New Lens (mainly for NYC Trip)

It's actually about 75mm (1.5x crop factor)

And budget please? You could spend nearly $2K… or <$350

 

I have a 24mm 2.8 Nikkor I absolutely love. It would be almost comparable to a 35mm traditional lens. I picked it and an 80-200 up for $450.00. Very sharp, great performing lens. I didn't think I would use it much when I got it but I use it much more than the zoom. The 24mm and a 50mm are all you really need when it comes down to it.

 

Sigma 30 mm f/1.4.


Do it.

 

I picked up recently a Tamron AF18-250 3.5-6.3 macro on sale at BB...it is truely a jewell...a great walk around that does well in low lite as well.I have all ranges of lenses but for the money this is a very capable lense.Hope this helps!

http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/18250_diII.asp


Steve

 

If you like wide shots the 30mm f/1.4 is probably the way to go, as previously suggested.

 

I'd recomend the 17-35mm zoom over the 24mm prime if you can afford it. I prefer my 20-35mm to the 24mm prime wide open.

 

ipodtoucher,

I don't know all that much about Nikon as I shoot Sony, but the Tamron 17-50 2.8 is made for most all mounts and a very capable and sharp lens.
and is in your price range. http://sigma4less.com/tamron-zoom-wide-angle-normal-sp-17-50mm-f28-xr-di-ii-ld-aspherical-if-autofocus-lens-for-nikon-digital-slr--usa-.html

 

Stabilized/VR.

I'm not a Nikon shooter, but if your big event is at night, you might consider a stabilized (VR in Nikonspeak) lens. Wide angle and wide aperture are both good for general shooting, but at night you'll be facing some exposures too long to handhold without a stabilized lens. Unless you plan to set up a tripod in the Times Square crowd.

Canon has a cheap 18-55 stabilized kit lens, but I don't know if there's a Nikon equivalent.

 

Um, don't you think that subject motion blur is going to be more of an issue than camera/photographer blur?

 

x2. especially at such wide angles

 

I went there in May, and used my Canon 17-55 lens and it STILL wasn't wide enough!!!!! So think panoramas. Bring a good flash too. Just don't think about shooting on New Years Eve. You WILL want to shoot the big Apple during the day. BTW, when you lug your SLR around there you be accosted by "salespeople" trying to sell you guided trips!!!

This is one of the entrances to the Chrysler Building it's FOUR stories tall!!! (3 photos)

 

Motion blur? Could be cool.

I don't think a razor-sharp subject is necessary for interesting photos of Times Square at night.

http://timessquarenyc.org/media/images/NYE07Verticle.jpg

Would I take close-up portraits of people or action photos at 1/4 of a second? Of course not.

 

A stabilized wide angle does not make much sense to me. You can hand hold down to 1/(focal length) So lets say you have a 24mm lens. That means 1/24th second. Would you ever want to shoot slower than that? OK if you do then buy the VR lens but you'd better only shoot static objects lke building and rocks not people or anything else that moves. Subject motion s a factor below about 1/30th

 

Am I the only one who wants VR at night?

Aw, what's the fun if you don't shoot things that move?

I think there are plenty of reasons to photograph moving objects with the shutter slower than 1/24.

http://flickr.com/photos/camil_t/208630930/
http://flickr.com/photos/toniphotos/504647903/
http://flickr.com/photos/bcnbits/1429528050/
http://flickr.com/photos/saylamarz/445535330/
http://flickr.com/photos/hi-phi/142324601/
http://flickr.com/photos/superamit/80102754/
http://flickr.com/photos/chiliman/223655962/

 

lens

When I lived in NYC, I shot with a Nikon F4s film camera and Nikkor 24mm f2.8 almost exclusively.

see image - and no it was not staged.


With the D50 (1.5x crop factor), a 24mm will be a 36mm...not quite enough for NYC.

The very best solution for quality is the stunning Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8. Very expensive, very heavy...simple the best in this focal length range.
Another option would be a used AF Nikkor 20mm f2.8.
I also hear the Tamron SP AF17-35MM F/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical (IF) is quite nice.

NS

 

I ordered mine today, I've been eyeing that lens for a while and finally broke down.