Tongfamily.com

If you have Nikon (unlike me!) then what’s the best choice for a prosumer right now? Probably the d40x based on DPReview.com. It is a 10 megapixel camera and streets for just $600. Plus the kit lenses are good. The 18-135 is sharp, but has big problems with vignetting and with chromatic aberration plus distortion. It’s only the equivalent of $100 extra compared with a body according to “Pricegrabber”:http://cameras.pricegrabber.com/digital/m/34451887/sort_type=bottomline

So the better choices are the 18-55 which is a ok intermediate lense. The main issues are at 55mm, it is a very slow F/5.6 and it is OK sharp, but not great. It also has vignetting. So not a great choice for a real prosumer.

There is an 18-70 that is quite a bit better for an additional $300 from a body. It is a much sharper lense than the 18-55. Like 18-55 and the 18-105, it has vignetting problems. It is F/4.5 at 70mm, so that’s not terribly bad.

If you can afford the $800, the 18-200 is the lense to get. It has vibration reduction and great sharpness and ok vignetting. From Popular Photography, we know it can’t compete with the very best professional lenses, but it is great for the high end consumer. It does have a complicated distortion issue, so you’d need DxO to fix that.

Powered by ScribeFire.