I just puchased the D3200 today from Bestbuy and it was the bundle that included the kit lense and the 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens. My first real test with the camera will be on Monday at my son's high school graduation. It will be outdoors at the football stadium if weather permits. Will the 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens be the best choice for getting a decent zoom while the ceremony is going on. Keep in mind that I'll be in the bleachers maybe 40 to 50 yards away. I'm ignorant to DSLRs. This is my first one but does the 200mm lens mean that it can zoom in closer than the standard lens? Or does it matter being that I'm shooting at 24 megapixels and I can crop the shoots and still get good quality? When shooting the family and friend shots I plan to switch back to the 18-55 len.
Is the 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lense a good zoom lens.
- Thread starter bigntall1
- Start date
AC016
Senior Member
The 55-200 is an excellent lens. Is it the best lens? No, Nikon makes much better ones. Yes, it will get you closer to your subject then the 18-55. Though, since you may be half a football field away and up in the bleachers, don't expect to get to up close. You can certainly crop and still have good results. Obviously, your best bet would be to get closer to your subject and not be all the way up in the bleachers. Not sure what you are expecting, but maybe look into renting a lens with a longer focal range.
If you're that far away the 55-200 is going to be useless.
I'm not sure how far I'll be away. It's not a giant stadium as matter of fact I shouldn't even call it a stadium. It's a high school football field. The 40 - 50 yards might be a stretch. I doubt if I'll be able to rent anything before then. I'm from a small city in Mississippi and to be honest I don't even know if there's a place where I could rent a lens but I'll check Monday morning. If I can get zoomed in far enough I'll just crop them. Most of the pictures I take will be him with his family and friends. The shots on the field will be of the entire class and when he's actually being presented his diploma. Thanks for the info. I plan to just shot and learn as much as I can.
You'll be able to get decent shots of the class on the field but 40-50 yards is a stretch for the 55-200 if you're trying to get any kid walking across the stage. I don't know how zoomed you want to be on individual kids but cropping at the 200mm length from that distance is going to be a challenge. Your best bet is to get on the field somehow.
Sell the 55-200 (it's useless) and get either the 55-300 or the even better 70-300. Make sure any lens you get is AF-S. Furthermore, if you're going to use a long focal length lens, it would be wise to use either a tripod or a monopod....and shut off the VR function when doing so.
It would also be nice if you filled out the rest of your profile. It really does help us when we need to help you.
It would also be nice if you filled out the rest of your profile. It really does help us when we need to help you.
Ijustwant1
Senior Member
Enjoy your new camera! And have fun !
Sell the 55-200 (it's useless) and get either the 55-300 or the even better 70-300. Make sure any lens you get is AF-S. Furthermore, if you're going to use a long focal length lens, it would be wise to use either a tripod or a monopod....and shut off the VR function when doing so.
It would also be nice if you filled out the rest of your profile. It really does help us when we need to help you.
I thought I updated my profile with the information that I wanted to share. Not much to add as far as equipment goes. Thus far just the Nikon D3200 with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 and 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lenses.
Since you may not have options lined out by Monday the 55-200mm set at 200mm will have a view roughly:
-20 feet wide at 50 yards
-10 feet at 25 yards
-5 feet at 12.5 yards
-2.25 feet at 6.25 yards.
Just rough figures to give an idea of how close you need to be to frame the scene you are after.
Get familiar with the basics and experiment over the weekend. Probably want to stick to the Auto and Scene Modes.
Might want to wander back to Best Buy and pick up a second battery. Fresh charges before the big day/night.
Enjoy.
-20 feet wide at 50 yards
-10 feet at 25 yards
-5 feet at 12.5 yards
-2.25 feet at 6.25 yards.
Just rough figures to give an idea of how close you need to be to frame the scene you are after.
Get familiar with the basics and experiment over the weekend. Probably want to stick to the Auto and Scene Modes.
Might want to wander back to Best Buy and pick up a second battery. Fresh charges before the big day/night.
Enjoy.
So...you're saying you don't want to tell us where you live?. Some locations on this planet have different price points for photo equipment, for example. Another example is...your time zone.
We're not asking for a home address....a state or province will do if in North America, or if in the UK, that would help, too. I have a 55-300 that I'm STILL trying to learn how to use. For some reason the 55-200 is easier to use while the 55-300 is more finicky, I don't know why. My point is that even if you get a $3k piece of glass for Monday, you're probably not going to be happy with the results because there is a learning curve when it comes to photography. Double the difficulty since you're totally new to the hobby.
Just get as close as you can and use the 55-200 because it's a pretty easy to use lens.
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Just get as close as you can and use the 55-200 because it's a pretty easy to use lens.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
sonicbuffalo_RIP
Senior Member
I'd sneak up close and try to get the best possible shots....put it on rapid burst and just hold the button down. You should get some keepers if you're looking for some expression changes! Good luck!
Yes I know. I'm a beginner when it comes to photoshop also. I assume the camera is set to only shoot in JPEG. If it's shooting in RAW then I don't where they are located. I just transferred the photos from my SD card to my PC. The only editing I did was cropping the last photo. The middle photo was shot under the sport setting. I took about 4-5 continuous shots. I'll get better. I didn't have time to get many practice shots and couldn't use a tripod because it was too crowded and not enough room to set it up.
Yeah if you don't see any NEF files then you were only shooting in JPEG.