Another DSLR Newbie

I wandered into this subforum because of a recent acquisition. After reading through a dozen threads I am glad to see that it is just as friendly and helpful as the rest of B&B.

I'm a lifelong Point and Shoot guy (currently have a functioning Nikon Coolpix 8200), but my Father has been a lifelong SLR guy and convinced me to make a change.

Back to the acquisition. I decided to cash in a bunch of gift Mastercards and got a really good deal locally on a Refurb Nikon D5200 body that came with a Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 ED IF AF-S DX lens, bag, and a 32GB card. A few of the cards were Amazon only, so I also got a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX lens based on some glowing reviews around the Internet.

Is this a decent setup, or am I really missing out on anything by not having the 18-55 lens?

Well, you kind of need the wide angle to do a lot of things. They are not expensive, I would pick one up.

Great set up to begin with!

Great camera. I personally would also pick up a 50/1.8D, though it would be manual focus. It is an "FX" lens so it would be comparable to a 75mm lens on that body which makes a great portrait lens. Also being pretty fast at f/1.8 give you great bokeh! The lens goes for under $100 used, so it's a drop in the bucket.

Get out of auto mode and go shoot!

Thanks for all the responses!

David - Get the 18-55 lens or just a wide angle lens?

Xander - Thanks, I'll shop one. What does it give me over the 35mm?

Cliff - My Point and Shoot experience has been family events, sporting events, vacations, local expos and events, and occasional landscapes. I'd like to continue shooting the above, but I'd like to add more landscapes and possibly portraits.

You do raise a good point. I need to go out and get some practice with the new gear. It looks like decent weather this weekend so I'll take a hike in one of the parks nearby and see what looks good.

Blue_2 said:

Thanks for all the responses!

David - Get the 18-55 lens or just a wide angle lens?

Xander - Thanks, I'll shop one. What does it give me over the 35mm?

Cliff - My Point and Shoot experience has been family events, sporting events, vacations, local expos and events, and occasional landscapes. I'd like to continue shooting the above, but I'd like to add more landscapes and possibly portraits.

You do raise a good point. I need to go out and get some practice with the new gear. It looks like decent weather this weekend so I'll take a hike in one of the parks nearby and see what looks good.

Click to expand...

Well, that is up to you. Personally, I prefer the speed and quality of prime lenses, and don't use zooms that much. But then, I ride a bicycle with one gear, fill my pens from a bottle and shave with a straight razor, so convenience isn't my usual priority.

Getting a prime that is wide enough on a crop sensor camera will be a bit harder and more expensive, though. The zoom would be a lot cheaper.

Crop sensors are at a disadvantage when it comes to wide angle lenses. Having a narrower FOV makes constructing truly wide angle lenses difficult. If you can get down to a true 28 mm or less I would consider that good. A 18-55 kit lens is going to be an order of magnitude cheaper than a dedicated prime. Peraonally, I don't shoot anything wide angle, 90% of my work can be done at 75mm and longer if I don't want to use a shoe leather zoom. I wouldn't mind picking something up in the 24mm range eventually, but it's low priority for me.

The 50/1.8D over the 35/1.8G is the difference between getting a 3/4 body shot at 7 feet away or getting a nice bust shot at 7 feet. It is quite the nice lens, excellent sharpness, great bokeh, light, quick focusing, inexpensive and compact. It's usually my go-to lens when I start an unguided portrait session. I have some examples of very simple portraits done with a single studio strobe and the 50/1.8D on my D200 hand held, If you would like to see. Again, it's my personal choice being a fast prime that is inexpensive and performs well above its weight class.


Deciding what you want to shoot and what you will shoot is up to you. Building your own kit around that is your choice. I shoot portrait and abstract. So wide angle capture just isn't in my main body of work. Think realistically of when and how you will be using your camera. Use your camera first before getting sucked into the "moar gear" crowd. Because buying gear doesn't make you a better photographer. Thinking about a shot and learning how to do it with what you have will.

now go look for something interesting and shoot it!


Cheers!

See? This is a classic YMMV. I shoot most things wide, and very rarely use tele. On my aps-c camera I carry a 14mm, a 35mm, and a 60mm. That equates to about a 20mm, 50mm, and a 90mm. The 20mm is a bit wide for most things, but the one I have is very high quality, with little distortion, so I can crop it and it looks OK. And it gives me the opportunity to go really wide when I need it. The 60mm has macro.

In my film days I would usually carry (unless I had a specific job which I needed to cater to) a rangefinder camera + a 28, 50, 90mm. With those three lenses you can do almost anything, except sports and wildlife.

Thanks for all the insight, it makes a lot of sense.

I'll hold off on purchases and try what I've got for now. I just didn't want to find out that I missed anything essential (i.e. bought a bowl and brush, but forgot the soap). If I need anything wide angle I'll seek out the 18-55. I do see what you mean, it's quite a bit cheaper compared to the other options.

I've got some places in mind that I want to check out over the next few weekends, mostly nature scenes and nice old buildings. I'll rock out my gear and see what I can do. Thanks guys!

One thing you can do to simulate a wide angle lens is "over shoot" a scene with a longer lens and crop it in post to a wide format like 16:9. Back up and not worry about top and bottom of the frame so much, just be sure you have the left and right framing how you want, then crop out the extra sky/foreground. This works with scenes that have a subject somewhat close, but things like mountains or big valleys, not so much.

You have the 55-200 and the 35mm. I would forego the 18-55 kit lens and go with the suggested 50 1.8. The 35mm you have right now is a great lens. I have one myself. Depending upon how and what you shoot, use the best zoom mechanism available to you - your feet. With a 35mm, provided you have the room, simply shuffle to and fro to frame your shots. You've got some good gear to get you up and running. I shoot Nikon myself.

Ok cool, I'll check one out. They seem to be pretty inexpensive, plus it wouldn't hurt to have an FX lens if I eventually go that way in a few years.

Here's a slightly cropped shot with a 50/1.8D on a D200. Just so you can see the clarity and sharpness of this lens on even an old 10mp aps-c sensor.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/376404-Pic-of-the-week!?p=6337247#post6337247

There are many more shots done with it in my flickr if you want to see its abilities.

These lenses go for $75-$90 on the second hand market and usually $119 new. Best deal out there!

Nice Flickr page! Ok, Ill most definitely look for one.

I take it that eBay is just as safe/risky for lenses as other things? (Then again for the $20 difference I'll probably go brand new)

If buying used I always go to KEH.com

Only way to go in my opinion. Trained technicians, warrantied, and they under rate their stuff. Meaning you buy something rated "bargain" and it looks nearly new! I've purchased many things from them as well as many members here. I doubt you'll hear one bad thing about them...


And thank you!