Which Lens Will You Buy for USD1K Budget

If money is not an issue, you may buy all the lenses you like, because every lens has its own style and character. If you are given a USD1,000 budget, which lens you will buy for the Nikon dSLR?

Information for the dSLR beginners, USD1,000 may not enough for you to buy a good lens. Luckily there are so many Nikon lenses, which came with difference prices and functionalities. With the limited budget you still have few choices of the Nikon lenses, good enough to fit in our needs.

For Nikon full-frame (D4, D4S, D700, D800, D600/D610) camera, you may buy a 28-300mm. One lens for all, is convenience for traveling.

For myself, I like to shoot portrait, I may spend a little bit more on the 85mm. These will be my choices:

1. Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G. About USD 200-220.
The 50mm is cheap and nice, good for portrait and low light. A must, even for beginners.

2. Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G. About USD 500.
Nikon has a 85mm f/1.4G, but the price is three time more than the 1.8G version. There are some slight difference between these 2 lenses. The pricy 85mm f/1.4G make 85mm f/1.8G looks a good buy. If you are not too into portrait, you still can use the 50mm 1.8G and skip this lens as well.

3. Nikkor 70-300mm G. About USD 140.
Since I still want to shoot animals or birds outdoor, not much budget left. I will choose this in-expensive zoom lens.

About the Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G, this is the older version. It has no auto-focus, not VR (Vibration Reduction). I also doubt that is still available on the market, as there is a version 2 available. I heard 2 of my friends told me they have bought it (the old version) and sold it, they don't like the lens.

Since the lens has no auto-focus, you need to manual focus if you use it on D40, D60, D3200 or D5300 series. The successor is the Nikkor 70-300mm VR, with auto-focus and VR, but it cost 3 times (about USD600, still cheap) more.

For landscape and scenery lovers, you need a wider lens with 50mm. My choices are:

1. Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G. About USD 200-220

2. Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 D. About USD 360.
or the newer
Nikkor 28mm f/1.8G. About USD 700.

3. Nikkor 70-300mm G. About USD 140.

For Nikon DX (eg. D3200, D5300, D7100 etc.) users. These are my choices:

1. Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX. About USD 200.

This is another cheap and nice prime lens like the 50mm, but this is for DX cameras only.

2. Nikkor 18-55mm DX

Normally this is the kit lens, it has a few version, DX, DX II, VR. The latest will be 18-55mm VR II, cost about USD 250.

3. Nikkor 55-200mm DX. About USD 250.

DX lens is cheaper, for DX cameras only. With the budget extra, you might want to get the 50mm f/1.8g, which will worked like a 85mm on DX cameras.

What will be your choices for a USD1,000 budget?