What Nikon D5200 lens would match a 28–504mm equivalent travel zoom?
Asked 3/25/2016
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I replaced an Olympus SP-550UZ (about 28–504mm equivalent) with a Nikon D5200 and the 18–55mm kit lens. For travel, I want to photograph distant architectural details like gargoyles from street level, often handheld, and my budget is around $300.
I’m considering telephoto options such as a 70–300mm or 55–300mm lens. Which focal length on the D5200 would best match the reach I had before, and would image stabilization be important for handheld shooting?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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The 18-55mm lens covers an equivalent of 27 to 82mm which has you covered on the wide-end.
That means you are missing 83-504mm which requires a 55 to 336mm. You will therefore be really close with a 55-300mm. It's a dim and somewhat soft lens but it will be at least as good as the one on your fixed-lens camera. It seems like it falls close to your proposed budget.
Given that you shoot without a tripod, I would be inclined to get a lens with Vibration Reduction, which puts the other two ones out of the selection. Tamron also offers a more expensive VC version of their 70-300mm lens but the Nikon is at least better in terms of image-quality while giving you a faster ultra-sonic focus motor and more complete focal-range coverage.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
To match your old camera’s 28–504mm equivalent range on a Nikon D5200, you’d want about 18–336mm actual focal length because the D5200 has a 1.5× crop factor. Your 18–55mm kit lens already covers the wide end, so the missing range is roughly 55–336mm.
That makes a 55–300mm DX lens the closest fit from your list. It won’t quite reach the full 504mm equivalent of your old camera, but it’s very close and should work well for distant architectural details. For handheld travel shooting, stabilization is especially helpful, so the Nikon 55–300mm VR is the strongest choice among the options mentioned.
Compared with the non-stabilized 70–300mm and the very long manual-focus-style budget option, the Nikon 55–300mm gives you a more useful range, vibration reduction, and better overall suitability for this kind of shooting. It may be somewhat soft and not very bright at the long end, but it should be at least as good as the zoom on your old bridge camera.
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