What would you do?

[intensechase]

I'm a TPF noob... Here's a shout out to everyone at the forum... I've read your threads for the past few days(very informative, funny and some great work) I have little experience with photography, none with an SLR, I took a photography class and it started to consume me. I've learned the basics with a 35 mm (I developed my own film which was fun) So now I'm upgrading...

I was hoping to spend 1K or less on a basic SLR setup(camera and lens)

Portraits... Landscapes... Nature... I think that I've decided on the gear below, but would like feedback/suggestions...

Nikon D40 w/ 18-35mm f/3.5-5.6g
Nikon 55-200 f/4-5.6g
Nikon 50 mm f/1.4D af

All being purchased for 994.00 at adorama.com

I have some cash set aside for accessories(extra battery packs, bag, flash, post editing)... any recommendations for everything else I need would be appreciated.

Thanks ahead of time

 

[Iron Flatline]

Get a good tripod for landscape work.

 

[Samanax]

Get a good tripod for landscape work.

I agree...get a good tripod.

 

[bigtwinky]

Tripod is a definate #1 thing to look into for your type of photos.

In terms of lenses, love a good wide angle lens for landscapes. Your 18-35 is a good start, but 18mm on a D40 is equivalent to 27mm or so on a full frame. Some great nature/landscape shots can be had with something in the 10-22 range. Might be a bit expensive to get a new lens right now, but I'd keep that in mind.

(extra battery packs, bag, flash, post editing)

- If you are doing portraits, a battery grip is always nice. Holding the camera in the vertical position and not twisting your hand around is a good thing. It can hold 2 batteries and take the AA batteries in case you run out. It adds a bit of weight to the camera and if you have bigger hands, it can make it more comfortable.

- I didn't see you mention memory cards. Maybe start with a couple of 4GB cards. Get something with a decent write speed.

- If you plan on doing night time photos, a nice accessorie is a cable release for the shutter. While your camera is mounted on a tripod, you can still have some slight camera shake by simply pressing down the shutter button. You can work around this using the camera timer, but a cable release is nice. I have an Infrared remote for my XSI which works great.

- Get a good polarizer filter for your landscape shots. Even some ND filters. But at least get a good polarizer. It will help shooting in bright days, cutting out the glare in water, and really make water and the sky pop. Other filters to look into are Haze/UV filters (some live by them, some never use them) for lens protection.

 

[Sherman Banks]

Nikon D40 w/ 18-35mm f/3.5-5.6g
Nikon 55-200 f/4-5.6g
Nikon 50 mm f/1.4D af

All being purchased for 994.00 at adorama.com

Is your first lens the 18-55mm kit lens or the 18-135mm? If it's the 18-55mm, try to get the VR version (vibration reduction). Same with the 55-200mm although it is more important with this lens since it is a bit slower and you'll end up with some slow shutter speeds with it.

As for the 50mm, that lens won't autofocus on your body. There is a newer, more expensive 50mm f1.4 AF-S lens that will autofocus though if you need it to.

All in all, I see this setup on my local craigslist all the time (minus the 50mm) for way cheap. Even if you bought the body new, many people are selling mint condition kit lenses for cheap on CL too to help keep your price down.

I personally wouldn't spend a grand on a D40 with 2 kit lenses and a 50mm that didn't AF though. There are several online retailers that sell refurbished kits too for a good discount. Do your homework, but I think you can do better with $1000.