Newbie with lens questions

nighthawk45

New member
Ok I am looking to get a macro,fisheye, wide angle and something for "general" use. What is meant by fast or slow lens? I am trying to not spend more than $1300 on any one lens. Fixed or zoom? When should you use one over the other? I will mainly be shooting during the day but would like something that I can take pictures of the stars with and if using a separate lens for that is best than that is what I will do. I don't really take pictures of indoor sports. The only indoor shooting I would be doing would be for things like my daughters school plays etc. So let the suggestions begin.
 

WhiteLight

Senior Member
Ok I am looking to get a macro,fisheye, wide angle and something for "general" use. What is meant by fast or slow lens? I am trying to not spend more than $1300 on any one lens. Fixed or zoom? When should you use one over the other? I will mainly be shooting during the day but would like something that I can take pictures of the stars with and if using a separate lens for that is best than that is what I will do. I don't really take pictures of indoor sports. The only indoor shooting I would be doing would be for things like my daughters school plays etc. So let the suggestions begin.

There's a lot of queries there!
And a lot of options as well.

First of all, you would need to figure out what you want to shoot.
I understand the NAS bug which makes you want everything out there.

Ok I am looking to get a macro, fisheye, wide angle and something for "general" use

That's 3 lenses right there.. and a gamut of choices for the 3..
are you looking at nikon or other brands too?
recommendations-
Wide angle - tokina 11-16 or sigma 10-20
macro - nikon 105mm 2.8g
fisheye - nikon 16mm 2.8D

What is meant by fast or slow lens?

This question makes me want to suggest that you do a bit of learning before you can buy any lens.
Very basic concept & without understanding this, anything you buy wouldn't really do much justice.
Here is a quick & easy read - What is a Fast Lens? - Digital Photography School

Fixed or zoom?

Again, this demands a lot of reading & shooting to determine what YOU need.
There are both types available out there cos people have different preferences.
A prime generally offers better quality (subjective considering today's optics) but a zoom or tele-photo offers more versatility.
remember that longer the range of a lens, the trade off is definitely going to be in the quality.
quick read - Prime vs Zoom Lenses - Which are Best? - Digital Photography School

My suggestion would be to get a 35mm or a 50mm 1.8g lens, very inexpensive to get you started.
or maybe even a 18-105mm lens..
from there you'll soon realize what you prefer
 

FastGlass

Senior Member
A lense that is listed, advertised or called a fast lense is one with a large aperture of typically 2.8 or larger. ( smaller numbers). The reason it is called fast is before the shutter closes and snaps the photo the cameras meter and autofocus systems are looking at the information coming through the lense to determine the exposure and
what to focus on. The aperture blades don't close to the chosen aperture until the shutter button is pushed. So a lense with a larger aperture will have a bigger opening in the lense to allow more light to enter the camera. The larger the opening the FASTER the autofocus system will be.
 

nighthawk45

New member
Thanks for the links, it makes much more sense now. One question that I have is, if you were to use a prime lens is there a way to get an educated guess as to how much magnification it will offer? Say if you were 50 feet from your target (lack of better word) how do you know how close the image will appear, not wanting to be zoomed in on say someones face yet not wanting the picture to appear as if you were 50 feet away? Not sure if I am making sense or not.
 

skene

Senior Member
Really you are asking for a miracle when it comes down to lenses... however Nikon has come to the rescue..
main

You can choose different types of lenses, so that you know what they are like. This way you get a feel for the focal lengths of each lens that are available on their simulator.
When it comes down to macro though... you may want to get a little bit of time under your belt before you attempt macro shots, cause you will need to learn how to take pictures all over again.
 

nighthawk45

New member
I am thinking that it would be best to start with something like the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. To me it seems that lens will cover a wide range of situations and maybe if I pay [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif normal]attention to where the lens is set at for a given photograph I can better understand what other lenses would work for that type of shot. Does this seem reasonable?[/FONT]
 

fotojack

Senior Member
I am thinking that it would be best to start with something like the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. To me it seems that lens will cover a wide range of situations and maybe if I pay attention to where the lens is set at for a given photograph I can better understand what other lenses would work for that type of shot. Does this seem reasonable?

Now you're on the right track! Start with that lens, read the links posted to you, and you'll be on your way. Don't be impatient with photography. You're not going to learn everything overnight. It takes time and commitment. Just remember....there is no one lens that covers it all. That's why there are so many to choose from. Determine what you really want to concentrate on (preference) and in time you will know what lenses to get (need). Meanwhile, have fun learning. :)
 

MikeyIdaho

New member
Agree with the other posters about learning more and getting more experience before investing in multiple lenses. I made that mistake to a small degree and had to sell some lenses that ended up being useless or not what I ended up needing when I learned more about photography and what focal lengths and subjects I shot the most. So buying a zoom like the 18-140mm or 18-200mm would be a great starting point to learn on (in addition to the 35mm 1.8g that I always recommend to anyone starting out).

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2
 
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

If you had filled out your profile especially with what camera you have we would be able to help you a lot more. What lens you use depends greatly on what camera you have. Especially if it is a DX or FX. Or maybe you have a Coolpix and this is all a moot point.
 
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