Upgrade from 18-55mm

[Willem7]

Hi

Besides my macro lens (85mm) I also have a 18-55mm Nikon lens for my D5000. Looking to get a good landscape lens (10-24mm).

What would be a good general, travel lens upgrade from the 18-55mm kit lens? Someone mentioned a 18-85/ 18-200mm.

Thanks

[Henk Coetzee]

I'm going to stick my neck out on this one. A good fastish standard prime. I think we equate landscape with ultra-wide way too quickly.

[Willem7]

Thanks for the comment - I was about to think no one would

In terms of landscape: I have 2 choices: 1. AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G
2. AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED
In terms of general travel lens: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR (5.3x)

Any thoughts?
Thanks

[Henk Coetzee]

From those, you will need to decide what is more important to you. f1.8 or either of the zoom ranges.

I like the 35mm focal length as it gives you a "normal" field of view as well as a reasonably realistic perspective. The ultra-wides take a lot of taming to get really good results.

[Larry]

I hear people recommending primes often, but I have to be honest I almost never use my primes.

I have an 18-200 and an 18-105 that are useful for traveling when I have a space/weight issue, but otherwise the 17-55 f/2.8 is my favourite lens. It doesn't have an enormous zoom range but for general and/or travel it is more than adequate and the sharpness and big aperture are what I want more than zoom range.

I haven't personally used the 16-85 but I have only heard good things about it and the zoom range is more than enough for most normal applications. The extra 2mm at the wide end are probably more useful than the extra 115mm at the long end when compared to the 18-200.

The Sigma 10-20 is a stunning lens, either of the versions are acceptable, but they are not as commonly needed as everyone thinks. The distortion can be a problem, although lightroom does a pretty good job of correcting that.

[Willem7]

Thank you all for the valuable insights.

In terms of landscape lenses, I think I'll go for the 10-24mm Nikkor lens.

In terms of a general purpose/travel lens, the 16-85mm seems a good upgrade choice to my current 18-55mm kit lens.

Keep well