Deciding What Lenses to Buy...Beginner!

[kehoka]

I have been taking pictures for a long time, but have always been intimidated by the thought of using a "real" camera. Well now I'm really wanting my pictures to look crisp, and vibrant...and my iphone camera can only do so much.

I'm going to be getting the Nikon D5300, and now I'm trying to decide what lense(s?) to start out with.

This is what I'd like:
- The majority of my pictures are of my animals, and I've recently started doing prop pictures of baby chicks (I'll post an example below). I need a lense that does well close to the subject, within 2ft, that does well indoors. I'm going to be making a lightbox, but it would be nice to have it do well in low light situations as well. It also needs to be able to capture images relatively quickly, considering my subjects don't particularly enjoy posing
- Other pictures I'd like to take are outdoors/nature related. I love macro shots. I don't think I'll be taking many landscape or distant photos for now.
- It would be nice to have a decent all-around lense that I could use as a "default" lense

Any and all advice is welcome! I'm still in the middle of the research process, but I tend to obsess over new hobbies. At this point I need to handle a D5300 in person before purchasing one and then I'd like to hurry up and get one to start learning!


Here's one of my pictures...done on an iphone 5 with no lightbox or anything and some minor editing. I literally had to set up these tiny scenes on a table facing a window and take the pictures when the lighting was perfect for 2 hours in the morning-afternoon. Ugh

 

[jaomul]

Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 (if you get this research as you have to get one with inbuilt motor). Good all around lens that can focus quite close

 

[jenko]

For the D5300, I would suggest either the macro 40mm 2.8, or the 60mm 2.8.

The 40mm was my favorite lens until I switched to FX. It's super sharp, extremely light, and the most versatile lens I've ever used. It's a perfect walk-around-lens, great for portraits, but also a fine macro lens. It's also under $300, brand new. This would be my 1st choice on a DX.

Here's a sample photo with the 40mm. It'll give you an idea of sharpness and bokeh. No flash was used.





The 60mm 2.8 is also quite good, but costs a few hundred more dollars. I use the 60mm now because I have an FX. There's also the 105mm macro, but it's even more expensive and heavy.

 

[goodguy]

I would recommend Nikon 60mm 2.8G Micro.
I own this lens and use it a lot, great for macro photography, VERY sharp and reasonably priced.

You said animal photography, I assume you mean taking pictures of birds and other animals in the distance and to that I would recommend Nikon 70-300mm VR, excellent sharp lens for its price, yes there are better lenses and faster telezoom lenses but they will cost you much, much more then this lens and I am not sure its always worth that extra.

 

[kehoka]

Not wildlife really, more pictures of my own animals (I breed and sell). When I use my iphone I'm only maybe a couple feet back, so they are pretty close to me unless I'm trying to take pictures of my ducks swimming in the creek.

Would it be better for me to get a d5300 kit and add another lens, or just buy the body and get a couple of lenses? How good are the kit lenses for my needs?

I like the sound of the 60mm 2.8 and would rather put the money down the first time than have to upgrade later

 

[goodguy]

Not wildlife really, more pictures of my own animals (I breed and sell). When I use my iphone I'm only maybe a couple feet back, so they are pretty close to me unless I'm trying to take pictures of my ducks swimming in the creek.

Would it be better for me to get a d5300 kit and add another lens, or just buy the body and get a couple of lenses? How good are the kit lenses for my needs?

I like the sound of the 60mm 2.8 and would rather put the money down the first time than have to upgrade later

The Nikon 60mm 2.8G will do the trick but I also think its always good to have one medium zoom lens.
A kit lens is usually good for that, you can do a lot with these lenses for a reasonable price and good results.
Nikon 18-105mm VR is my favorite lens in its price range, if you are willing to buy used then you will save a ton of money.
Even the 18-55mm VR is an ok lens is not expensive, you can get one used for 50$-80$.

All these pictures were taken with my Nikon 60mm 2.8G

 

[TheLost]

Would it be better for me to get a d5300 kit and add another lens, or just buy the body and get a couple of lenses? How good are the kit lenses for my needs?

Get the Kit... play with it... learn it... then buy a lens that does things the kit lens cant do for you. Everybody shoots different.. why buy lenses until you know what you need.

 

[striving4mediocrity]

Would it be better for me to get a d5300 kit and add another lens, or just buy the body and get a couple of lenses? How good are the kit lenses for my needs?

Get the Kit... play with it... learn it... then buy a lens that does things the kit lens cant do for you. Everybody shoots different.. why buy lenses until you know what you need.

