Bought my 1st DSLR

whun2

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Hi,
I've been following the forums here for several months as I researched which DSLR to buy for my first one. I finally pulled the trigger the other day and bought the Nikon D3300 with the 18-55 & 55-200 lenses. I bought it as a refurbished deal from Adorama.com. I was kind of kicking myself for not buying it back around Thanksgiving or Christmas when I'm pretty sure new ones w/ 2 lenses were going for $500. After reading some good reviews and advice around buying manufacturer refurbished cameras I decided to do that so I could save some $$. Adorama had a D3300 w/ 2 lens kit going for $389. It came with a 90-day warranty, not great but I think it's something I can live with as I'm just getting into this hobby. I checked the shutter count and it's only at 58 so I feel like I'm getting an almost brand new camera. I look forward to learning how to be a better photographer and how to use my DSLR to the best of my ability. Thanks for contributing to this forum.
 
Good deal for sure. Welcome whun
 
Good. Did you shoot film prior to this?
 
Hi,
I've been following the forums here for several months as I researched which DSLR to buy for my first one. I finally pulled the trigger the other day and bought the Nikon D3300 with the 18-55 & 55-200 lenses. I bought it as a refurbished deal from Adorama.com. I was kind of kicking myself for not buying it back around Thanksgiving or Christmas when I'm pretty sure new ones w/ 2 lenses were going for $500. After reading some good reviews and advice around buying manufacturer refurbished cameras I decided to do that so I could save some $$. Adorama had a D3300 w/ 2 lens kit going for $389. It came with a 90-day warranty, not great but I think it's something I can live with as I'm just getting into this hobby. I checked the shutter count and it's only at 58 so I feel like I'm getting an almost brand new camera. I look forward to learning how to be a better photographer and how to use my DSLR to the best of my ability. Thanks for contributing to this forum.
Over the last few years I went from a d5100, then a d5200, then a d7100 and I'm picking up my most recent acquisition a d600 from the post office today.

All of my camera's were bought used or refurbished, never had a problem with any of them.

Sounds like you got a really great deal, congrats!

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk
 
Hi,
I've been following the forums here for several months as I researched which DSLR to buy for my first one. I finally pulled the trigger the other day and bought the Nikon D3300 with the 18-55 & 55-200 lenses. I bought it as a refurbished deal from Adorama.com. I was kind of kicking myself for not buying it back around Thanksgiving or Christmas when I'm pretty sure new ones w/ 2 lenses were going for $500. After reading some good reviews and advice around buying manufacturer refurbished cameras I decided to do that so I could save some $$. Adorama had a D3300 w/ 2 lens kit going for $389. It came with a 90-day warranty, not great but I think it's something I can live with as I'm just getting into this hobby. I checked the shutter count and it's only at 58 so I feel like I'm getting an almost brand new camera. I look forward to learning how to be a better photographer and how to use my DSLR to the best of my ability. Thanks for contributing to this forum.

Congrats! Sounds like you did your research and got a great deal. Used/refurb is the way to go when it comes to this expensive hobby. I have both of those lenses from a previous kit (D60). The 18-55 is a pretty sharp lens with a good range for most everyday situations. The 55-200 is not the sharpest but it's fun to have that extra range. Use it when the light is great and you will get your share of keepers with it. You're off to a good start! Not that you asked but....what I found most useful when I started was a book on my specific camera (I got From Snapshots to Great Shots but there are many others or go the youtube route) and Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson - really the best, most understandable introduction to the exposure triangle.
 
Congrats! Sounds like you did your research and got a great deal. Used/refurb is the way to go when it comes to this expensive hobby. I have both of those lenses from a previous kit (D60). The 18-55 is a pretty sharp lens with a good range for most everyday situations. The 55-200 is not the sharpest but it's fun to have that extra range. Use it when the light is great and you will get your share of keepers with it. You're off to a good start! Not that you asked but....what I found most useful when I started was a book on my specific camera (I got From Snapshots to Great Shots but there are many others or go the youtube route) and Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson - really the best, most understandable introduction to the exposure triangle.

On lenses like the 55-200, when you can shoot at higher shutter speeds and if possible stop down the lens as well it will make a difference. Shots taken at 1/400 stopped down to F8 will be much sharper than shooting wide open at lower shutter speeds. Shoot a little wide intentionally so you can crop out the corners as the sharpness in the center will always be better than the edges. They won't be quite as good as perhaps something shot from a 70-300mm VR but with a bit of post processing they can be rather good.
 
My Nikon D3300 is my second body and its a wonderful camera, excellent low light performance and the AF is impressive considering its the lowest in Nikons linup.
I love my D3300, I think its a tremendous value for money and I know you will love your camera.
Conrats :)
 
+1 for the D3300! Absolutely fantastic camera. I recently moved up to a D750, but keep the D3300 around as a backup.

Once the newness of your two lenses wears off a bit, take a look at Nikon's 35mm DX f/1.8 prime lens. :)
 
Good. Did you shoot film prior to this?

Hi Watchful,
I've always enjoyed taking photos but just with point and shoot cameras. I liked trying to adjust the manual settings but never learned too much about the art of photography. I plan to learn more about the art and will probably pick up a book I saw at Ken Rockwell's site. I'm going on a cruise in a little over a month so I can't wait to get some good photos with my new camera.
 
Awesome, happy cruising. :)
 
+1 for the D3300. I use one as my main camera and its a really under valued camera in my opinion. I have no issues making beautiful 8x10 prints with it from just the kit lens. Its so versatile its taken me close to 3 years to get to the point where Im even thinking about upgrading. One nice thing with the Nikons in general is that the F-Mount is the F-mount, you can pick up a lot of really great vintage lenses from the older Nikon film SLRs at flea markets for real cheap, that will mount right to the 3300 (or any Nikon for that matter) with no issues. You will of course have to run the camera in full manual mode but great flexibility none the less. Good luck with it!
 
I am looking at pulling the trigger on this unit also.... Can anyone tell me how "rapid" I can take shots? I'm getting into photographing birds and would like to be able to snap a larger number of photos in a small frame of time... I know I'm being kind of vague but I don't know the lingo yet.

Edit: Ignore this lol. Found some info that makes sense to me. I believe this will suit my needs.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
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congrats on the new gear. i had a 18-55 and a 55-200 and a nikon D60 for my first DSLR setup . i got lots of enjoyment out of it and some really nice photos.. seems like a great choice to start out with, its a great bang for the buck..
 
I've been practicing now with the camera for the past few weeks and I've been trying to read a lot of information on the internet as well as watch videos. I love the camera and am just trying to learn how to take great photos. I feel like I haven't really taken any great shots yet. When first starting out, did anyone have that feeling of trying to figure out what to shoot? I feel like there's no "cool" stuff around my house so I'm stuck on what to photo. I'm going on a cruise in a week so luckily the Caribbean should present some great photo opportunities.
 

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