Need Advice...New DSLR Photographer!

heartsonfire · Jul 16, 2011

I have been wanting to purchase a DSLR camera for quite sometime, and now I finally can. I am 21 and I am very interested in taking photographs of wildlife, landcapes, travel. Eventually, some portrait shots. I am planning on going to sedona, yellowstone, new york, and europe within the next year and I want to start becoming familiar with a great camera. I have done some research, and money isn't a huge factor. I want the best. So, with all that said here is what I have it narrowed down to:

Camera: Nikon D5100 with the 18-55mm lens

Lenses: Nikon Telephoto 70-300mm lens - for far off wildlife, and mountains, etc.
Nikon 105mm lens- macro shots of plants, insect, birds, etc.

Plus, a tripod, 1MB sd card, and camera bag.

Is this a good combo?
Any suggestions?

Thank you so much!

-Celeste

shutternut1950 · Jul 17, 2011

heartsonfire said:
I have been wanting to purchase a DSLR camera for quite sometime, and now I finally can. I am 21 and I am very interested in taking photographs of wildlife, landcapes, travel. Eventually, some portrait shots. I am planning on going to sedona, yellowstone, new york, and europe within the next year and I want to start becoming familiar with a great camera. I have done some research, and money isn't a huge factor. I want the best. So, with all that said here is what I have it narrowed down to:

Camera: Nikon D5100 with the 18-55mm lens

Lenses: Nikon Telephoto 70-300mm lens - for far off wildlife, and mountains, etc.
Nikon 105mm lens- macro shots of plants, insect, birds, etc.

Plus, a tripod, 1MB sd card, and camera bag.

Is this a good combo?
Any suggestions?

Thank you so much!

-Celeste

If you can afford it and you want a great Nikon DSLR that you can grow into and not sell yourself short, I strongly suggest that you go with the Nikon D90. You can now get a good deal on it as it has been replaced on the market. The d90 is one of those cameras that become a classic and is feature packed. What I like more then any other feature though and is the main reason I decided to go with it is it has two control adj. Wheels one in the front and one in the back that allows you to independently control the adjustment foe aperture and shutter speed while in manual mode. You need to adjust these quickly so that you don't miss that keeper shot and this camera allows you to do that. It also has plenty of hard buttons so that you can change most often used settings without having to go into the menu system to do so. The D90 just makes sense, it incorporates pro features without the high costs of a pro camera. In fact I feel so strongly about this camera that if I could not afford it over the D5100 then I would wait a little while longer until I could and save yourself lots of cash in the long run. This camera also accepts the vertical battery grip which provides shutter release and aperture/shutter adj. Wheels in the vertical portrait position as well as in the landscape position (two sets). A feature built into the pro cameras and the grip also houses two batteries, doubling your battery life...good luck in your DSLR purchase and I hope this helps a little.

djkmann · Jul 22, 2011

If you want the "best" dslr, you need to figure out which is the best for your needs! Of course anyone can spend $2500 on a pro body, but if you have no desire to learn and master the controls, functions, and custom settings of an advanced camera, then there is no need to spend that much.

That being said, the D7000 would probably be the "best" for you if money isn't an object. It is the "pro-sumer" model from Nikon, and has many more advanced features than the D5100 and will allow you to grow and develop if you so desire. You can learn about the differences of the D5100, D90, and D7000 in a blog post of mine on my blog Picturing Change:
http://blog.dojoklo.com/2011/04/14/nikon-d5100-vs-d7000-vs-d90-etc/

I would not recommend the D90. While it is a great camera, it is reaching the end of it's life and has pretty much been replaced by the improved and slightly more advanced D7000. You wouldn't want to buy a 2 year old LCD TV or iPhone, and dSLR cameras are electronics just the same.

The 18-55mm "kit lens" really isn't worth the money if you are just going to replace it with a better lens soon, which is what many people end up doing. The telephoto and macro are right for your needs, though you will want one or two 8GB or 16GB memory cards.

tirediron · Jul 22, 2011

Money is the deciding factor here. You can spend a $1000 for what you want, or you can spend $50,000! The best would be a Nikon D3x with 14-24f2.8, 24-70f2.8, 70-200f2.8, 300mm f2.8 and 600mm f4 (or Canon equivalent). That combination will run you around 30K. If you can afford that, great. If not, then set your sights a little lower. The Nikon D7000 is by all accounts an outstanding value; couple that with a 17-50mm f2.8, and 80-20f2.8 and a 1.4 or 1.7x TC, and you'll have a pretty darn nice set-up.

