New member and first question: Lens selection

Hi Nikonites,
This forum is listed at the top of my Google search and found amazing activity here. Started my journey in photography an year ago with my Nikon D60 and fell in love with it. Since am also interested in Video I decided to upgrade to Nikon D5100 (after going through lot of investigation between Sony SLT-A57, Nikon D5100 and Canon T3I since all of them belong to same price range).

Need help in deciding the lens:
I take lot of photos of my 4 yr old kids portraits and while she is playing. I am gifting my Nikon D60 to my brother along with the standard 18-55 mm lens that came with it. Only problem I encountered with that lens is that when my kid is playing in a play area or playing with her friends I can't zoom enough to get that perfect shot. I read lot of people saying that its better to have both 18-55mm and 55-200mm and some people prefer just the 18-105mm. I don't want my camera to be outstanding in the crowd with the longest lens. I like the length of 18-55mm lens but not sure how 18-105mm look and am not really confident yet to carry to lens all the time.

Can some of experts here please suggest based on my requirement?. (May be some other lens from Tamron or another is better). Sorry for the long post.


Thanks

18-135 is a nice compromise over say the 18-200 which is an ideal lens, but can be a bit on the heavy size. The 18-135 was the kit lens that came with the original D80, and there are a lot out there used for low cost if you are on a budget, the newer 18-105 VR is a bit more pricer, heaver, but newer design.

For your D5100, the 18-105VR would be the perfect lens for what you want to do with it. Look for deals on EBay or other such sites. You can get one for around $150 - $200. Great lens and lightweight.

I'd go for the 18-105mm too if it's an all in one lens you're after but don't want to stand out from the crowd too much

That is a popular question. There are lots of questions about which lens to choose. I started off by selecting a lens that I regret buying and that is a Nikon Nikkor 55-200mm lens. It just doesn't give the results I was expecting. There's nothing wrong with the lens. My expectation were a little to high with my inexperience. I've only had my D5100 for a couple of months and so far I've got the lenses listed below in my signature.

I have the bundled 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR, and the 50mm 1.8G all of the AF-S type

Of the pictures I've taken with these three lenses so far, the split is 57%, 6% and 37% respectively.
Now that's not to say I don't use my 55-200mm much (well it does!), but the pictures taken thus far haven't demanded a need for a telephoto lens.
However, as the new school year has begun, and 2012 is in its final quarter, I know I'll be using the telephoto one more now for things like school plays etc.

I think you have to understand what you want to use the lens for then make an informed decision as to what you actually need.
If you're really really stuck, then look for a lens hire company in your region and try out a couple of lenses for a few days before you bite the bullet. Keep in mind though, the money you spend on hiring those lenses is less money you then have in your budget later

Alternatively beg steal and borrow lenses from friends and family and see what suits your needs.

Personally, I'm happy at the moment with the 3 lenses I have - it covers the range I want/need, gives me enough glass to learn and experiment with my camera, but most of all, I won't be breaking into the piggy bank to get my next lens fix!

lots of times, depends on how much you use the lens, I noticed a couple of weeks ago, my 18-55 was already getting tired, and the front element has lots of play, certain focus issues came into in. so, I think these are really nice sharp intro lens, but,, be extra gentle with them, and realize that they will not last as long as some of the more heavy duty glass.

I am thinking of replacing the 18-55 with the older 18-70 that Nikon shipped 10's of 1000s as the Kit on the D70. Really nice lens, and will hold up well.

Thanks to you all for the suggestions. Just when I decided to go with Nikon 18-105, one of my colleague suggested Tamron 18-200mm lens (Tamron AF XR Di II LD 18-200 mm). Reason... Lesser weight and dimensions than 18-105 and has more range. I am not sure how well this will perform compared to Nikkor lens but looks like that's pretty much better choice with respect to weight and dimensions. If any of you had experience with this, Please share. Also, does it come with inbuilt motor just like Nikkor lens?.

Thanks

Not putting any lens down, but since you most likely would be using one lens overall i suggest getting a nikon.
and the best bet would be the 18-105.
Sweet lens excellent performance and will do almost everything you want.

I am not a pro, and My opinion isn;t terribly well informed. I take VERY few pictures under 35 mm and most of my pictures between 55-105
As a do everyting lens I bought a tameraon 18-270. and once in a blue moon, I have been absolutly ASTOUNDED to have that 270 available.

The lense was not cheep. and I have found out that higher quality lenses transmit more light. I have also IMHO had isues with images being softer than expected may or may not be the lens. For having only 1 lense, not having to change lenses, I have foudn this to be a wonderfull all rounder. generaly only dissapointed when I wish to take macro pictures, or trying to get too close, as the lens is clearly not designed for this use.

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I finally purchased Nikon D5100 with Nikkor 18-105 mm lens. Lens are great but with an issue. At 18mm, image is something like a bit of converged shape at the top (like as if taken with fish eye lens but not so much). I went through dpreview forums and found that this is possible with lens which has long range. I am not seeing this issue with 18-55mm lens borrowed from my friend. I am little disappointed with this but I am happy with the overall quality of the image and the zoom range.

Thanks to all of you once again.

So, if any of the new folks want to buy lens please keep this in to consideration.