A few newbie questions-Nikon D5200 accessories...

Berzin

Senior Member
Hello!!! Glad to be here. Looking forward to learning as much as possible and of course, giving back to this community whenever I can.

Here are my newbie questions in terms of equipment-

1) I have the 18-55 mm lens that came with the camera. Do I need a lens hood and if so, which one should I purchase?

2) As for memory cards, I was thinking of going with the Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC. Good choice?

3) I was also thinking of a fish-eye lens to take some unique shots. Anyone have any experience with the Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8G?

4) I was considering a wide-angle lens, and the new Nikkor 16-35mm 1.4G has gotten some good reviews. Any thoughts on this choice?

5) Would a battery pack come in handy, or is it a waste of money?

6) the "Nikon D5200 for Dummies" book-worth picking up? I want to learn as much as possible and don't mind purchasing any book that will help. Any suggestions will be great.
 

Seaman

Senior Member
Welcome! A little part from me since I am newbie too, book is good, I purchased it and it's worth the money. Read it couple of times at least. I have zoom lens 55-300 and just got prime lens 35 mm 1.8 G and both are amazing.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
1) I have the 18-55 mm lens that came with the camera. Do I need a lens hood and if so, which one should I purchase?
I'd recommend one, yes. This one is $6 on Amazon and this is the official Nikon version that costs $17 on Amazon. Either one would be fine.

2) As for memory cards, I was thinking of going with the Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC. Good choice?
You're paying a lot for performance you'll never use with that card. Save yourself a ton of money and get the SanDisk Extreme instead. If you're planning on shooting a lot of video, go for the 64GB card. If not, drop down to a 32GB if you shoot RAW or a 16GB card if you shoot JPG.

3) I was also thinking of a fish-eye lens to take some unique shots. Anyone have any experience with the Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8G?
Can't help you here.

4) I was considering a wide-angle lens, and the new Nikkor 16-35mm 1.4G has gotten some good reviews. Any thoughts on this choice?
It's a good lens but a ton of money. You might want to consider the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 or the Sigma 12-24mm instead. Just some suggestions.

5) Would a battery pack come in handy, or is it a waste of money?
Not sure what you mean by a battery pack... Do you mean a spare battery? That's a good thing to have IMO. If you mean a battery GRIP, those are kind of a personal preference thing. They're bulky but if you have big hands they do give you a lot more to hold on to.

6) the "Nikon D5200 for Dummies" book-worth picking up? I want to learn as much as possible and don't mind purchasing any book that will help. Any suggestions will be great.
I don't really care for the "Dummies" series layout, but the information is solid and it's a very popular book. You could certainly do worse. See also David Busch's Digital Photograhy Guide for the D5200.

...
 

Bill16

Senior Member
Welcome to nikonites! I would suggest a smaller gig card, unless your planning on shooting an extremely huge numbers of shots at a time. I would suggest two smaller cards myself. :)

I personally love having a battery grip for feel and for extra battery life. But It's not a have to have and not everyone uses or likes them. But buying an extra battery is something I would suggest either way. :)

A lens hood is good for protection and for glare, and worth having in my opinion. But I can't say which style of lens hood is best.

I hope my little bit of info helps! :D



Oooops it looks like my buddy HF beat me to it and with awesome advice! Lol :D
 
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SteveH

Senior Member
Welcome!
I'd go with the smaller SD cards too - I have 16GB cards in my D7100, but they are maybe a little too small for the file sizes and I'm looking at changing to 32GB, or just getting additional 16's.
 

aroy

Senior Member
1. Lense Hood.
The recommended hood is quite small, practically useless. To protect your lense get a good quality 52mm UV filter. I use Hoya, but you can go B&W also. Do not get the cheaper ones.

2. Card.
Unless you shoot a lot of images even 32GB is over kill. In D3300 the 32GB 45mbps card can hold upwards of 1600 images. For the 5xxx and 7xxx sercies where the NEF is 14 bits, the card will hold around 1400 NEF images. That is a lot of images to risk to one card. Secondly even video requires less than 45mbps card, so getting faster card will not help at least in this camera. For D800 or MF back, yes but here no. Ideally you should use at least 2 16GB cards, cycling between them.

4. Wide angle.
The kit lense is excellent at the lower end. Instead of getting another zoom, keep the kit lense for general shooting and get a few primes. Get 35mm F1.8DX and the 50mm F1.8G lense and you will have sharper images and low light performance at a nominal cost.

5. Battery Pack.
If you want to make the camera bulkier and heavy get a external battery grip. Else a couple of extra batteries with an extra charger is a better option.

6. Books.
With so much material available on the Net, buying a book is not worth it. You should rather spend more time with your manual. Some of the photography sites have excellent tutorials which are worth reading. In some cases you can get PDF of the tutorials, which you should keep in your phone for ready reference.
 

fotojack

Senior Member
Hello!!! Glad to be here. Looking forward to learning as much as possible and of course, giving back to this community whenever I can.

