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Hey Everyone!
I’m looking to get a more versatile lens to carry around with me (for everyday use) and want to get your input on which one is best. Would you recommend getting an 18-140mm or 18-200mm?
Thank you!
Is budget an issue one way or the other? If not, since you’re looking for more versatility I think I would go with the 18-200mm. That would be more versatile than the 18-140mm. 🙂
What lens(es) do you currently have?
Since I am trying to keep the cost down, I’m thinking about getting a refurbished 18-140mm from B & H photo (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1031240-REG/nikon_2213b_af_s_dx_nikkor_18_140mm.html). Also, I haven’t been able to find a refurbished 18-200mm on B & H photo or Adorama, which I definitely prefer over used (since you can never be sure it will work perfectly).
These are the lenses I currently own and use:
18-55mm
55-200mm
50mm (my favorite!)I really would love to get an 18-200mm to replace the 18-55mm and 18-200mm, but (#1) can’t find a refurbished one for sale, and (#2) it’s a little bit too expensive for me.
Thank you for your reply! What do you own? What is your favorite/most useful lens and why?
By the way, is there anything I should consider about the 18-140mm vs the 18-200mm? Any major differences besides the focal length?
I’m a Canon user, not a Nikon user, but one thing I’ve heard that you might want to consider is the quality of the photos each lens will take. The 18-200mm is more versatile in focal length, but 18-140mm would likely have better image quality since it doesn’t have as wide a focal range.
Just a consideration. 🙂
@freedomphotography
I have a 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 and a 55-200mm f4-5.6. (My camera is a Nikon D3100 and those are the lenses that came with it)
Honestly I don’t have a favorite. They each serve their own purpose. I do find myself having to switch between them quite a bit which I don’t like, but I’m not at a point to purchase another lens.By the way, is there anything I should consider about the 18-140mm vs the 18-200mm?
I can’t really say since I don’t have these lenses, but @morganwriter1gmail-com has a good point. I guess it depends on what you need to use it for.
Any major differences besides the focal length?
I would think so… 60mm difference? Seems like it would be a big difference.
I think these are some factors to consider:
-What do you need to use the lens for? There’s pros and cons to each lens, depends on what you’ll use it for.
-Your budget. What will best serve you at the best price?- This reply was modified 54 years, 11 months ago by .
Thank you for pointing that out! That’s what I have heard about the focal length, as well… I think I would rather have better image quality rather than focal length, personally… With that said, I’ll plan to get the 18-140mm.
I also have a D3100, @lydiabennett! Did you get yours refurbished or new? You would really love the 50mm lens! I had the 18-55 and 55-200 for a while before getting the 50mm and it’s my favorite. There was a huge difference in image quality!
My plan is to use this lens to capture everyday life, events and birthday parties, etc. I think the 18-140mm would do a pretty good job…especially for the price.
Have a blessed evening! Thank you for your help! 🙂
I think it was new; our family got it a few years ago… it was kinda the family camera, then I was the most frequent user, and now I’m definitely the primary user, so it’s basically mine. 😊
Happy to help! Enjoy your new lens! 😀
Why do you love your 50mm? With the 18-140 and 18-200, you’re looking at f/3.5 – f/5.6 in both, so be prepared to get nothing like you do with your 50mm. Unless you use bounce flash, any indoor shooting is going to be less than satisfying.
I would advise you think long term. You already have the reach with budget lenses…might it be better to invest in lower apertures, one lens at a time?
Thank you for your advice, @jamesstaddon!
I agree with you on slowly investing in other lenses and would love to invest in additional lenses with lower aperture numbers in the future (yes, that is why I love my 50mm!). For the time being, I can’t afford spending a lot of money on one lens…
What lenses do you recommend I invest in? I found the 35mm f/1.8 that I’m wondering about, but since I own the 50mm, don’t know if it would be a waste or not. I certainly don’t want to just buy for the sake of having more to choose from.
I did already purchase the 18-140mm lens and the biggest reason I decided to do that was to replace the 18-55 and 55-200mm for the sake of convenience, and to just have an everyday, go-to lens for anything. As a side note, my younger sister is getting into photography, so I’ll be selling my camera and both of those lenses to her (and upgrade my camera body). That’s another reason for getting the 18-140mm.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your help!
Awesome! Those are some great reasons. You made a good choice getting one zoom instead of two. Now you can sell the other two (or let your sister use them).
I haven’t got into prime lenses because of the inconvenience of always switching between lenses. I prefer the zoom lenses like you. If I wanted to go with prime though (ie. for the f/1.8 look and such), I would determine what prime to get by considering what focal length I always find myself using on the zoom lenses I currently have. On my 70-200mm, I find myself constantly using 200mm. I generally only put that lens on when I want to use 200. Most the time I’m wishing I could go further. So, if I had a cheap 70-200mm, then I would probably consider a quality prime 200mm as the choice for my next prime (that is, if it was more affordable than going for the quality 70-200mm of course).
Depending on the program you use to organize your pictures, you might be able to go back through all your pictures and sort them all by focal length.
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Thank you for your advice – those are great things to think about when buying a new lens.
What a neat way to keep track of all the focal lengths from picture to picture! I haven’t looked yet, but I’m just guessing my free software does not have that feature. 🙂
I’m curious to find out what your favorite/most used lens is and why you like it…?
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