Newbie! Need help

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Paige Nicole Snowden

New member
Please don't make fun of me. 😋 I have a NikonD60 - I realize it's an old camera but I'd like to buy a nice lens for it and start taking pictures again and have NO IDEA where to start! Please help
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
Paige Nicole Snowden said:
Please don't make fun of me.  I have a NikonD60 - I realize it's an old camera but I'd like to buy a nice lens for it and start taking pictures again and have NO IDEA where to start! Please help
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The Nikon kit lens that typically shipped with the D60 was the Nikon 18-55mm lens. This lens is quite inexpensive, less than $100 new.

Amazon.com : Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras : Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

There is a newer VR version of it now. VR is a feature which helps to prevent blur due to camera shake when handholding slow shutter speeds. Which can come up fairly often with a f/3.5-5.6 lens.

The D60 has no focus motor in the body, which means it needs an AF-S lens to be able to do auto focus.

There are better quality lenses, but this 18-55mm is a useful zoom range. The 18mm will be a useful wide angle, like for indoors, and the 55 is a mild telephoto, almost 2x. The trend today would be more like 18-105mm or 18-200mm.
 
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Woodyg3

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Wayne makes a good point. If you are going to start with just one lens, the 18-55 would be a versatile starter lens.
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
What types of photography do you like best? If you are into landscapes, the 18-55mm is a good place to start. If you are into wildlife, a telephoto zoom might better fit your needs. In general, eventually you might want to cover the range from 18mm to 300mm by considering a combination of either zooms or primes (possibly zooms if you are on a budget). If you are into portraits, no wider than 35mm works well for group shots--especially indoors. If you are looking to do individual portraits, 50mm is good on a DX body.
 
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Mike150

Senior Member
Don't worry about the D60. I've had mine for almost 7 years now. I use the kit 18-55 lens most of the time for general shots. Sometimes I put the 50mm prime on when the subject isn't going to change much. If I want to do something requiring a longer lens (2 or 3 times a year), I usually rent a Telephoto zoom like the 70-300. Just make sure that any potential lens you look at has the AF-S designation. That means there is a focus motor inside the lens and it will work with the D60.
 
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