Newbie from GA

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kleww

New member
Hi Everyone!!!!

I found this site while looking for help with my camera.

I had a point-and-shoot Nikon camera until my husband purchased a Nikon D5100/18-55 VR kit for my birthday.:) I am trying everything I can to learn. I signed up for a photography class, the book Nikon D5100 For Dummies is on the way and of course I have the manual. Is there anything/anywhere else I can do/go to get additional information?

Also, can someone tell me the best zoom lens to get for my camera?

Thank you for your help!!!

Karen
 
K

kleww

New member
Hi Rick,

Thank you for responding.

Since I am new to photography, I would say a good range for me to start would be between $250 - $500.

Have a good day.

Karen
 
R

Rick M

Senior Member
As far as Nikon, Three choices close to that range come to mind. The 55-200vr for about $250, 55-300vr for about $350-400 and the 70-300vr for about $580. Third party wise, The tamron 70-300vc gets good reviews and runs about $450. Personally, I have the Nikon 70-300vr. It's very important to note the the vr and vc (tamron) letters, they denote vibration control/reduction.
 
S

slowpoke

Senior Member
Hello and Welcome,Karen.The Nikon 70-300VR is a good all around lens.You would be pleased with it and the price is right too.I use my 70-300mm almost all the time.Good Luck,Joe
 
F

fotojack

Senior Member
Hi Karen, and welcome to Nikonites. Congrats on your new camera. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. :)

A sobering bit of advice: don't try to read everything about it all at once. Take your time and read your manual. Not all at once cover to cover, but the parts that you'd like to learn about right away. You won't learn it all in a weekend, or even a week, or even a month! :) It's one of those hobbies that takes time and persistence.

About the zoom lens you want. like the others have mentioned, the 70-300VR is an awesome lens. So is the 55-300VR, for that matter. So for your budget of between $250 - $500, I'd go with the Nikon 55-300VR. Great lens for the money, and you won't be disappointed.

Also...if you could fill out the rest of your profile, such as location...it would really help. Thanks, and enjoy the forums. :)
 
K

kanteen

Banned
I would suggest lean the camera with the lens you have now. Then buy diffrent lens. Important to get to know camera first 18-55 best lens to learn with.
 
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Essence of Imagery

New member
In addition to that, perhaps finding used lenses are a way to save some money until you know specifically what you enjoy/need in order to take the shots you want.
For instance, I bought (and recently sold) a 28-80mm f3.3-4.5 Nikkor lens which was more of a learning experience of a lens I didn't necessarily need in order to capture my subjects.
 
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