For Every Tear I Cried
April 8th, 2008 by matt
Archive for the 'Photography' Category
The Nikon 55-200 VR
April 5th, 2008 by matt
I just bought a new lens - the Nikkor 55-200 AFS f/4-5.6 VR. I can’t really afford the more serious f/2.8 long zooms, and at $215 at Adorama, the 55-200 is perhaps one of the best telephoto zoom values anywhere.
Up to this point I’ve been using my 50mm f/1.8 95% of the time, and my 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens that came with my D50. That has been the extent of my lens collection, limited mainly by the extent of my bank account.
The 50mm f/1.8 is probably the best $100 you can spend on your photography if you don’t have one or if you’re just starting out with a DSLR. It’s incredibly sharp, very little distortion, fast autofocus and of course a nice big aperture to let in a lot of light. It’s very versatile and really has provided me several new experiences in photography that I couldn’t get with the slower kit lens.
After getting my new (used) D200 last week (oh, did I forget to mention that? more to come then), however, I wanted to get a longer lens. My friend Aamir just got the 55-200 VR lens and he let me borrow it for a few days. That did it - I decided to get one.
After just shooting with the mid-range 50mm focal length, I didn’t realize what a telephoto focal length can really do. And even more importantly, the vibration reduction (VR) allows me to shoot at very slow shutter speeds - even 1/15 of a second if I’m relatively stable - without any noticeable blur!
The slow shutter speeds that the VR enables partially counteracts the smaller maximum aperture of f/4-5.6 by letting me make a longer exposure to let in more light, rather than being able to open the aperture up to, say f/2.8 - all without using a tripod. Of course, if I’m trying to shoot moving objects, like people playing sports, the slow shutter speeds don’t work. That’s where the value of the larger f/2.8 apertures come in. And, you certainly pay for that value.
This is certainly not a pro lens, but for what it offers at the price, it’s an incredible value. For a more in-depth review of this lens, see Ken Rockwell’s write-up. You can see photos I’ve taken with this lens here.
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photography, Nikon, lens, 55-200 VR
