Lens recommendation for D5100

[Marawder]

Originally Posted by schackel

- landscapes
- flowers
- people
- close-ups
would stabilization be a strong benefit here?

Yes!

[tclune]

Originally Posted by schackel

doesnt this small of range in the 17-50 not matter that much though? I guess just going off your last post i would say that she would need stabilization because she shoot mostly landscapes, flowers, people and other just cool looking things somewhat close-up. Would stabilization be a strong benefit here?

The old rule of thumb was that a person with reasonably good technique would not see blur due to the photographer in an image using an unstabilized lens if they shot at a shutter speed that was at least the reciprical of the focal length. So, with your 17-50 lens example, you could use shutter speeds down to 1/17 sec at the wide end or 1/50 sec at the long end for that lens. But this really depends on the individual -- not only in terms of their camera shooting technique, but also their normal processing routine on images and how they typically display their shots.

For what it's worth, I have no interest in VR on lenses below about 100mm focal length, and am very interested in it above that focal length. But many folks now seem to want stabilization on an ultra-wide lens. So maybe I'm just a dinosaur.

[TCav]

Originally Posted by tclune

The old rule of thumb was that a person with reasonably good technique would not see blur due to the photographer in an image using an unstabilized lens if they shot at a shutter speed that was at least the reciprical of the focal length. So, with your 17-50 lens example, you could use shutter speeds down to 1/17 sec at the wide end or 1/50 sec at the long end for that lens.

This rule of thumb was written in the days when 35mm film was the predominant medium. It translates ok if you're using a 'Full Frame' dSLR, but for APS-C dLSRs, you should apply the 'Crop Factor' (its only useful application, imho) to the focal length. So the slowest shutter speed you should use at the wide end of the 17-50 should be 1/25 second, and 1/75 at the long end.

It's reasonable to expect that, under conventional lighting conditions, you will be able to meet those expectations, so image stabilization isn't as desireable at short focal lengths, but that's not always the case. For instance, one doesn't often photograph sports/action with wide angle lenses.

[Wizzard0003]

The Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM is a fantastic walk around do everything
lens and my personal favorite... It's super sharp and the OS (what's called VR on a Nikon
lens) makes a big difference when shooting in low light and the close focusing Macro ability
means never being too close to your subject to focus...

Pair it up with either the Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED or the
Tamron SP 70-300MM F/4-5.6 Di VC USD and you've got a great low cost kit that will handle
most normal shooting situations...

Just my 2 cents...