New toy for a new B. Now what?

dhall79

Senior Member
Just ordered a d5100. Upgrading from an old Kodac easy share z612. I know, no comparison. But I would like to start taking better pictures. I would like recommendations on gear. Memory cards, bags, batteries, lenses for everyday shooting, etcetera.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
 

Sambr

Senior Member
Congrats on the D5100 - buy Lexar or Sandisk cards, Lowepro Bags(whichever suits you they make hundreds) I like the "Stealth Reporter" series batteries buy original Nikon(Don't let anyone tell you different) yes they cost more but are more reliable, as for glass Nikon or for 3rd party Tamron or Sigma. Does your D5100 come with a lens? If not get the 18-55 Nikon great lens to shoot with while you learn your camera.
 

dhall79

Senior Member
Came with the 18-55. How big can I go on the mem card? Sorry about dumb questions. Camera is out of stock, and wont be delivered till 1/3/2013.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
 

Sambr

Senior Member
LOL no worries - you can go up to 64g I wouldn't go much bigger than 16g - because if you have a 32 or 64 card and it corrupts you will lose thousands of photos an 8 or 16g it's not so bad.
 

Chemic

Senior Member
Memory cards: bestbuy has a good deal going on right now. sandisk extreme 32g Class 10 UHS-1 for $39.99.....im not sure when the promotion ends tho so look into it

bags: depends on how much you carry.....look at lowepro bags....very good quality and good on price

batteries: just get one backup camera battery....

lenses for everyday shooting (depends on what you are shooting) maybe a fish eye or macro lens. if you are going to be shooting some long range.....invest in a 55-200 or 55-300mm

etc:
grab some lenspens, microfiber cloth, rocket blower,


 

Dave_W

The Dude
You should also add to the list a battery grip. For people like myself with big hands, a grip on these smaller body cameras allows for a more steady hold and significantly less camera shake. In addition, a grip will double the time between re-charges as well as give you an advantage when shooting vertical shots due to the placement of the second shutter release.

And try not to go higher than 32g memory cards with 16g being ideal. Not so much because they're faulty rather it's an insurance policy against a catastrophic card failure and complete loss of data. Suffice it to say most of us would rater lose 16g worth of shots vs. 64g or 128g worth of photographs. Also, make sure the cards are a minimum 45mb/sec or faster. Nothing more painful that waiting for your buffer to empty in order to take another shot.
 

dhall79

Senior Member
Never even considered data corruption with the memory cards. I have several good quality 16 and 8gb, class 6 and 4 micro SD cards with SD adaptors that I use with my Contour HD helmet cam. Should those work OK, or will I want something better? I bought my father in law a Kata bag for his camera for Christmas. I kinda liked the quality I saw with that. How does the Lowepro and others stand up to those? Also, after much frustration, I want to start doing my own family portraits for framing, and Christmas cards to mail out every year. Is there any special items that I should be picking up. I figured on a tripod and shutter remote. Any preferences on brands? I don't have any back drops, or special lighting equipment, so I will be attempting to shoot outside. Also, I was thinking of sending the photos to shutterfly to get printed. Is there a better place that I should be checking into for prints?

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
 

§am

Senior Member
Sandisk Extreme UHS-1 SD cards are brilliant all rounders - speed and reliability, just depends how much you wanna hold...
32GB will give you over 2.5k pics in jpeg fine quality.

As for data corruption - just backup your pictures after every shoot if possible, or as often as you can. Generally speaking, corruption is more likely to occur between card swaps etc then say when you're using the camera itself (though don't take that as it can never happen).

Lenses - 18-55 'kit' lens is a very good lens to start with, and as you go down the road, you'll come to use it more often than you might imagine.
If you're not buying it as a kit lens, then depends on your budget.... 18-105mm is a good 'walk about' lens, and a 18-200mm or 18-300 is a very good lens if you're planning on rarely swapping lenses.
Once you get used to the camera, you'll be looking at a prime, 35mm or 50mm f/1.8G are both amazing lenses (though the 50mm has the slight edge in IQ I'd say).

Bags - so many to chose from, but Lowepro always comes out on the top of the lists. Again, depends on budget, but spend a little on it - after all it's what is going to keep your kit safe :)

Battery - see how you go. I've managed to survive on a single charge doing >700 shots and using a SB-400 flash.
But always keep an eye out, as a good bargain buy will never let you down.
 

dhall79

Senior Member
Sandisk Extreme UHS-1 SD cards are brilliant all rounders - speed and reliability, just depends how much you wanna hold...
32GB will give you over 2.5k pics in jpeg fine quality.

Extreme at 45mb/s or extreme pro at 95mb/s?

Are Kata bags decent?



Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
 

§am

Senior Member
I don't know to be honest - depends on your needs.

The Extreme at 45MB/s is fine for my needs.
UHS-1 has a minimum speed of 50MB/s don't forget.
 

dhall79

Senior Member
Ordered a 16gb sandisk extreme 45mb/s, and a lowepro top loader 45 bag. Thanks for the input.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
 
Top