Another beginner level lens advice thread - Nikon D5100
Discussion
Apologies in advance if threads like this surface all too regularly.
I have the use of a company provided Nikon D5100 SLR, which is nice, and I'd like to make use of it for personal use. My expertise could easily be described as "beginner" but am looking to supplant the kit lens (18-55mm) as its reach is a bit limited and even I achieved far better results when I had a quick borrow of a colleague's identical camera body and replacement lens for a few hours.
Use will be mainly hum drum stuff including the inevitable images of the newly arrived baby but also landscapes and the built environment (city scrapes) with the odd bit of road race cycling action stuff.
Happy to spend "several hundreds but way less than a grand, please" for either a single lens or as a total for two lenses if that is thought of as more appropriate.
Thanks guys.
I have the use of a company provided Nikon D5100 SLR, which is nice, and I'd like to make use of it for personal use. My expertise could easily be described as "beginner" but am looking to supplant the kit lens (18-55mm) as its reach is a bit limited and even I achieved far better results when I had a quick borrow of a colleague's identical camera body and replacement lens for a few hours.
Use will be mainly hum drum stuff including the inevitable images of the newly arrived baby but also landscapes and the built environment (city scrapes) with the odd bit of road race cycling action stuff.
Happy to spend "several hundreds but way less than a grand, please" for either a single lens or as a total for two lenses if that is thought of as more appropriate.
Thanks guys.
noell35 said:
Hi,
What lens did your friend have that gave you better results?
Thanks for the swift replies, chaps!What lens did your friend have that gave you better results?
I knew I'd be asked this. I guess it was the inevitable question and I don't have the specific answer, I'm afraid,
For background, we're both in the surveying game and at a recent meeting he showed me his identical camera body and the two lenses he used in preference to the "junk that came with the camera". He's a bit of a photography buff. In a meeting room the smaller Nikon lens (sorry, I really should have paid more attention but it looked about the same size as the 18-55 I use and had some zoom to it) was so fast and the images of people and the room itself clearly sharper than my ham fists get from my equipment. Then he switched the lens for a larger body (200mm, I think and I genuinely didn't note which manufacturer) and we took a few shots at a property we attended together. Again, so much faster and crisper than my kit lens and with the benefit of what to me felt like a huge zoom. This was all on my camera's body.
Now I admit my expertise is poor and am keen to get better through a bit of experience and education but if I can also get "better" shots with better equipment I'm keen to accept that leg up, too.
He's on annual leave, by the way, but might respond to an email while he's away.
OP I use a D5100 too and have just upgraded from 18-55 kit to the Nikon 18-140 lens. Much more flexible than the kit lens (18-55) in that it does the landscape through to zoom, and includes that all important range for full frame portraits without distorting the face by being too close.
The lens is also much sharper than the kit lens and fast to focus. Should cover the majority of situations you are likely to need at this stage which is why I got it.
I got it from HDEW Cameras:
http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/nikon-af-s-nikkor-18-...
for another £200 or so you can get the 18-200.
Best of luck whatever you choose.
The lens is also much sharper than the kit lens and fast to focus. Should cover the majority of situations you are likely to need at this stage which is why I got it.
I got it from HDEW Cameras:
http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/nikon-af-s-nikkor-18-...
for another £200 or so you can get the 18-200.
Best of luck whatever you choose.
Thanks for the responses.
wrt the fixed focal length suggestions, while I appreciate those lenses may be very good my worry is I will find too many situations where I would need (as opposed to appreciate) a greater range. For example if I need to photograph a chimney (even one on just an ordinary two storey house) even the 18-55mm lens is inadequate and relying on zooming via software has proven itself to be lacking. While those lens suggestions might in themselves be better than any one focal length option on the kit lens I really do think I need a zoom option.
Is the 35mm lens that good then? Would the fixed 85mm focal length not be too much? Or am I just making a fool of myself and showing myself up as a complete idiot and misunderstanding those suggestions?!
If that 35mm lens really is that good for 'family snaps' but a zoom really is required is a two lens approach sensible? Or with only a maximum budget of, say, £300-500 is the two lens option just plain silly and a single zoom lens as mentioned above more sensible for a beginner and better kit would just be wasted on me?
wrt the fixed focal length suggestions, while I appreciate those lenses may be very good my worry is I will find too many situations where I would need (as opposed to appreciate) a greater range. For example if I need to photograph a chimney (even one on just an ordinary two storey house) even the 18-55mm lens is inadequate and relying on zooming via software has proven itself to be lacking. While those lens suggestions might in themselves be better than any one focal length option on the kit lens I really do think I need a zoom option.
Is the 35mm lens that good then? Would the fixed 85mm focal length not be too much? Or am I just making a fool of myself and showing myself up as a complete idiot and misunderstanding those suggestions?!
If that 35mm lens really is that good for 'family snaps' but a zoom really is required is a two lens approach sensible? Or with only a maximum budget of, say, £300-500 is the two lens option just plain silly and a single zoom lens as mentioned above more sensible for a beginner and better kit would just be wasted on me?
On a crop sensor body like the d5100, the 35mm 1.8g will be a wonderful choice for everyday photos.
Seek out a 70-300 AFS to give yourself the option of more reach.
You'll probably find that the 50mm and 85mm prime lenses are far too long (or close) for shooting indoor pictures of a little one, and not long enough for the chimney shots.
If you can lump carrying around two lenses (the 35mm is tiny) then two quality lenses is going to stand you better than one compromise lens.
Seek out a 70-300 AFS to give yourself the option of more reach.
You'll probably find that the 50mm and 85mm prime lenses are far too long (or close) for shooting indoor pictures of a little one, and not long enough for the chimney shots.
If you can lump carrying around two lenses (the 35mm is tiny) then two quality lenses is going to stand you better than one compromise lens.
Edited by eltawater on Monday 13th April 20:31
K12beano said:
Yeah, just because it's like that in YOUR universe....
....you can't assume that it's the same everywhere.
True! ....you can't assume that it's the same everywhere.
No doubt the 35mm is an excellent lens, but it doesn't have the length the OP wants. Similarly the 17-55mm f2.8, which I have, is excellent - but it still isn't any longer than 55mm, it's just faster with better glass.
I can't tell the OP how much range/length he wants/needs, but a good 70-300 should be more than enough and not too expensive.
I would recommend 2 lenses for your budget.
The Nikkor AFS 35mm F1.8G DX
The Nikkor AFS 70-300mm VR
This will get you the range you want plus with the big zoom and the speed/quality you want with the 35mm.
The only thing missing after that will be the wide end for which you will have to keep your 18-55mm but ulitmately you could also buy the Tokina 11-16mm Version 2 or the more expensive but better ranged Nikkor AFS 10-24mm
The Nikkor AFS 35mm F1.8G DX
The Nikkor AFS 70-300mm VR
This will get you the range you want plus with the big zoom and the speed/quality you want with the 35mm.
The only thing missing after that will be the wide end for which you will have to keep your 18-55mm but ulitmately you could also buy the Tokina 11-16mm Version 2 or the more expensive but better ranged Nikkor AFS 10-24mm
Just thought I would throw in a curve ball a bit, I have a D5100 myself and got an 18-105mm lens for it and so far, has been a great all round lens for a complete novice like myself. Only problems I have found is more down to the operator than the actual camera/lens, however I am fairly certain that somebody might be able to advise if it is worth buying for yourself or not...
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