I agree. If you are jumping from an iPhone to a d5300, the kit lens will be more than enough for a while. By the time you grow out of the kit lens you will have a much better idea of what kind of lens you want.

 

[robbins.photo]

Would it be better for me to get a d5300 kit and add another lens, or just buy the body and get a couple of lenses? How good are the kit lenses for my needs?

Get the Kit... play with it... learn it... then buy a lens that does things the kit lens cant do for you. Everybody shoots different.. why buy lenses until you know what you need.

I'm going to go with The Lost on this one - I'd start out with the Kit lens and purchase a good external flash unit instead for now. You did mention you'd be building a light box but I'd still recommend a good external flash particularly for the animal portraits. Use the kit lens for a while and play around with aperture and see how it relates to DOF - depth of field. Take shots wth the kit lens at 40 mm, 50 mm, etc so you can get a good handle on how those measurements relate to the final photograph. Once you get comfortable with the kit lens then look at maybe investing in a prime lens - but when your first starting out I really think your best bet is to stick with the kit lens for a while - Primes are fantastic once you get the basics down but they can be very frustrating to use for a beginner.

 

[Derrel]

I would say get it with the 18-140mm VR lens.

 

[kehoka]

Would it be better for me to get a d5300 kit and add another lens, or just buy the body and get a couple of lenses? How good are the kit lenses for my needs?

Get the Kit... play with it... learn it... then buy a lens that does things the kit lens cant do for you. Everybody shoots different.. why buy lenses until you know what you need.

I'm going to go with The Lost on this one - I'd start out with the Kit lens and purchase a good external flash unit instead for now. You did mention you'd be building a light box but I'd still recommend a good external flash particularly for the animal portraits. Use the kit lens for a while and play around with aperture and see how it relates to DOF - depth of field. Take shots wth the kit lens at 40 mm, 50 mm, etc so you can get a good handle on how those measurements relate to the final photograph. Once you get comfortable with the kit lens then look at maybe investing in a prime lens - but when your first starting out I really think your best bet is to stick with the kit lens for a while - Primes are fantastic once you get the basics down but they can be very frustrating to use for a beginner.

Perfect, thank you!

Now my question is, where's the best place to buy? Is it worth it to buy one of the bundles with a tripod/memory card/flash/etc or are those of sub par quality? Basically should I get the bundle or should I buy the accessories (external flash/tripod/etc) separately?

I agree I think I will work with the kit lens and then plan on the 60mm 2.8 down the road, maybe even used.

I am so excited to get started and I'm sure Youtube and this forum will be my best friends for awhile!

 

[goodguy]

I dont recommend getting a bundle unless you are 100% sure you are getting good quality stuff (which I doubt very much) and you will use it.

As for the 60mm 2.8G I got mine used and recommend used lenses, I found them to be very sturdy devices.
Saying that I really didnt get the 60mm for a good price, it was 390$ which is close to 100$ less then new.
These lens are very desirable and for a good reason!

 

[robbins.photo]

Get the Kit... play with it... learn it... then buy a lens that does things the kit lens cant do for you. Everybody shoots different.. why buy lenses until you know what you need.

I'm going to go with The Lost on this one - I'd start out with the Kit lens and purchase a good external flash unit instead for now. You did mention you'd be building a light box but I'd still recommend a good external flash particularly for the animal portraits. Use the kit lens for a while and play around with aperture and see how it relates to DOF - depth of field. Take shots wth the kit lens at 40 mm, 50 mm, etc so you can get a good handle on how those measurements relate to the final photograph. Once you get comfortable with the kit lens then look at maybe investing in a prime lens - but when your first starting out I really think your best bet is to stick with the kit lens for a while - Primes are fantastic once you get the basics down but they can be very frustrating to use for a beginner.

Perfect, thank you!

Now my question is, where's the best place to buy? Is it worth it to buy one of the bundles with a tripod/memory card/flash/etc or are those of sub par quality? Basically should I get the bundle or should I buy the accessories (external flash/tripod/etc) separately?

I agree I think I will work with the kit lens and then plan on the 60mm 2.8 down the road, maybe even used.

I am so excited to get started and I'm sure Youtube and this forum will be my best friends for awhile!

I don't usually recommend bundles that include tripods, etc because most everything they add in is going to be the cheapest, lowest quality stuff they can find so I'd recommend you go with purchasing the extras separately.

 

[kehoka]

I ordered my camera last night. Thanks for the help!

 

[goodguy]

I ordered my camera last night. Thanks for the help!

Congratulation and good luck

What lens did you order it with ?