What lenses are must haves?

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Rick M

Senior Member
My favorite Dx lens was the nikon 16-85, great for landscapes. From there a 50mm 1.8g is great for low light, speed and bokeh.
 
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co2jae

Senior Member
I bought my first (and only, so far) DSLR almost 2 years ago. My young daughter was (and still is) proving to excel at snowboarding and I wanted to capture her journey on something besides my point and shoot. I got the 18-105 with my D7000 and learned that it covered everything I needed except for telephoto shots. Luckily a friend owned a 70-300 and let me borrow it for big competitions. I loved it and and this year Santa brought me one. While I was learning, I "splurged" (mind you, I have 6 kids) for the 35mm 1.8 and I love it for low light indoor shots. Those lenses seem to fill all my needs for now and I am happy with every vacation, reunion and sporting event session I shoot. Now that my lens range seems to be covered to my liking, I will see about a good flash. Enjoy your camera!!
 
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SkvLTD

SkvLTD

Senior Member
Tink1o5 said:
I am no pro by any means. Ever since I was a child I always said I wanted to be a photographer when I grow up. I was always told that Photographers are nothing.. and rarely do they make money or become anything. (Someone trying to bring me down) Here I am now 24 and this is my first DSLR.
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Don't know who says that, but most seasoned ones I bump into in DC always complain that they have TOO much work coming their way. It's much more about appeal and marketing today than your sheer ability, since majority of the cash cow gigs require next to no real gear, nor true skill. It's mostly about having a name for yourself, good feedback, and referrals.

In an essence, don't give up on this dream because it's easier to realize than quite a few others out there, and realize it well. And don't sweat lenses as much, because I see tons of guys and gals making steady money with D3000s and 35 1.8gs or 18-105s and like SB-400 or 600 units.
 
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Englischdude

Senior Member
Hi there,at 100 euro a pop the Nikon 50mm 1.8D is a must have in my opinion. Great for low light, is cheap and cheerful, works very well with the d7000 autofocus motor, and the pictures are very crisp. The only gripe I have had with this lens is that living in an apartment I sometimes cannot get far enough away from my subject (normally the Kids) for composition, then I use the 35mm 1.8 G. It is generally accepted that prime lenses (non-zoom lenses) will give you a better Image Quality, how noticable that would be to you is subjective. Is the ability to zoom important for you? I have the kit 18-105 as well as the cheap 70-210 Nikon lenses, ive not needed anything else so far.
 
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dramtastic

Senior Member
There's only ever two main considerations, what you like/want to shoot and what your budget is. Once you've definitely decided on the first, buy the highest quality lenses you can afford for those purposes. I have the following to fit my D7000. Nikon 50mm F1.8D. Sigma 18-35 F1.8 Art. Sigma 100-300mm F4 EX IF HSM APO. Sigma EX APO 1.4 TC. These covers me for portrait, landscape, streetscapes, cityscapes, sports, wildlife, macro(though not 1:1 macro) and indoors. In fact the latter two lenses and the TC covers this.
 
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dragion

Senior Member
I just purchased my refurbished D7000 as a gift for myself for Christmas...with wife's consent since it will be for family & friends photos. :)
I've own my D3100 for about 3 yrs and felt that I've outgrown the camera and needed to continue learning with the D7000.

My current combinations of lenses are pretty complete and covers my range...from wide landscapes to birds in flight.
I feel that I have made some wise choices which are "best bang for the buck"
Any of the lenses listed below in my signature, I will recommend.
Other than the tripod...it was purchased for my Sony HD camcorder. It was stable enough for the weight of the D3100, but not so sure for the D7000.

See signature below....
 
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eurotrash

Senior Member
For crop sensor cameras, I recommend the 16-85 and the 50 1.8/1.4. That should cover a lot of bases very well.

For full frame, that's a different story and I'd be recommending the Holy Trinity at that level obviously.
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
Your still young with plenty of time! :D I just started taking photos at the age of 47 and from what I've learned so far, is that photographers of great talent come in a wide range of ages! Lol :D
A must have for me, and one I'm striving to get is a Nikkor micro 105mm f2.8 lens! But I'm a macro junky! Lol :D

Tink1o5 said:
I am no pro by any means. Ever since I was a child I always said I wanted to be a photographer when I grow up. I was always told that Photographers are nothing.. and rarely do they make money or become anything. (Someone trying to bring me down) Here I am now 24 and this is my first DSLR.

I really appreciate all of your responses and suggestions. I hope to learn and grow with help from this forum. So again thank you all for your input.
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egosbar

Senior Member
I have 50mm 1.8 , 55-300 v , 18-55 ,

So I'm missing a macro; my next lens will be 105mm Nikon macro. Supposed to be very good. As most have said, depends on what you want to shoot. I want to do some macro, so it's a must have for me.
 
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everprentice

Senior Member
Tink1o5 said:
I bought the D7000 kit so I have the kit lens. I am wanted to expand, So I want to know
What do you all consider must have lenses? and why?
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Like you I started with a D40 and a kit lens. Since I wanted to get the reach of a telephoto, I opted for the extremely versatile 18-200 VR. I used it for a walk-around lens for a long while until I started doing portraits. It was ok outdoors and in good lighting but immediately turned bad indoors so I ended up buying a 50mm/1.8 Series E lens which was a very cheap, yet good, manual focus lens. The next lenses I purchased was a 105/2.5 Ai-s, a 50mm/1.2 Ai-s. Then I got a 35mm/1.8 AF-s, a Sigma 10-20mm, a Nikon 80-200, then a 50/1.8D then finally a 17-55/2.8 which I am waiting to arrive.

That said. The very first lenses I purchased were Manual Focus because I was unsure of where my photography was heading. You should start knowing what your priorities are. If you have a kit lens, you have a cheap quality zoom that gives you the ability to shoot candids but if you take photos of indoor games you will be quick to realize it is not enough. You then have two choices, buy a cheaper fast prime lens or an expensive and heavy fast zoom lens. When you choose a prime, they are awesome fast lenses but you don't have the flexibility of the zoom. The fast zoom lenses are more expensive and heavier. And so on and so forth.

I suggest make the most out of your kit lens before you think about getting another lens. Know your photography, the limitations of the lenses and your priorities then start from there. The must-haves for a landscape photographer is different for someone who likes taking portraits. Someone once said, "The best lens you can ever have is the one on your camera".

My two cents worth.

*And oh, my favorite walk-around lenses is my 35mm/1.8G
 
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bewithabob

New member
Lots of good thoughts here already. My only thought is Invest in fx lenses if one day you see yourself upgrading to an fx format Nikon. Your glass will outlive your body
 
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