Hellloooooo

Toppers

Toppers

Senior Member
Hi just about to get me a new NikonD3100 at the end of the month and looking for loads of help :D

My friend beat me to the punch and has one and is bending my ear on how good it is so I want to get to know it and love it.

Main reason is I am going on a safari in Sept something we have saved for a while and wantt to get the best photos from it. Another friend has recommend that I get a telephoto lens say a 70 to 300 or a 50 to 300.

Any way I am from the UK, Scarborough, Jewel of the East Coat...

Terry
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Hi Terry and welcome to Nikonites. You will find a lot of valuable information about the camera you're planning on getting in these pages. My first advice would be to take as many pictures with the new camera BEFORE you go on safari. You don't want to miss those shots because the camera has some setting that you were not aware of.

So, happy shooting with your new 3100.
 
Toppers

Toppers

Senior Member
Hi, thats exactly what i plan to do, I plan to take it to work with me (I travel a lot and work in all sorts of places mostly coutry side) so i will b snaping like mad :D
 
bluenoser

bluenoser

Banned
Hello Terry and welcome.

Congrats on your new D3100 and that great upcoming safari trip!

As Marcel said, start taking lots of pictures and get to know your new camera. I'm assuming this is your first DSLR (?) so before you start worrying about lenses you really have to get a firm grasp of the fundamentals of photography such as exposure (aperture, shutter speed and ISO) and of course learn the ins and outs of your particular camera. In addition to your field testing, I suggest that you also read the manual (seems obvious but many don't! :)) and perhaps pick up a book like Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. Finally feel free to ask lots of questions.

For a safari a telephoto lens would be an obvious choice and the 2 lenses suggested are both good suggestions but require a decent amount of light to get the best out of them. You probably will want to add a faster lens to your collection (35 1.8 ?) in addition to maybe a classic travel lens like the 18-200. A circular polarizer would probably come in handy especially under the blazing sun - yet another item to consider.

Most important thing to remember is to have fun!!! :)

Regards,

PS. I live in Scarborough too! (well Scarborough Canada that is - jewel of east end Toronto ;))
 
J

Joseph Bautsch

New member
Hi Terry and welcome to the Nikonites Community. We have a number of experienced telephoto users here, that's what I recommend using on a safari. One point to remember is that the D3100 does not have an internal auto focus drive. So auto focus any lens purchased has to be an AF-S type. The users manual has a listing of compatible auto focus lenses. When you are ready to start looking for a lens post an outline of the shots you are planning to take and ask for recommendations. You will get a ton of replies. In the meantime enjoy the site. There is a lot here to learn.
 
Toppers

Toppers

Senior Member
thanks for the advice and help so far, glad to know there is such a group out there that offers this help. I used to own a 35mm Pentax back in 78-81 with a telephoto lens, that was ok just with digital I wondered if thre is a big diference.
Cheers for the heads up on the AF-S

looks like a deep subject but looking forward to learning....
 
Toppers

Toppers

Senior Member
just out of interest as i cant do anything till my new camera arrives I have made my self a place over at Megashot to show my upcoming pictures. I have uploaded a few of my point & shoot pictures from my cybershot, URL is in my profile.....
 
robinchun

robinchun

Senior Member
Hi from another Brit: with a D3100..really enjoying it and this site too!
(can you post a link to your pics: can't see it in your profile or upload some to the gallery here)

Robin
 
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