"D5300 Lenses for a newbie?"

1990eam

1990eam

New member
Hello people! Kind of new to the forum. I´ve been waiting for the right moment to start with photography and I think the moment has come. I´m making a trip to South Lake Tahoe, California and I will be living there for the whole winter season. Great landscapes, mountains, a big lake, snow. What else could you ask for?

I´m about to buy a D5300 (body only). It´s my first DSLR and I want to be able to take some nice pictures of the lake and the mountains. There´s a great observatory up the mountain and the view is great there. I´ve been reading A LOT but I´m a bit overwhelmed by all the kinds of lenses so I have a couple questions.

I´d like a good landscape lens and another one for when I´m not shooting landscapes. What are your suggestions for these 2 scenarios? I know I should include an estimate budget so.. the camera is $700ish so I think I have another $800ish to spend on lenses (I also need a tripod, etc.).

Anyway, sorry for the big chunk of text. I hope you can help me! And thanks in advance :topsy_turvy:
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
Welcome to the forum. Filling out your profile is essential to us helping you with any questions you might have. Things like where you're from, camera used, etc.

Not a bad budget to have. :) For landscapes, there's so many to choose from that I couldn't give you one definitive one, as I don't generally do landscapes. When I do, I use my trusty old 18-105. There are others in here that could give you better suggestions.

Other great lenses to get would be the 35 and the 50 G lenses, both AF-S. Others, I'm sure, will chime in with their recommendations. :)
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Welcome to the forum

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

Some useful links
http://support.nikonusa.com/app/ans.../nikon-product-manuals-available-for-download
Nikon | Imaging Products | Digitutor


Thanks

First lens should be the 18-105mm Use it for a while till you learn more about the camera and photography. Once you do that then you will have a much better idea of what your need. You will save yourself a lot of money and grief if you wait.

Myself and many people on this forum shoot with the 18-105 and consider it a good walk around lens. Mine stays on the camera about 75% of the time.
 
1990eam

1990eam

New member
Upon further research I've come to a dilemma. I've been reading reviews about how the 18-200 lens would be a good place to start for a beginner like me but a lot of people also say that you get some distortion with this lens and recommend, like you said above, a 2 lenses kit like a 18 55 and 55 200 to improve quality and reduce distortion (being the downside having to switch lenses depending on the situation).

What do you think about it?
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
1990eam said:
Upon further research I've come to a dilemma. I've been reading reviews about how the 18-200 lens would be a good place to start for a beginner like me but a lot of people also say that you get some distortion with this lens and recommend, like you said above, a 2 lenses kit like a 18 55 and 55 200 to improve quality and reduce distortion (being the downside having to switch lenses depending on the situation).

What do you think about it?
Click to expand...

While this is a good low cost combo, you may want to upgrade sooner than you think. Do you need a long zoom? If I were starting out again in Dx with your budget, I'd buy the 16-85 and 35mm 1.8g so I had a good general landscape/walk around lens and a faster lens for night/background blur. From there I would save for a longer zoom.
 
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mauckcg

Senior Member
The 35mm is a great lens to start with. I have it and it really helped me learn the basics. I bought the Sigma 17-70 C 2.8-4 over the Nikon 16-85. A little less zoom than the nikon but the 2.8 at 17mm is nice as is the macro-ish feature of the lens.
 
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