I'd like your opinion on the equipment I'm about to buy

Hello, I'd really like some advice:

I'm gearing up to buy my first DSLR. Previously i've shot stuff with phone camera, point and shoot - whatever. If it could take pics, i'd use it. Venturing into lens speeds and adjustable ISA and all that is a whole different ballgame now though. My main question is about lenses:

I've decided to get a Nikon D5100. Lense-wise, I'm contemplating buying it with the kit 18-55mm lens and a portrait/low light oriented lens with higher aperture/speed (f1.8) such as the 50mm. Does tis sound like a good idea? I tend to do macro and portraits but I also like to be able to capture things at a distance and moderately fast action. Could this set up fill those niches reasonably well?

Sorry for writing so much, I really look forward to your take and/or suggestions.

P.S. I'm kind of on a $700-750 budget.

Thank You!

The Nikon D5100 with kit lens is an excellent starting outfit. The kit lens is designed to cover the most common used focal range at reasonable speed and low cost. It's not a great lens, but it does a lot of jobs very well. A faster prime lens is also an excellent addition to the kit lens. For general use I'd choose the 35mm 1.8. The 50mm 1.8 is also a good choice; on a crop sensor (which the D5100 has), it's the equivalent of a 75mm lens -- a bit long for just walking around but a good focal length for portraits.

Well those are good choices, but. The 18-55 is OK on the wide end (18 = about 28 mm equivalent), but on the long end 55 is about equivalent to a 85 mm lens so it doesn't provide a lot of reach. A better all around lens would be the 18-105 plus the 50 mm f/1.8 if you can find it in that combo. You will probably want something with a lot more reach (70-200, 55-300, 70-300) in the near future. This applies to any camera you decide on.

TribeOfHenry said:

TribeOfHenry wrote:

Hello, I'd really like some advice:

I'm gearing up to buy my first DSLR. Previously i've shot stuff with phone camera, point and shoot - whatever. If it could take pics, i'd use it. Venturing into lens speeds and adjustable ISA and all that is a whole different ballgame now though. My main question is about lenses:

I've decided to get a Nikon D5100. Lense-wise, I'm contemplating buying it with the kit 18-55mm lens and a portrait/low light oriented lens with higher aperture/speed (f1.8) such as the 50mm. Does tis sound like a good idea? I tend to do macro and portraits but I also like to be able to capture things at a distance and moderately fast action. Could this set up fill those niches reasonably well?

Sorry for writing so much, I really look forward to your take and/or suggestions.

P.S. I'm kind of on a $700-750 budget.

Thank You!

Click to expand...

Getting a zoom and a prime is not a bad plan. As someone else said, I would go for something like a 35mm f/1.8.

Nikon has a crop factor of 1.5x, so a 35mm lens will give you a view equivalent to a 52.5mm lens on a full frame body. This is a better all around focal length on an APS-C body as it's not too wide and not so long that you have to stand far back from you subject. This is the reason some people might describe 50mm as a "normal" focal length.

A 50mm lens on an APS-C body will give you a view similar to a 75mm lens on a full frame body. This might be better if you want to do portraits, but 75mm is a bit long to shoot in normal sized rooms as you have to stand back further from your subject to get more than a headshot.

Either will be good to have (I have both).

TribeOfHenry said:

TribeOfHenry wrote:

Hello, I'd really like some advice:

I'm gearing up to buy my first DSLR. Previously i've shot stuff with phone camera, point and shoot - whatever. If it could take pics, i'd use it. Venturing into lens speeds and adjustable ISA and all that is a whole different ballgame now though. My main question is about lenses:

I've decided to get a Nikon D5100. Lense-wise, I'm contemplating buying it with the kit 18-55mm lens and a portrait/low light oriented lens with higher aperture/speed (f1.8) such as the 50mm. Does tis sound like a good idea? I tend to do macro and portraits but I also like to be able to capture things at a distance and moderately fast action. Could this set up fill those niches reasonably well?

Sorry for writing so much, I really look forward to your take and/or suggestions.

P.S. I'm kind of on a $700-750 budget.

Thank You!

Click to expand...

I agree with the other replies but am going to add two more things.

If you want to do macro photography with a DSLR you need a macro lens and they are not cheap.

For "things at a distance" and probably for your action shots you will need a longer telephoto lens like a 70-300mm.

I would not buy a lens until I know better what I need.

Buy the all around lens and afterwards you will find out what you require for your photos. I concur with 18-105 mm VR that is much more flexible than 18-55 mm VR (that is quite short).

If you want macro and portraits you can buy a lens that is good for both. Look at Nikkor AF-S 60 mm f/2.8 or Tamron 90 mm f/2.8. These will blow up your budget therefore I would postpone the purchasing until the budget allows.

For telephoto you need a different zoom lens. The cheapest would be Nikkor AF-S 55-200 mm VR while one of the best would be Nikkor 70-300 mm VR. The above mentioned budget restrictions would apply.

For portraits I would rather look at a flashgun (like Nikon SB700 or Metz 52 AF-1).

