Need advice on buying a startup lens instead of default kit lens for Nikon D5100

CaptainNapalm · Mar 2, 2014

If you want an improvement over the kit lens go for these two lenses:

Nikkor 12-24 F/4 (for landscapes) - will cost you around $500-$600 used
Nikkor 50mm F/1.8 (for portraits) - will cost you around $200 new

Vince.1551 · Mar 6, 2014

If you have just started photography or using DSLR just explore with the 18-55mm. It's dirt cheap and excellent for it's price and it's light to carry around and fun to use. By the time you are done with it, and ready to upgrade, you've probably used up every single dollar worth of what you have paid for it. For a D5100 I wouldn't recommend you spending too heavily in lenses. You might want to upgrade to a full frame camera later if you get serious

bigal1000 · Mar 6, 2014

It (18-55) is a very fine kit lens.

waseq_81 · Apr 9, 2014

Guys thanks for ur kind advice. At last I settled on a D5200 with a 35mm 1.8G prime. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

Vince.1551 · Apr 9, 2014

waseq_81 said:
Guys thanks for ur kind advice. At last I settled on a D5200 with a 35mm 1.8G prime. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

The DX 35mm f1.8 is a mighty fine lens

Daniel.Quencho · Apr 10, 2014

I would recommend a 35mm prime as a starting lens. you can ebay a 35mm ai-s, or grab a dx 35mm 1.8 like vince mentioned, and get far better IQ than a slow kit zoom and have a FOV that is useful for both closeups and landscapes. Use your feet, and get the best shot possible, for me, solid primes are what get the nicest shots when taking photos for leisure. Zooms are necessary for sports or professional photography so you don't need to be lens swapping with primes to get a proper shot. For leisure, high performance primes are my preference because I can take my time to get the perfect shot in minimal light.

Vince.1551 · Apr 10, 2014

waseq_81 said:
Available compatible lenses( within my budget) for Nikon at my place are: 1. Nikon 18-55mm VR 2. Nikon 18-105mm VR 3. Nikon 55-200mm VR 4. Nikon 55-300mm VR 5. Nikon 50mm 1.8D 6. Nikon 50mm 1.8G 7. Nikon 35mm 1.8G 8. Tamron 70-300mm Macro 9. Tamron 18-200mm 10. Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 It will be really helpful if you guys out there can help me to choose one between these. Although I dont think I will need upto 300mm for zoom purpose. Thanks in advance.

Though the 18-55 is a good lens for it's price I'll go for a 18-105. Great lens with good distance coverage.

On another note. Don't be too paranoid about low light. Even with the fastest lens plus VR you'll still encounter lowlight situations. I came from the film era where I just manage low light like what a photographer should do given the limitations of his equipment. Hone your skills and when you have a good budget for better equipment you'll learn to appreciate better equipment more and at the same time manage their limitations as well.

Vince.1551 · Apr 10, 2014

Vince.1551 said:
Though the 18-55 is a good lens for it's price I'll go for a 18-105. Great lens with good distance coverage. On another note. Don't be too paranoid about low light. Even with the fastest lens plus VR you'll still encounter lowlight situations. I came from the film era where I just manage low light like what a photographer should do given the limitations of his equipment. Hone your skills and when you have a good budget for better equipment you'll learn to appreciate better equipment more and at the same time manage their limitations as well.

Oops sorry I believe you've already got the 35mm 1.8.

great choice