18-105mm or 55-200mm Lens?

edited January 2013 Posted in » Nikon D5100 Forum
I got my Nikon D5100 for Christmas and have been contemplating about whether to get the 18-105mm Nikon lens, or the 55-200mm lens. I have the 18-55mm kit lens at the moment so if I were to get the 55-200mm lens I'd have a higher maximum milimeter, but I'd have to switch the lens at the 55mm mark. If I got the 55-105mm lens I wouldn't have to switch at all, but I wouldn't be able to get up to 200mm. I do a fair bit of portrait, light painting (hence the username), wildlife and landscape photography and a bit of filming, so I'm not sure which'd be better. The people I take portraits of tend to move around a lot hence why I think the 18-105mm would be better because it gives me more reach for when I'm taking photos at a distance. However for wildlife, the 55-200mm would give me even more reach, and for taking photos of a distant squirrel I'm not going to need lower than 55mm am I? So I won't have to change lens whilst doing wildlife. The landscape would also be fine with the 55-200mm lens as I'd simply have to switch to the 18-55mm, and the landscape isn't going anywhere right? Then light painting, I wouldn't have any problem with the 55-200mm either. With filming the 18-55mm would be better for the kinds of filming I do as it would give me a bit more reach without changing lenses while filming. A friend of mine who does the same sort of photography as me who is currently doing a GCSE in photography told me that he uses the 18-105mm, so it's swaying my decision. I'm wondering what you people think, as you can see it's rather a predicament.

Comments

  • edited March 2013
    If it were it me I would keep the 18-55mm and also get the 55-200mm.
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