Im losing my mind trying to figure out glass for my D7500. I have a trip to Oregon coming up in like three weeks and I seriously cant decide what to pack. Ive spent hours reading forums and watching youtube reviews and Im more confused than when I started. People keep screaming that the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 is the holy grail cause of the sharpness and low light performance but then others say the range is way too short for a do-it-all travel lens and you end up missing shots. Meanwhile someone else on reddit swore by the old Nikon 18-200mm zoom because of the convenience but Ive also read it gets super soft at the long end and has terrible distortion. My budget is around 600 bucks max and I just want one reliable piece of glass so I dont have to keep swapping lenses on the trail while freezing my hands off. What is the actual best all-around lens for Nikon crop sensor DSLRs that wont completely drain my wallet before my flight?
Skip the heavy glass and grab the Tamron 18-400mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD. Over the years Ive taken it on dozens of hikes and its an absolute lifesaver when you cant swap lenses in the freezing cold. Sure it has some compromises at the far end, but being able to go from wide landscape to distant wildlife instantly is worth way more than pixel-peeping sharpness. For six hundred bucks, it completely nails the travel do-it-all brief.
^ This. Also, totally agree about avoiding constant lens swaps on the trail. Cold fingers make changing glass absolute misery. Since you are shooting on a crop sensor like the D7500 and want to stay around 600 bucks, you have a couple other solid routes to consider besides the ultra-zooms.
- Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f2.8-4E ED VR: This is probably the safest sweet spot for DX. You get a really useful wide end for landscapes and decent reach for portraits. The constant aperture at the wide end helps in dim woods too.
- Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC OS HSM: A bit older now, but you can find it super cheap. Sharp across the frame and constant f2.8, though the range is a bit limited compared to all-in-ones. If you hate swapping lenses, the superzoom mentioned earlier is hard to beat for convenience, but the 16-80 gives you much better image quality if you dont mind a little less reach. Good luck in Oregon!
Late to the party, but honestly super zoom glass like the Tamron 18-400mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD is just way too soft on the long end for my taste. I had issues with mine soft-focusing out in Oregon. Grab a Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f2.8-4E ED VR used instead for sharper shots.