Hello from Southern Ontario!

Hey everyone,

My name is Chad. I am from Southern Ontario. I am new to the whole photography world. I just picked up a Nikon D5300 with the lens kit (AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II) earlier today so I haven't been able to try it out yet. I'm going to be heading out to a local park tomorrow to take it for a test run. I am interested in landscapes (local along with plans to travel), wildlife, and macro as some point in the future.

I've always been interested in photography but my life in the past has been too busy to pick up a new hobby. My life has taken a complete 180 in the past year so I now have the funds and the time to really start this new hobby in full force.

To help kick start the learning process, I purchased the e-book version of Tony Northrup's DSLR Book: How to Create Stunning Digital Photography. I thought it was a good purchase for $10 to have a book to help with the learning process along with 9+ hours of video training integrated into the books content. I also plan to take a course at the end of the month, after I have some time learning on my own.

I have one question for you wise, veteran photographers:

So I already know that the lens I have will be fine for now but won't suffice for very long for my main focus, landscapes. I can tell that I will have an issue with landscapes that I'd need more zoom for. What all-around lens would you recommend for all different types of landscapes? And seeing as I'm still an amateur photographer, I am not looking for a very expensive lens so I'm looking for one with a good price to quality ratio.

My apologies for the wall of text.

Looking forward to learning and meeting members from this site!

Cheers,
Chad

Welcome to the forum

Welcome Chad! Enjoy Nikonites!

Pat in GA

Howdy Chad and welcome to Nikonites!

One of the favorite all-around lenses for DX cameras like the D5300 seems to be the 18-140mm. The kit 18-55mm is a solid lens, at least until you start needing something faster, but it was the reach past 55mm that had me looking for something more. One change I did early on with the D5300 was to pick up the 35mm f/1.8 prime lens which is very affordable, and used just that lens on a few trips. There were times in downtown urban areas that I needed to go wider than 35mm, but otherwise I've been impressed. I just wish some of the wider prime lenses were also as affordable.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I do regret getting the 18-55 mm lens kit.

I'm actually having troubles with my lens. The autofocus was working well for about an hour while I was just taking test photos and checking out the settings. Now the autofocus isn't working. The autofocus will work every 20 to 30 photos I try to take or so. And of course if the autofocus doesn't focus, you can't take the picture so it's just horrible. I always seem to have bad luck with this kind of stuff. I am going back to the shop I bought the camera today.

So I may return and get the kit with the 18-140mm lens or alternatively get the 2 lens kit (18-55mm and 55-200mm). I am hoping that I just received a faulty lens, that way it'll give me a reason to return and purchase one with a different lens kit.

I will keep you updated.

Chad ... two things.

A lot of times the problem is a limitation of the AF system ... either trying to focus too close to the lens, or trying to focus when it's too dark. Most of the problems I've had with the 18-55mm auto focusing, or any lens for that matter, are when I'm trying to get too close to the subject and I'm less than the minimum focus distance.

It's possible that you do have a bad lens, but if the problem doesn't come up when you're back at the store there are a few reasons why that could be. Just trying to help avoid frustration.

RocketCowboy said:

Chad ... two things.

A lot of times the problem is a limitation of the AF system ... either trying to focus too close to the lens, or trying to focus when it's too dark. Most of the problems I've had with the 18-55mm auto focusing, or any lens for that matter, are when I'm trying to get too close to the subject and I'm less than the minimum focus distance.

It's possible that you do have a bad lens, but if the problem doesn't come up when you're back at the store there are a few reasons why that could be. Just trying to help avoid frustration.

Click to expand...

Hey RocketCowboy - I brought it back to the shop I purchased it at, the lens had a factory defect. I was able to return it for full price. I would have been able to get a new D5300 kit but I had a change of heart.

I decided to put more money into the camera and went with a Nikon D7100 with the 18 - 144 mm lens. I am very happy with the change I made.

Thank you for your advice though!

Well congrats! I'm a fan of my D7100 ... I hope it brings you as much joy or more! That 18-140mm lens is nice ... I'd have that lens too if I had found the kit around here when I was shopping, but seems like a popular kit.

Welcome to Nikonites! I think you made a great choice!

Welcome to the website.

Thanks all. I am very happy with the D7100. I would like to say I got lucky having a defective lens on the D5300. Yes I had to fork out more money but I have a more solid camera and better lens. One of the main features I wanted was GPS to tag locations on photos but the built-in GPS on the D5300 was horrible in my opinion. Took forever to pick up a signal, if at all. I'll be going with an aftermarket GPS on the D7100 which will work much better.

I went on an outing to a local parks to try out the new camera. I had a lot of fun but I sure have a lot to learn.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum!

With regards to the GPS, I use an app on my Android phone called "My Tracks"... It records your path using the GPS and gives you info such as distance traveled, average speed, inclines etc. and lets you save the route taken to Google maps.

The bonus is, you can import the file to Lightroom, and as long as your camera & phone clocks are correct it will match the time of your pictures with your location at that time.

It is more fiddly than a GPS on your camera, but it means you don't have the side flap open all the time, and the app is good if you enjoy walking / cycling and want to keep track of your travels. The app is totally free too.

ETA - Any app that records GPX files can be imported into Lightroom for location tagging...

SteveH said:

Welcome to the forum!

With regards to the GPS, I use an app on my Android phone called "My Tracks"... It records your path using the GPS and gives you info such as distance traveled, average speed, inclines etc. and lets you save the route taken to Google maps.

The bonus is, you can import the file to Lightroom, and as long as your camera & phone clocks are correct it will match the time of your pictures with your location at that time.

It is more fiddly than a GPS on your camera, but it means you don't have the side flap open all the time, and the app is good if you enjoy walking / cycling and want to keep track of your travels. The app is totally free too.

ETA - Any app that records GPX files can be imported into Lightroom for location tagging...

Click to expand...

Hey SteveH - that does sound like a great idea. I wasn't a fan of having the flaps open on the left side of the camera as it means the D7100 is weatherproofed but when I'm travelling outside the country, I won't always have phone service or a data plan for that matter. When the weather is bad, I will use my phone for GPS as I have a Sony Xperia Z2 which is IP58.

So I purchased the Aokatec AK-N7000 online so waiting for it to be shipped. Haven't decided on a bluetooth enabled GPS to use with it yet. Once I do have the AK-N7000, I will put up a review if the interest is there. From all the reviews that I've seen online, I've heard it works much better than cameras with built-in GPS'.

I have thought about GPS for mine, but the phone app is accurate enough for me. The app doesn't require a data plan abroad either, it records your lat / long and altitude. It will use mobile data to download a map overlay, but if data is off it works just the same.

I guess if you are travelling a lot, the GPS would be better, but for free (If you already have the phone) I say try the app.

I used the app before I found the routes could be imported into Lightroom, just as I like to know how far we have walked etc.

itschaddd said:

So I purchased the Aokatec AK-N7000 online so waiting for it to be shipped. Haven't decided on a bluetooth enabled GPS to use with it yet. Once I do have the AK-N7000, I will put up a review if the interest is there. From all the reviews that I've seen online, I've heard it works much better than cameras with built-in GPS'.

Click to expand...

Chad, I had written up my experiences with the D5300 built-in GPS here, and my struggles with it. I've gotten it working better, but as one of the features that initially pulled me to the D5300 it also didn't keep me from going to the D7100. I'm curious to hear your experience with the 3rd party unit once you get your hands on it.


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