Here are my newbie questions in terms of equipment-

1) I have the 18-55 mm lens that came with the camera. Do I need a lens hood and if so, which one should I purchase? A lens hood is always advisable.

2) As for memory cards, I was thinking of going with the Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC. Good choice? Why such a large card? More advisable to buy smaller 8 GB cards rather than one big one.

3) I was also thinking of a fish-eye lens to take some unique shots. Anyone have any experience with the Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8G? Your choice. It's an interesting lens. How much use do you think you'll get out of it?

4) I was considering a wide-angle lens, and the new Nikkor 16-35mm 1.4G has gotten some good reviews. Any thoughts on this choice? Good choice. However, perhaps the Tokina 11-16 would be a better choice.

5) Would a battery pack come in handy, or is it a waste of money? Depends on how it feels to you, and yes, it does come in handy. Again, your choice...it's a personal thing. :)

6) the "Nikon D5200 for Dummies" book-worth picking up? I want to learn as much as possible and don't mind purchasing any book that will help. Any suggestions will be great.
Yup, worth picking up.
 

Berzin

Senior Member
If you fill out your profile we can better answer any questions that you might have.
You can do that at http://nikonites.com/profile.php?do=editprofile

I've tried answering the pertinent equipment questions on my profile and nothing happens. I actually filled the info out a few days ago and the page would not update. I'll keep trying.

As for filters, I purchased two-a Hoya Pro1 52mm for the 18-55mm lens and a 67mm for the 70-300mm lens.

Another question-what about an external flash? The Nikon FB-700 or the FB-910? Given the price, could be the 910 is overkill, but would like to hear from someone who has used either one.

Here is the battery grip I was talking about, just in case anyone was curious-

2u5t1g0.jpg
 
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If you fill out your profile and add the camera gear we can better answer any questions that you might have.
You can do that at http://nikonites.com/profile.php?do=editprofile

Thanks

Under camera just put the model number like D7100; Once you put the first letter like D you will see a list of all the cameras in the database pop up. The more numbers you put in the smaller the list becomes. When you see your camera just click on it, Be sure to click on "Save Changes" in the lower right corner.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Another question-what about an external flash? The Nikon FB-700 or the FB-910? Given the price, could be the 910 is overkill, but would like to hear from someone who has used either one.
The Yongnuo 565ex TTL. But then I think Nikon flash units are just ridiculously overpriced...


Here is the battery grip I was talking about, just in case anyone was curious...
Mmmm... That's the Velo grip, yes?

Of all of the available battery grips for the '5200 that one is probably your best choice.

...
 

Berzin

Senior Member
The Yongnuo 565ex TTL. But then I think Nikon flash units are just ridiculously overpriced...

That is a nice looking flash.


Mmmm... That's the Velo grip, yes?.

Yes. there was another I found on the B&H website made by Energizer, but it's 90 dollars. The one I posted by Vello is $48.

Question on the memory card-from what's been posted, I can go with, with a slight bit of overkill, two 32GB Sandisk Extreme cards. Is there any difference quality-wise between the Extreme and the Extreme Pro? I have no idea what the difference between the two iterations are.

As long as the quality of the photos don't suffer, I will feel much better going with the less expensive memory card.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
That is a nice looking flash.
It's an awesome flash. My second Yongnuo and by far the best.


Question on the memory card-from what's been posted, I can go with, with a slight bit of overkill, two 32GB Sandisk Extreme cards. Is there any difference quality-wise between the Extreme and the Extreme Pro? I have no idea what the difference between the two iterations are. As long as the quality of the photos don't suffer, I will feel much better going with the less expensive memory card.
What you're paying for, in a word, is "speed": How fast the card can write [image] data streamed from your camera. All well and good but the flip side of that coin is is how fast the camera can output the data to the card. If your card is outstripping your camera you're paying for speed you can't use. The SD Extremes, at 45Mb/s will be plenty, I assure you. Also, the SD card has no bearing on image quality so that's nothing to worry about. Just stick with good brand names and you should be fine.

...
 

kluisi

Senior Member
That is a nice looking flash.




Yes. there was another I found on the B&H website made by Energizer, but it's 90 dollars. The one I posted by Vello is $48.

Question on the memory card-from what's been posted, I can go with, with a slight bit of overkill, two 32GB Sandisk Extreme cards. Is there any difference quality-wise between the Extreme and the Extreme Pro? I have no idea what the difference between the two iterations are.

As long as the quality of the photos don't suffer, I will feel much better going with the less expensive memory card.

Speed is the difference, but I do not believe that the difference between the extreme and extreme pro will cause the bottleneck in the 5300. You should be able to get the same performance out of either. If you were shooting the D7100, D610, or D800, then maybe.
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Welcome to the HUZZAH! To help with what I know...

