Second Lens?

Hi all,

New photographer here, who recently purchased a Nikon D3100 and is enjoying it very much! I'm using the Nikon 18-55mm VR kit lens presently, but was wondering what I should add to my arsenal next. I really shoot almost anything so there isn't a strong leaning towards portraits/landscapes. Currently I am interested in the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 AF-S, Nikon 55-300mm VR or waiting a lot longer and saving for the Nikon 18-200mm VR in order to have a "one lens" operation. I am open to third party lenses but I'm not too familiar with how good the quality is.

Thanks in advance,
Synergy

Your choices for the 35 and the 55-300 are good. Forget the 18-200.........it's overpriced and overrated for what you're getting. I'd like to suggest you pick up an 18-105mm VR lens as your daily walk around lens. Others opinions may vary.
Welcome to Nikonites and on your new D3100. If you could fill out the rest of your profile, with such things as where you are, gear used, etc, it will help us help you in any questions you may have. Happy snapping.

Welcome to Nikonites Synergy.

I would strongly suggest a speed light if you don't have one yet such as the SB 700 4808 Nikon SB-700 TTL AF Shoe Mount Speedlight - USA Warranty.. It will improve your photography significantly especially when shooting indoors. The Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX will be a joy to use with your D3100.

I agree with Jack and Glenn, your money would be better spent on those suggestions than an 18-200. You will want more than 200mm eventually and there is always a quality trade off for "one lens" solutions. 18-200 isn't a wide enough range to cover everything anyway, you would still need a wide and telephoto to cover every shooting situation. Also as Glenn mentioned, the 35mm 1.8 is a great lens for under $200.

Wow, I was at a concert recently with my d5100, 18-55 & 55-200, and I found myself wishing I had the 18-200. I'm glad I read this before plunking down 8 or 9 hundred bucks on that lens! If I buy the 18-105 should I sell the 18-55? I guess that would make sense. Should I keep the 55-200 or replace that with something else? Synergy, am I asking the same you would have asked? I think we're on the same page, you and I.

Thanks for the advice guys! So I guess the general consensus is to buy the 35mm as a complementary lens to my 18-55mm first, then a more powerful zoom/18-105 upgrade later? I will also definitely take into account buying an external flash!

And yeah it seems we are asking the same question RLPhoto. I was intrigued by the "jack of all trades" aspect of the 18-200, but if quality is such a disappointment for the price tag, why bother?

Synergy said:

Thanks for the advice guys! So I guess the general consensus is to buy the 35mm as a complementary lens to my 18-55mm first, then a more powerful zoom later? I will also definitely take into account buying an external flash!

And yeah it seems we are asking the same question RLPhoto. I was intrigued by the "jack of all trades" aspect of the 18-200, but if quality is such a disappointment for the price tag, why bother?

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Now now, I would not say that the 18-200 is a disappointment. I would say that the image quality might not be on par with higher prices zooms and fixed prime lenses. BUT… it's a fairly nice lens to take on a holiday. It's not that luminous, but the VR works wonders. It all depends on your needs, and, looking at your background, you might want to WAIT a bit before you invest. Start by taking pictures with your present set-up, take notes of what you feel you'd like to do more "if" you had that particular lens. Then shop around, but beware that there are more than one opinion for different brands, and you'll have to decide at some point and there will be a never ending "need, want and desire" for all the other lenses that you could not afford at the present time. We call this the NAS (Nikon Acquisition Syndrome). It's very powerful and you have to know what it will do to you. But I'm sure you'll find out eventually.

In the meantime, just have fun with your camera and "TAKE A WHOLE LOT OF PICS".

Welcome to Nikonites.

To date the 18-200 remains my most used lens. Marcel is right on with his assessment. I have used it as a walk around and even for wedding photography. Especially using it manual focus you can get some tack sharp shots. I currently have 6 lenses and still use this one the most.

I agree the 18-200 is a great lens for it's range, just beware that no one lens can do everything great. As stated, working with what you have will help you learn where your lens needs will be. I've found that I like to shoot wider, so my "primary" everyday lens is the 16-85vr. Allot of this will come down to personal style and your goals.

RLPhoto said:

Wow, I was at a concert recently with my d5100, 18-55 & 55-200, and I found myself wishing I had the 18-200. I'm glad I read this before plunking down 8 or 9 hundred bucks on that lens! If I buy the 18-105 should I sell the 18-55? I guess that would make sense. Should I keep the 55-200 or replace that with something else? Synergy, am I asking the same you would have asked? I think we're on the same page, you and I.

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I ended up selling my 55-200 and getting a 70-300vr to compliment my 16-85 (which replaced my 18-55). When choosing your lenses, think also about crossover points, at what range do you want to be changing lenses.

Synergy said:

.......a more powerful zoom/18-105 upgrade later?

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I wouldn't call the 18-105 a "powerful" zoom, rather a really good general purpose lens that will take a wide range of shots in the most generally used focal ranges. Think of it as your walk around lens when you don't want to drag around a bunch of lenses with you if you're on vacation at the beach or on a hike, or just general street photography. This is the lens I keep on my D40 most of the time. The lenses I keep on my D200 is another story.

I agree the 70-300 VR is a great lens, I have on and I love it.

Thanks again for all the feedback! I feel that I'll have to carefully consider which lenses to buy first due to my limited budget! I'm still stuck between getting the 35mm, 18-105mm or 55-300mm as I will probably only have enough money for one lens.

Synergy said:

Thanks again for all the feedback! I feel that I'll have to carefully consider which lenses to buy first due to my limited budget! I'm still stuck between getting the 35mm, 18-105mm or 55-300mm as I will probably only have enough money for one lens.

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Those 3 are all good choices. Keep in mind the 18-55 you already have is a very good lens. By adding the 55-300, you would have 18-300 covered completely. Given those choices that would be my first move.

Also keep an eye out for good used lenses. I picked up my Nikon 70-300vr on craigslist for only about $220 and it was barely used.

cnyram said:

Also keep an eye out for good used lenses. I picked up my Nikon 70-300vr on craigslist for only about $220 and it was barely used.

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I was actually just going to ask what to look for if I buy a used lens using Craigslist or eBay, because I've been searching my local Craigslist and found some interesting lenses that I might purchase, but don't know if they are worth the price condition wise.

On a second kinda unrelated note, are there any books you recommend to read? I saw these two on Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nikon-d3100-jeff-revell/1100839608?ean=9780321754547&itm=1&usri=nikon+d3100]BARNES & NOBLE | David Busch's Nikon D3100 Guide to Digital SLR Photography by David D. Busch, Cengage Learning | Paperback, NOOK Book (eBook)[/URL]

Not to go off topic here but watch out for the Scammers on Craigslist. It's that time of year again and I'm sure they are working overtime. Don't get caught up in the moment.

yes please beware of scammers!!! I had to turn in one that tried to scam me out of my 70-300. lucky I double checked with paypal before I sent the lens. Found the "confirmation" emails from them were fakes. also reported the scammer to internet crimes and forwarded the emails to paypal as I was promted to.
I sold my 70-300 for $250. It was used but in really good condition. If I had the box thats in cali I would have pushed to sell as a like new condition.

I am not a fan of the 18-200 but like the 18-105. I have no knowledge of the 55-300 except to say that the 70-300 is an extemely popular lens...

My first "second" lens was the 50 1.8. It was cheap and allowed me to do low light portraits. It's cheap, light and sharp as a tack. It's also a full frame lens so after I got the D700 it could be used with it.