Take care any lens you buy to AF on your body (there is a Nikkor AF-D 50 mm f/1.8 that will not AF). For Nikkor lenses look that they have in name AF-S, for Sigma look for HSM. I guess Tamron uses AF-S also for lens with AF drive but verify before buying.

My recommendations would be:

• Nikon D5100
• Nikkor AF-S 18-105 mm VR
• Nikon SB700

Good light!

Generally speaking the 50mm lens will make a better macro lens (using extension tubes) than the 35mm lens.

So you really have to decide are you likely to use the prime as your walk around lens, or a more specialized macro / portrait lens.

I suspect most people end up using the 18-55 kit zoom as their walk around lens, but, there are always exceptions.

edit: you often are able to purchase a kit lens with a camera at a significant discount to purchasing it later, so deciding up front and getting the lens with the camera is usually the best course.

B&H has a kit with a Nikon D5100, 18-55VR, and 55-200 VR for $746.95. That covers most of what you want. The 50mm f/1.8G (the D version will not autofocus on a D5100) is a good inexpensive portrait lens, but you'll have to wait to get it. You could use the 55-200 VR in the meantime.



Another option is B&H has the D5100 body for $496.95 and Adorama has a factory refurbished 18-105 VR for $209. I didn't check but Adorama probably has the D5100 body for the same price. I'm not a fan of the 18-55 because it's too short on the tele end. You may find yourself constantly switching between it and the 55-200. I don't know if you want to do that. The 18-105 VR has a more useful range. IMO if you need 200mm get the two lens kit. Otherwise get the 18-105 VR.



You may not really need a macro lens. A real macro lens will produce an image on the sensor the same size as the subject itself. It's called 1:1 reproduction. If you just want a close up of a flower for example the 18-55 or 18-105 can do that. You can also get a set of close-up lenses for less than $100. These look like filters and screw onto the front of the lens. For real macro work you'll need a good (read expensive) tripod to hold the camera absolutely still. You can see that this can get expensive quickly.

I did not know about Adorama (i'm outside the US) but they seem to have some very nice prices. Do have experience buying refurbished (by Nikon) lenses from them? I'm looking at a nicely priced 18-105mm but I guess I'm just a little chicken when I see things like "refurbished" and "new".

TribeOfHenry said:

TribeOfHenry wrote:

I did not know about Adorama (i'm outside the US) but they seem to have some very nice prices. Do have experience buying refurbished (by Nikon) lenses from them? I'm looking at a nicely priced 18-105mm but I guess I'm just a little chicken when I see things like "refurbished" and "new".

Click to expand...

I purchased a refurbished Canon XTi/400D from Adorama about 5 years ago. It was refurbished by Canon and still works fine today.

There are generally two types of 'refurbished' items. The first type is a seller refurbished returned item, more commonly called an 'open box' item. These are often just give a cursory check be the store, and sold as refurbished. That type of 'refurbished' is more prone to issues than the second type, which is manufacturer refurbished.

Manufacturer refurbished items are those that were sent back to the manufacturer for a defect, and that defect was repaired by the manufacturer service center. While it seems counter intuitive that these defective returns would actually be the preferred item, but, these items have been repaired and thoroughly checked. So they actually have less chance of being defective than a 'new' item, that just came off the assembly line.

TribeOfHenry said:

TribeOfHenry wrote:

I did not know about Adorama (i'm outside the US) but they seem to have some very nice prices. Do have experience buying refurbished (by Nikon) lenses from them? I'm looking at a nicely priced 18-105mm but I guess I'm just a little chicken when I see things like "refurbished" and "new".

Click to expand...

Ive used Adorama for years now. Top notch place. I dont even think twice about buying factory refurbs from them. Everythings arrived ahead of schedule, in great shape at very good prices. Others may have a bad experience with them as with any seller but I have had none. Good Luck!

The 18-55mm lens that normally comes (nearly) free with the camera is a good starting point. I also have the 50mm/1.8 and it is fine for its purpose and reasonably priced, but you could defer getting another lens until you are sure of your requirements. The new 5100 will keep you busy for a while until you learn all its ins and outs. Don't forget the Reference Manual included on the CD; it's more clearly set out than the quick-start guide.

Distance work (greater than 300mm equiv.) can be an expensive business. Size of the aperture governs the cost. There are some alternatives to Nikon, but check for compatibility and image stabilisation.

I use "my other camera" for distance shots, but you would be surprised how little I use its extreme zoom. On a recent Canadian holiday, only a handful of shots were taken at greater than 100mm equiv. (Those Rockies are pretty big; wide-angle called for).

I've gotten factory refurbished Nikon gear as well as used gear from keh.com, B&H, and Adorama without any problems. They are very reliable companies that I have dealt with since the 1980's for B&H and 1990's for Adorama and keh. They all have good return policies and give a warranty.

Thanks everyone for the replies and the great advice! I've decided to buy the D5100 with the 18-55mm VR kit lens (to keep my price down and also because I agree that I probably should start there until I properly figure out my shooting style and the subjects I prefer). I'm also going to buy the 35mm 1.8 lens - either way I look at it, it seems like a really great addition. I'm feeling reasonably comfortable with this combo for now. If it matters, I'll let you know how it works out ^_^

Thanks again!