1) I still use my kit lens with no hood, and haven't had too many issues with flare, etc, but I use a hood all the time on my 50mm prime and 70-300. *shrug* There are instances they help, haven't found any instances where they hurt, and they're fairly cheap, so why not?

2) GREAT CARD, but a major overkill unless you're shooting large commercial gigs, lots of weddings, or a whole mess o' video.

3 and 4) don't have either, no comment

5) A spare battery is nice, and as said before, a grip with dual batteries is just personal preference. I've never drained my battery completely in a day of shooting, but again, I'm not a commercial shooter. I like the feel of a battery grip myself, although I'm holding off on buying one until I take a step up in camera bodies.

6) Your owner's manual will have all the info you need. I'd suggest spending money on a beginning/intermediate class in your area instead. Sure, it's a little more costly, but (at least in the classes I took) there's a lot of hands on and in-depth discussion of what settings do in specific situations, etc, with assignments and trial and error discussions. INVALUABLE! The folks here on the forums are good for providing info too. ;)

Hello!!! Glad to be here. Looking forward to learning as much as possible and of course, giving back to this community whenever I can.

Here are my newbie questions in terms of equipment-

1) I have the 18-55 mm lens that came with the camera. Do I need a lens hood and if so, which one should I purchase?

2) As for memory cards, I was thinking of going with the Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC. Good choice?

3) I was also thinking of a fish-eye lens to take some unique shots. Anyone have any experience with the Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8G?

4) I was considering a wide-angle lens, and the new Nikkor 16-35mm 1.4G has gotten some good reviews. Any thoughts on this choice?

5) Would a battery pack come in handy, or is it a waste of money?

6) the "Nikon D5200 for Dummies" book-worth picking up? I want to learn as much as possible and don't mind purchasing any book that will help. Any suggestions will be great.
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
BTW, I'm a HUGE fan of the Nikon SB-700. Weighed out the Yongnuo, but just couldn't make myself ignore the "Nikon" in this instance. It's a fantastic flash for the price, with plenty of room for me to grow.
 

Bill16

Senior Member
From all I've heard, I'd vote for the nikon sb-700 flash. I bought an older model, the Nikon sb-800 flash myself, but that was because it was pretty much brand new for $250.00! :)
Otherwise I would have likely bought the sb-700, because it is suppose to be user friendly and would work well for most any flash needs I may have! :D
 

aroy

Senior Member
I've tried answering the pertinent equipment questions on my profile and nothing happens. I actually filled the info out a few days ago and the page would not update. I'll keep trying.

As for filters, I purchased two-a Hoya Pro1 52mm for the 18-55mm lens and a 67mm for the 70-300mm lens.

Another question-what about an external flash? The Nikon FB-700 or the FB-910? Given the price, could be the 910 is overkill, but would like to hear from someone who has used either one.

.........
The power grip is user dependent choice. Some need them others do not. In some bodies you get extra burst speed with an external grips, but here I do not think that is so. It weighs a lot, but if it fits your hands and you are comfortable, go for it. I would any day go for extra batteries.

An external flash is quite heavy. In fact my SB-800 weighs more then my D3300. Unless you want the power and reach of the external flash, the on board one does the job quite well. To determine if you need a bigger flash, calculate the maximum distance you want the flash to reach.

The guide number is the reach at ISO 100 and F1.0. So if you will use F4 and ISO 200, the reach is = GN*(sqrt(200/100))/4, as the reach is halved every quadrupling of ISO
for SB-700 then the reach is 28*1.41/4 = 9.9 meters at ISO 200, or 19.8m at ISO 400
for SM-910 then the reach is 34*1.41/4 = 12 meters at ISO 200, or 24.0m at ISO 400
for D-5200 the reach is 12*1.41/4 = 4.25 meters at ISO 200, or 8.5m at ISO 400
These are at full power, but in most cases flash uses less power due to ambient light, increasing the reach.

What this means that upto 9 meters the on board flash will do. For concerts and live shows in open air you may need the long reach of the more powerful external flash.
 

Berzin

Senior Member
Your owner's manual will have all the info you need. I'd suggest spending money on a beginning/intermediate class in your area instead. Sure, it's a little more costly, but (at least in the classes I took) there's a lot of hands on and in-depth discussion of what settings do in specific situations, etc, with assignments and trial and error discussions. INVALUABLE! The folks here on the forums are good for providing info too. ;)

Yes, you are correct. This was my long-range plan all along. I will be taking a photography course at my college next semester beginning in August and cannot wait to start. But I need to get the equipment together first so I could hit the ground running, so to speak.

A few more questions-what do you guys use to protect the screen on your cameras? Also, do any of you shoot with a monopod? I used one with my Panasonic FZ-20 and liked the results. Any opinions on this?
 
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