replace the "VR" feature it "OFVR," or "old fashioned VR." This is what used to be called a "TP," or "tripod." (Sorry - I couldn't resist.) Buildings, landscapes and macro subjects don't move. The D80 with a lens will weigh only about 3 pounds, so you can find a few priced from $25-35 that will do very nicely. You might consider a "Mini-Pod" that you'd have to prop up on something like a table or a car, but it's smaller than a regular tripod. You might also consider a "Mono-pod," which is a lot lighter and more convenient, but not as stable as a tripod. They cost about the same as the cheaper tripods, though.

Answer 3

lens nikon d80 landscape macro night

Answer 4

Check out Sigma 105mm Macro f/2.8 EX DG lens. It's even sharper than the similar lens from Nikkor. Two main drawbacks - the lens extends out to the front (actually quite a lot). the aperture drops while focusing close (macro).

Answer 5

for indoor and night work you need a faster lens than any of those zooms. suggest you take a prime (ie, not zoom) lens. (faster lens means smaller f-stop number means greater light-gathering capacity)

the nikkor 50mm f1.8 is around $100. On your D80 this will have effective focal length of 75mm, making it great for head and shoulders portraits.

even faster is the 50mm f1.4 and it's less than $300. You can take amazing indoor pics.