$1200 For Nikon prosumer lvl body and lenses what should I buy?

[Mach0]

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVKcY4IZ5Ag

Stopped down, they're good. But then that defeats the purpose of buying a 2.8 lens to stop it down.

The 28-75mm I've never looked into, so I can't comment on it.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to watch it now

 

[Ballistics]

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVKcY4IZ5Ag

Stopped down, they're good. But then that defeats the purpose of buying a 2.8 lens to stop it down.

The 28-75mm I've never looked into, so I can't comment on it.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to watch it now

I'm all about 3rd party equipment, but the reviews like this one made me steer clear.

 

[Mach0]

I'm all about 3rd party equipment, but the reviews like this one made me steer clear.

That sigma sucked wide open. The tamron was pretty good though.

 

[Ballistics]

I'm all about 3rd party equipment, but the reviews like this one made me steer clear.

That sigma sucked wide open. The tamron was pretty good though.

It's definitely better than the sigma, but even at $1300 you're better off paying the extra $200 for a used nikon or canon.

 

[Mach0]

It's definitely better than the sigma, but even at $1300 you're better off paying the extra $200 for a used nikon or canon.

I agree.

 

[Richichi]

Nikon D7000 low mileage under $700
Nikon 35mm AF-S f/1.8G low mileage under $200
Nikon 85mm AF-S f/1.8G low mileage under $400

This would be a more than excellent starting point IMHO - Learn with primes is a motto that was taught to me.

 

[Mike_E]

Got ya, yea I didn't take it as anything more then helpful just explaining why that occurred. Basically I bought a T3i for a steal from Adorama but all my pro photo friends shoot Nikon. Sold the T3i for a $400 profit. Bought a D80 kit off ebay for a good price, it showed up with a malfunctioning flash. Mailed that back on monday and have been reading and shopping all week.

I would highly suggest spending a weekend with one of your pro friends and having them give you a crash course in DSLR's. This way you can get a feel for the equipment, the focal lengths, and have a better understanding of what you want in a camera.

Yea unfortunately they are all in ATL and I am still in Arizona until late June early July. They both recommended the D90 or D7000 and the lens recommendations have varied between the two. One advised I go with the nifty 50 and a 18-105mm the other advised I roll with the 24-85 3.5-4.5 and then start saving for the 3 lenses he thinks fulfill pretty much every shooters needs. The 24-75mm 2.8, the 70-200mm 2.8, and the 50mm 1.4 are what he says pretty much provide all the focal coverage you need with the exception of ultra wide angle shooting. I just find that there are a million opinions and I really don't want to play the exchange return game anymore.

OK, as you've noticed a lot of advice is people telling you what worked for them. Unfortunately they aren't you so your results will vary.

From what you said you wanted to do your first friend's advice seems to be sound- the 18-105mm and the 50mm along with the D7000. The D7000 will do you fine and there isn't going to be much in the way of improvement from the D7100 to justify your waiting or paying more for it.

As to the lenses, travel photography is mostly done on the wide end (18-24mm in consumer grade lenses) so having a lens that starts at 24mm is not wide enough. You need background to set the story in a photo but if your lens is too long then the subject becomes too small for impact when including the background if your lens is too long.

People photography needs to be done from 10 feet and out. This is because if you get much closer then the things closest to the lens will appear bigger than the things that are further back and the wider the lens the more exaggerated this becomes. You wind up with huge noses and little bitty ears if you aren't careful. I mentioned distance for a reason, you can get good shots of people with wide angle lenses buy simply moving back. But as in travel photography you need the subject larger in your frame for impact and this won't happen at the distances you need to keep your people from looking like freaks.

On the tele- end well, you do get what you pay for but it's still pretty good. Learning editing software will solve a lot of problems (there are programs that have a lens distortion function to correct any) and by the time you have grown out of your consumer grade lenses you will have had time to save for others.

Get your kit, go shoot and be happy!

mike

 

[HerkFE]

Mike E; thanks a bunch this is really getting me narrowed down.

Ok I see your point about lacking on the wide end and I was considering that last night as well. So would something like the 17-70mm Sigma/16-85mm Nikkor be better then a 18-105mm? Would a superzoom like 18-250 sigma/Nikkor 18-200/300 be a better choice? Also if I already have 50mm in my focal range I am basically getting the prime for better low light performance and faster focus correct?

 

[HerkFE]

Anybody else?

 

[Ballistics]

I think you've heard just about every angle.

 

[HerkFE]

I think you've heard just about every angle.

So why am I so uncertain...ha ha ha

 

[Ballistics]

Because it's a lot of money.

 

[DorkSterr]

Wait I thought D7000/D7100 was a mid range while the D700/D800 were prosumer?

 

[Ballistics]

Wait I thought D7000/D7100 was a mid range while the D700/D800 were prosumer?

They are.

 

[HerkFE]

Because it's a lot of money.

It's not the money per say I am certain on the body it's the lens choice that is plaguing me and how much to spend, what to spend on. For example I can get a brand new D7000, 18-105, and SB700 for right under $1400. I could also get a plethora of configs within a couple hundred bucks of my budget.