i have started up photography as a hobby and have bought a secondhand nikon f80 with a 28-200 mm lens the question is : would i regret not having a wide angle lens at hand,i want to take all types of pictures and have just sold my wife&kids so i can aford to buy a 17-35 sigma. i just want to know whether you photographers out there use these sort of lenses a lot. hope the question not to stupid! cheers delboy

Welcome! No question is truly stupid delboyo, but you may get some stupid answers, at least from me! The 28mm gives a pretty wide field of view anyway, and a 17-35 sigma? I'm not familiar with that lens...but at 17mm? you're into fish-eye lens territory I think, (please correct me if I'm wrong peoples) If you are just new, I suggest you get to know your equipment and start out learning some basic guidlines and "rules" of good photography (so you can break the aforementioned rules later on, but in a good way) I think a good 50mm lens is invaluable to your kit too. Have fun and always feel free to post your images & questions here. :-)>

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=340334&Start=13&Artist=Misha883&ByArtist=Yes

Welcome to the Forum! The answer to such questions is almost always, "Maybe." Best way I've found to make equipment choices is to look at a lot of photos, and try to figure out how the ones you particularly like were accomplished. Nikon vs Canon, etc. tends to be personal preference, but things like lens focal length, film, special filters, contribute directly to the creativity. Here, if the information is not already included, ask. A 28-200mm, I'd guess, will handle the majority of situations encountered. But it depends on the photos you like to make. Sports and wildlife need something longer; 200mm to $$$. Some macro lenses work nicely up close. The really wide lenses are great for showing people and the environment they are in. Not great for portraits. The "fairy" picture at the link uses a 21mm. The super-wides are also a lot of fun --for emphasizing point of view. That being said, I lived with "only" a 35mm for many years, and just bought one of these new Sigma 21mm f/1.8 about two months ago. I honestly do not expect it to be my favorite lens, but it is nice to have in the bag. As for the zoom??? Go to Google and type "Sigma 17-35 zoom review" and maybe get some insights.

If you don't know what to use a 17-35 for, don't buy it....once you'll notice the limitations of your 28-80 go for either 17-35 or 80-200, or both ;) They'll be a nice addition for the more experienced photographer and even then a good 28-80 that's big and sharp will be of most use. Especially when doing mixed photography, it's a nice compromise between the longer and shorter lenses (cause with some cheating the 28 is okay for semi-wide angle shots and the 80 is okay for longer shots). So I reccomend getting a good 28-80 lens first of all.

Prefer a 36-17-35 personally. Or 17-35 age range is ok too. (",)

My Sigma 15-30 is on the camera about 40% of the time. My second most used lens is a 100mm Macro, then a 28-105mm for general shooting. I have a 100-300mm in the bag, but don't use it much. I use a Canon D60 and the crop factor frequently forces me to use a wider lens than I would select for a full frame camera. If I were shooting film I probably wouldn't use an ultra-wide lens for much except interior architecture shots. Before switching from film to a DSLR the widest lens I used was a 24mm prime. The Sigma 15-30 and 17-35 are linear wide angle lenses. They exhibit some distortion but are not fisheyes.

thanks for your replys everybody i have taken note,but the reply from jordyart was a bit confusing because my local camera shop does not stock a 36-17-35 lens cheers delboy

Ask your wife about that one....heh.....good one Jordy.

Del, I'm sure if you check out the different shops in your area and look carefully you'll find one like I mentioned...... he he he (",)

I think PunkClown and Rork did a pretty good job of answering your questions. Your 28-200 is a pretty good overall lens. 28mm is considered wide angle.....and 200 mm is telephoto. My suggestion would be to learn and get as good as you can with that lens before you consider spending lots of dough on a lens you might not use all that much. Besides you may want to say that money to buy a better quality 28-200mm.... (not saying your's isn't good, you didn't say which lens it actually is).