HEALS3113 Loc: PENNSYLVANIA

I am looking to upgrade from a Nikon D80 to a D7100. Question is whether to by body only then pick and choose lenses or get one in a kit. If getting one in a kit I am looking for a good walk around. I don't know if it is to my advantage to get the 18-105, 18-140 which f stops are 3.5-5.6 or get a 55mm with F stop 1.8 I am trying to improve on getting SHARP shots. and practice on low light settings
What do you think

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

What is your lens line up for the D80?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The 18-300mm is new and has gotten good reviews. You can go to DxOMark and compare lenses with the camera body of your choice.

http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare

Bill MN Loc: Western MN

Is that the one made by Sigma?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nikon.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-300mm.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-18-300mm-3-5-5-6G-AF-S-Nikkor/dp/B008B14VAK

Rongnongno Loc: FL

I always have one.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Hard for anyone to tell you what lens you need. We all have differant styles of photography. Think about what lens you liked the best with your D80. I would just keep the D80 lenses and then make a note each time the lens you have will not work for what you want to do and then after some time in your note making you will know what you want. - Dave

HEALS3113 Loc: PENNSYLVANIA

A Tamron 17-35mm 1:2.8-4 & Nikon nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G

bersharbp Loc: Texas

The D7100, in my opinion, is really tough to beat (I've had one since they first came out). There is a lot to get used to, in your step up from a D80, so I recommend that you stick with the lenses you are used to and add another later. On that note, the 18-300 is a real good choice but it, plus the camera make a fairly heavy combination, if you are concerned about weight.

dleaoh Loc: Dayton, OH

For what it may be worth I moved from a D80 to a D7100. (A great decision, by the way.) I had previously purchased a Nikkor 18-105 VR lens, which is still my walking around glass. My bag now contains a 55-300 Nikkor VR and a newly-acquired Sigma 10-20. One of these days I am going to ask the community for advice on an upgrade to the 18-105, but I still find it to be a pretty great lens for the non-professional enthusiast.

Toolking Loc: Pacific Northwest

When I moved from my D-80 to a D7000 I used my 18-135 kit lens from the 80 for a while before buying a 35MM 1.8. I then added the 10-24 wide angle and finally the 70-200 F2.8. For me that was a perfect set. When I bought DX lenses I tended to look at their FX equivalent. So if you are trying to replicate the 50MM standard from film days you'll need the 35 1.8.

I'm now on a 610 but that's a different story.

Summary: Use what you have for a bit then you'll have a better idea of what to buy. Unless of course there's a killer deal on a "kit" lens.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Please consider making the titles of your threads more meaningful. Something like "Need opinions on upgrading from a Nikon D80 to a D7100" will get you far more responses and keep people that can't help you from wasting their time opening your thread. Many people bypass threads that have vague titles altogether.

MarkD Loc: NYC

The D7100 is a big step up from the D80 especially in low light. As to a walk around lens it depends on what you shoot and on your style. Some like a short fast lens like a 35mm f/1.8. Some like a zoom in the 18-105 or 18-140 range. Others like a superzoom like an 18-200 or 18-300. If you want a good low light lens and you prefer one of the zooms with a longish reach you may need two lenses because none of these zooms are especially fast lenses.

A superzoom has the advantages of preventing a lot of lens changing, and you won't lose shots because you have the wrong lens on the camera. Their disadvantage is that they are not as sharp as shorter ratio zooms especially at their long end. Some find them to be sharp enough, some don't.

The 50mm lens on an APS-C body like the D80 or D7100 is a short tele. I believe the 35mm f/1.8 G AF-S is a more versatile choice.

A good walkaround lens, if 50mm is long enough, is the Sigma or Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. It's also fast enough to be your low light lens.