Nikon® D300s: Digital Field Guide

Chapter 4. Selecting and Using Lenses for the Nikon D300s

In my opinion, the lens that you put on your camera is almost as important as the camera body itself, and some may argue that the lens is even more important. There are many different types of lenses, from ultrawide-angle lenses to super-telephoto lenses, and I cover them in this chapter.

You want to choose your lens depending on the subject you're photographing as well as how you want your image to appear to the viewer. Each lens has different characteristics that can add to or take away from the impact your subject has on the viewer. The build and optical quality of a lens is also important and can have a serious impact on your image quality. For this reason, I recommend buying the best lenses you can afford.

The odd perspective that a wide-angle lens adds to your subject can be beneficial.

Nikon Lens Codes

When shopping for lenses, you may notice all sorts of letter designations in the lens name. For example, the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18–105mm f/3.5–5.6G ED VR. So, what do all those letters mean? Here's a simple list to help you decipher them:

• AI/AIS. These are auto-indexing lenses that automatically adjust the aperture diaphragm down when the Shutter Release button is pressed. All lenses made after 1977 are AI lenses. They are all manual focus lenses.

• E. These lenses were Nikon's budget series lenses, made to go with the lower-end film ...