Lens question.

[AmberAKAmom]

What is this lens good for?...
Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G AF Zoom-Nikkor

And this one...
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S Zoom Nikkor

Are they good lenses?

I'm waiting on my first dslr to arrive!
THANKS :hug::

 

[JimmyO]

What exactly do you mean are they good? Are those the lenses the ones coming with your dslr? What type of camera are you getting?

the 18-55mm will be good for most shotting and the 70-300mm is a nice telephoto zoom lens. The bigger the numbers the closer it seams you are to the subject, while smaller number are good for shooting in small areas when you need to include lots in the picture but you cant back up.

 

[AmberAKAmom]

Thanks =)

Yes they are coming with the camera. I'm getting a D40.

I guess I was assuming there are good lenses and bad lenses.

So would I want to use the 70-300 for sports, since I won't be close to them?

 

[Stranger]

the 70-300 MIGHT be okay for sports if the lighting is good. Its a 4 - 5.6 so you probably wont be able to stop the motion all that well.

The 18-55 is another Okay lens.. Dont expect the sharpest of pictures out of them but they will be great use to get you started and familiar.

Use these lenses to find out which aspect of photography fits you the best and then look to upgrade in that direction.

do you like wide angle nature shots?
zoom animal shots?
sports?
macro?

these are decently well rounded lenses that should get you started

 

[JerryPH]

These are average lenses. Certainly not bad, but not what I would call pro level quality.

The 70-300 will serve you well outdoors, but it is not sensitive enough at higher zoom levels to be used anywhere else other than very brightly lit or daytime situations.

 

[NM Rich]

Those are the lenses that came with my Nikon D40x. They seem to do the job ok for me at the moment...

 

[AmberAKAmom]

Thanks, that helps!

I mostly just want really good pictures of my kids. I'm not trying to become a pro. I do well with my point and shoot but it's not quite up to par with what I'm wanting.
So with all the moving that kids do what kind of lens would be best?

 

[JimmyO]

Thanks, that helps!

I mostly just want really good pictures of my kids. I'm not trying to become a pro. I do well with my point and shoot but it's not quite up to par with what I'm wanting.
So with all the moving that kids do what kind of lens would be best?

You will want one with a very low aperture number. And it wont need to be able to zoom very much. But remeber when looking for lenses that the D40 and D40x (what i have) only AF-S lens will work if you want auto focus. This will somewhat limit your choices. Other nikon lenses will "fit" but you would have to focus manually which can sometimes be a pain, especially for n00bs like us, haha.

 

[AmberAKAmom]

Is f/ the aperture number?

 

[JimmyO]

yes it is

this link really helped me get a grasp on this stuff

http://photographertips.net/photography/understanding-aperture/

 

[AmberAKAmom]

Thank you!

 

[SBlanca]

dont have any experience with the 70-300mm or any nikon equipment for that matter, but i've got a canon 400d and it came with an 18-55mm and its pretty good, as someone said, its good for starting and getting used to the camera and stuff, it's what im doing at the moment