shutternut1950 · Jul 22, 2011

Yes the D7000 is the latest and greatest but at a cost. You need to be careful not to fall into the latest and greatest trap unless of course money is no object. The smart purchase would be to get the D90 which has plenty in the way of allowing creativity. Just because a newer camera hit the shelve does not mean that the DSLR that it replaced just got to be less of a camera overnight. You certainly do not need a 16 mp sensor in fact you don't need anything over 10 mp. I personally prefer a 12mp sensor for the smaller file size and I am still able to print a very large high resolution photograph. Now you have an extra $500.00 you can put to a higher quality lens or buy a second lens. It's always better to put the extra money into the glass for your camera, I can't stress the importance of good optics. The final decision is your choice of course but it's good to have all the information in order that you can make a wise decision. Best of luck in your final purchase.

Patrice · Jul 23, 2011

You must mean a 1GB sd card? If so, it will fill up very quickly. A better choice would be a couple of 4GB or even 8GB cards. Fast ones are not cheap.

Don't skimp on a tripod. When you need one for your shot, that is when you need a good one. Budget 2-3 hundred for one and a decent head as well.

johnh2005 · Jul 23, 2011

heartsonfire said:
I have been wanting to purchase a DSLR camera for quite sometime, and now I finally can. I am 21 and I am very interested in taking photographs of wildlife, landcapes, travel. Eventually, some portrait shots. I am planning on going to sedona, yellowstone, new york, and europe within the next year and I want to start becoming familiar with a great camera. I have done some research, and money isn't a huge factor. I want the best. So, with all that said here is what I have it narrowed down to:

Camera: Nikon D5100 with the 18-55mm lens

Lenses: Nikon Telephoto 70-300mm lens - for far off wildlife, and mountains, etc.
Nikon 105mm lens- macro shots of plants, insect, birds, etc.

Plus, a tripod, 1MB sd card, and camera bag.

Is this a good combo?
Any suggestions?

Thank you so much!

-Celeste

Ok, in just looking at your list, and what you want to do some things just stand out at me. If money is truly not a huge factor, there are a LOT better things you can than what you have listed.

The camera is a personal choice. The D5100 is one of the lower end bodies. If you can afford it setup some as others here have suggested.
Lenses: I don't know much about Nikon lenses but I would add a wide angle lens. The 18-55 Kit lens won't go wide enough. If you plan on really visiting all of these places in the next year then I HIGHLY suggest getting some great lenses if you can afford them.
Get a good tripod. Not some cheap $49 deal from BestBuy.
I would get at LEAST two or three class 10 SDHC cards with at least 8GB capacity each. I would suggest three 16GB ones. SanDisk in not the cheapest but they are high quality cards.
Make sure your bag will handle all of the equipment you are going to want to take with you. Go bigger rather than smaller in case you decide to add some stuff right before the trip.
DEFINITELY get at least one spare battery. Nothing worse than your ONLY battery going dead half way through your day. Well, maybe if it goes dead right at the start of your day...

Again, this all depends on your real budget. I am pretty sure you are not wanting to dump $30,000 right yet but what I said can easily be bought for around $2,000 or so. If you can afford to go to all of those places in one year then two grand should not hurt you so bad...

Nicostorm · Jul 23, 2011

I think you need to set a budget that you want. At $1000 the D7000 would be the obvious choice. If you want to save a few bucks then the D90 but i would make the stretch to the D7000. If money is no issue, a full-frame pro Nikon would be an obvious choice.

EPPhoto · Jul 24, 2011

Here's my suggestions. Since you want the "best"....

Body: Nikon D3X
Lenses: 14-24 2.8, 24-70 2.8, 70-200 VR II 2.8, 85 1.4, 300 VR II 2.8, 400 2.8
(that will literally cover ANYTHING you want to shoot, at a pretty penny...roughly 22 grand)
Flash; Nikon SB-900
Tripod: your choice, but an Arca Swiss head would be what you want.
Memory: first of all I think you meant 1GB...but still...that'll fill up FAST! You want four 8GB Sandisk Extreme Class 10 cards.

That should get you started

alleyezontai · Jul 30, 2011

I'm a novice ...... I have the d90 and it can do no wrong ..... Also, this camera has been around for a while, and I find it really helpful when I can read so much info others have posted with their experiences..... Good luck w/ your purchase. No matter what you choose both cameras are fancy pieces of equipment

hesaid · Jul 30, 2011

I was in the same boat as you.
I ended up getting the D90 instead of the 7000 and got a better lens with the saved money. Couldn't be happier with it!